JackalBerry MTB Cycle Challenge 2016 Team and BMi Staff members planting grass at Ubuhle
click to enlarge43 riders participated in either the first or second day of this gruelling 277km race from Bronkhorstspruit to JackalBerry Farm, in Machadodorp, on 25 and 26 November, each wearing brand new kit from the sponsors 4PL, BMi Research, and Six Square Networks.
The money raised exceeds the group’s target by over R50,000 and the three main sponsors are ecstatic.
"This year’s race proved to be the most challenging to date so we’re extremely proud of the cyclists. The money will be used to build a new classroom for Grade 7 learners,” said Gareth Pearson, CEO of BMi Research. “We couldn’t have anticipated that the informal challenge set out around that braai in 2010 would be this successful. It is a terrific accomplishment for all involved.”
As an added bonus, BMi staff visited Ubuhle a week before the race to plant grass in a section between two rows of classrooms and help the children to tend their vegetable garden. The crops yielded are sold to visitors, family and friends.
Melanie Prinsloo, Funding Manager for Ubuhle Care and Development, says the newly-grassed area has the children jumping with joy. “The area is very dusty and we had no grass for the children to play on. Now, they’re literally rolling around on the grass and doing handstands in excitement. We are so grateful for the joy the planting of this grass has brought to the children and to the school. The JackalBerry cyclists and their sponsors have truly made it possible for Ubuhle to achieve its vision to improve the quality of life of vulnerable children.”
Ubuhle was founded in 2008 by local volunteers to assist orphans and vulnerable children living with farm workers in farming communities in the Bronkhorstspruit area. Today it provides a pre-school facility and an English primary school up to Level 3, after care, workshops and courses for adults, as well as aid to develop new income sources for the 200 rural families living in the area.
www.ubuhlecares.org.za/
www.jackalberrychallenge.co.za/
