Maurice Kambukwe
SWAKOPMUND – Various charity teams that participated in the recent Nedbank Desert Dash have all lauded the economic and social impact of the competition, saying their numerous charity initiatives benefited big time through the platform.
This past weekend’s dash marked the 18th edition of the prestigious race and saw various charities riding for good causes and creating awareness around different social issues through the race.
Amongst the many teams that partook in the race, some rode to create awareness and raise funds for causes such as cancer, autism, disability, albinism and menstrual health for schoolgirls.
New Era Sport caught up with one of the charity teams, called ‘I Love Boobies’, which rode the dash to create awareness and raise funds towards efforts against breast cancer.
The four-member team of Jonie Peters, Jana von Backström, Vicky Vosloo and Mimi Hough hailed the positive impact the race has on their ongoing efforts to combat breast cancer.
‘I Love Boobies’ team leader Von Backström said the race was quite challenging, as the weather conditions were hot at the start of the race, but they remained well on course because they knew they had to finish the race for a much bigger and worthy cause.
“We started the race at 15h00 on Friday; the weather was extreme and the wind was blowing at the same time. It was good that the team had all the necessary things we needed, such as water, food and other supplements to keep us going,” she said.
“Although it was very hard, we knew we were racing for something worthy, and that kept us going because it kept us thinking of those with breast cancer, and it motivated us to work extra hard and move closer to the finish line.”
Satisfied with her team’s overall performance and the motivation behind their charity efforts, Von Backström said they will again partake in next year’s edition and hope to continue with their efforts against breast cancer.
“We trained almost every day of the week, as we had to prepare well in order to finish the race and stay the course. We went there to do what we set out to achieve for ourselves as partners in the fight against breast cancer. We hope to do this again next year,” added von Backstrom.
Another charity team, called Blush Foundation, participated in the dash to raise funds for the procurement and supply of sanitary pads to less-privileged schoolgirls across the country.
Blush Foundation’s team leader Alden Strauss described the race as a huge success, saying they pushed themselves hard to finish the race and make sure all less-privileged schoolgirls facing challenges of menstrual health are well represented.
“We had a great race, although we had many challenges from the beginning and the weather conditions were very hot, which made it a bit tough for us. We, however, continued with the race until it started cooling down and race on throughout the night. We told ourselves that we would finish the race to ensure that the money raised will be added to the coffers towards the cause we entered the race for,” he said.
- mkambukwe@nepc.com.na