Cape Town - A man with a big heart aims to fulfil the dreams of disadvantaged and shoeless children by cycling from Musina to Cape Town.
Vusi Sindane, from Mpumalanga, has embarked on cycling 4 000km from Musina to Cape Town to raise funds for 10 000 pairs of new school shoes for disadvantaged children.
“There has always been a personal layer in me doing this cycle. I have been longing to do it since 2017. My biggest cause and purpose is education and when I saw barefoot children walking to school in Limpopo, I knew something had to be done.
“I have seen how low the confidence of a child with no shoes can be,” he said.
Sindane, who began his journey on April 13, said there have been very difficult days for him.
He mentioned the first, the seventh and and the nineteenth day as the hardest days of his journey.
“The seventh day I broke down. I was mountain biking in Barberton and I was overwhelmed by the many steep mountains in the area. I didn’t anticipate the vastness and difficulty of them.
“On the nineteenth day I broke down in tears missing my family. I felt I was crashing. There were companies that pledged support who were disappointing me, who were not fulfilling their promises,” he said.
Sindane has relied on the support from strangers and shared how it has largely been people who he has never met who have given him accommodation, food and support as he journeys on his quest.
His wife, Victoria Sindane said she was concerned about her husband’s quest due to his health and safety.
“At the beginning I must be honest, I was not accepting and supportive of this idea. My husband is asthmatic and I was worried that this trip would be negative on his health. He began hinting of this mission in 2017 and one day, weeks before his journey, he told me he’d be doing the ride,” she said.
Consumed by fear and being overwhelmed by her husband’s vision, Sindane said she fasted for three days and since he has embarked on the journey, she has found a way to remain hopeful.
“It hasn’t been easy. Raising six children, mostly teenagers and trying to maintain a balance in the household while he has been away has been overwhelming. I also play the role of being his PR and road manager, but it has become less overwhelming than before,” she said.
Sibusiso Sibeko, a mountain biker and friend to Sindane’s uncle, undertook the role of being Sindane’s mentor in the process of his journey, and is the man whose bike is being used for this journey.
“Vusi has always shared how he longs to cycle from Musina to Cape Town for disadvantaged children. We began training together and offered him my mountain bike to journey for his cause on condition that it comes to fruition and he fulfils his promise.
“I accompanied on his first day to Limpopo. I was so nervous that my tyre burst by hitting a pothole. I told him this was probably a sign, but he was adamant to see this dream manifest,” he said.
Sindane has conquered over 1 750 km and is approaching Mount Fletcher in the Eastern Cape and will then pedal into the town of Ugie.
Sindane has partnered with a shoe organisation, Barefoot No More, and funds generated will be given to the organisation which specialises in making shoes out of recycled materials, to make school shoes for disadvantaged children.
His website www.vusisindane.com has a link in which information about his quest can be found. Banking details are available for good Samaritans who wish to fund this initiative, and progress videos of his journey can also be found there.
Sindane predicts to arrive in Green Point, Cape Town in mid May and calls on Capetonians to welcome him at the finish line.