Bela Bela to Magaliesberg

The dusty red streets of Thabazimbi were painted pink with posters announcing our arrival when we rolled into town to address the community at the Thabazimbi Community Clinic. Marie Steenkamp was responsible for thrumming up enthusiasm in the town and our event was well attended by clinic staff and the local community. Thabazimbi Mayor Patricia Mosito was present to address the audience after our riders had shared their stories. A mobile clinic was made available for anyone wishing to have a free breast exam. After a lunch of boerewors rolls, sponsored by Pick n Pay, our riders hit the road again for a game lodge in the Magaliesberg where we spent our last night. An informal awards dinner recognised every member of the team for their contributions and we spent our last evening together reminiscing and relishing the friendships we built during the ride.

Thohoyandou to Polokwane

Yesterday we were truly embraced by the community of Thohoyandou. We started the day with a media briefing held at the Khoroni Hotel where we were staying. We were joined by Mrs Kate Booi, Head of the Oncology ward at Donald Fraser Hospital, as well as a number of nurses and representatives from the Department of Health. We all travelled together to Mvusuludzo Mall where a community event had been arranged for the Journey of Hope riders to share their stories. A number of NGO’s , ten local breast cancer survivors and nurses from Univen (University of Venda) joined the group and one of the local breast cancer survivor, Mrs Joyce Gavhi, shared her story with the audience too. Thohoyandou ward councillor, Ms Joyce Bulala, was present and read a speech on behalf of the Mayor. Heavy-T from Univen FM co-hosted the event with our MC Karl and together they got the crowd going. Two mobile clinics, one from the Department of Health and one from Univen, were made available offering free checkups to the audience. After the event the guests and riders enjoyed refreshments sponsored by Thohoyandou Pick n Pay.

It was gratifying to see the efforts being put in by the government and NGO’s to spread awareness about breast cancer and we greatly appreciated their support.

From Thohoyandou our group kitted up and rode to Polokwane via Makhado where we stopped for the night to rest, refresh, and prepare for the next leg of our Journey of Hope.

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