SOWETAN SAYS | Halala to cycling trio for their heroism, grit

Three ordinary young men from Limpopo embarked on what seemed like an impossible mission and a remarkable journey two weeks ago – cycling almost 2,000km to Cape Town.

The trio of Maxwell Ndou, Gauta Mahlakoane and Karabo Mooko arrived in the Mother City this week after pedalling their bicycles for 14 days from Burgersfort. Their mission was to raise funds and awareness for their community bike club, which helps youth stay away from crime and drugs.

In their journey to Cape Town, they were armed with courage, determination and grit to overcome whatever challenges they came across to reach their goal. That goal was the upliftment of fellow young people and empowering their community.

Despite one of them sustaining a knee injury along the way, they would not give up on their dream and showed great resilience to continue the journey until they reached their destination.

Few people in our country in recent times have captured the collective imagination of our nation and galvanised our positive energy as these young men did.

This much was evidenced by President Cyril Ramaphosa paying tribute to the cyclists upon their arrival in Cape Town this week.

He said: “Your ambition to succeed against all odds has captivated the nation and this feat of human endurance has awoken the possibilities of what one can achieve when setting one’s sights on greatness. As a peloton, you triumphed over adversity and the journey from Burgersfort to Cape Town fuelled our ubuntu human connection that defines South Africa."

During their journey, scores of people who followed their trip on social media lined the streets in awe of their tenacity and determination. But above all, the communities who cheered them on were inspired by their noble idea of wanting to make a difference in their own community.

By persevering through difficulty to realise their dream, the trio of cyclists from Limpopo have shown that SA has an abundance of ordinary people who are determined to do remarkable things and contribute positively to our society.

While their achievement alone will leave an indelible mark in our history books, it is their general heroism that needs to be remembered and emulated every day to make our country a better place to live in. Their journey to Cape Town has raised more than just money and awareness about their community's social ills. It has also evoked a strong sense of pride in our youth and our nationhood.

We join the nation in celebrating this remarkable achievement by ordinary citizens and encourage others to contribute in the smallest of ways to making our society even greater.