2 Elderly Men Brave Harsh Conditions Cycling for 2900km to Raise GBV Awareness
- Gerhard Botes and Deon Viljoen are two elderly men who serves as a great example of the type of people South Africa needs to make it a much better country
- The two men rode on their bicycles for 2900km all in a bid to raise awareness for Gender Based Violence here in a country where GBV is rife
- The two men have spoken about the journey, the difficulties they faced and how they feel now that they have completed the difficult yet rewarding journey
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Gerhard Botes and Deon Viljoen are not names that you shouldn't easily forget. The two elderly man recently undertook a 2900km bicycle journey through the Northern Cape all in the bid of fighting Gender Based Violence which took them an incredible 59 days to do.
Sheer determination
While weather conditions such as strong winds, rain and even icy cold days threatened to cut their journey short, Botes and Viljoen used sheer determination to push themselves to the end of the long bike ride.
Source: UGC
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Words from a very wise man
“It was a milestone to have been able to achieve it at my age, and I am glad I did it. I enjoyed every moment. I hope this campaign beares fruit. The highlight for me was the support and interest from bystanders, asking us what we were doing and why. They were also quite surprised by two elderly men taking on such a big challenge for a cause such as gender-based violence," said Viljoen.
Not easy but worth it
"Steep, long hills are a challenge on its own, especially with a heavy trailer, but it is nothing that we couldn’t overcome. We kept on reminding ourselves why we were doing this," commented Botes.
Other amazing gestures
Briefly News also reported that, Thubelihle Zooma the founder of Sahiba, a local organisation started by a determined young man who wanted to make a difference in the lives of South African women and children.
According to Zooma, who was also awarded a certificate as a COVID-19 HERO by YoLeaf, he was tired of the fact that so many men were contributing to GBV and violence against children - something that gave rise to women across the world declaring that "men are trash."
Zooma, determined to prove that the same cannot be said about all men, wanted to do something to both empower women and raise their levels of trust and confidence in men again.
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Source: Briefly News
