Glen Anil resident tackles the ‘cycle’ of poverty
Gavin Da Silva, who has been cycling for 10 years enjoyed the chance to get back on his bike, especially in support of charity work.
GLEN Anil resident, Gavin Da Silva spearheaded a cycle challenge that saw a team of cyclists from across South Africa raise R27000 for the C-19 People’s Coalition (CPC) in KZN. While the challenge included a 10km, 25km and 60km category, all cyclists exceeded the 60km mark. Da Silva was joined by cyclists Bruce Leighton, Patrick Ferguson, Scott Houston, Billy Thomas, Sean Mcurty, Andrew Rogan, Jamie Russel, Rodney Rogan and couple, Mike and Chenelle Vernes.
“Because we all live in different areas and cycled different routes, we all ended up doing between 61km and 64km. We started at 6am on the dot, and we all made it home just before 9am,” said Da Silva.
Da Silva was inspired by his wife, Kate Da Silva who recently raised more than R12000 for the coalition when she ran, 21km by taking laps around the garden during level 5 lockdown. He rode 63 km in the three hour window afforded to residents to exercise outdoors under level 4 lockdown.
“I saw what my wife did and thought it would be nice to organise a cycle for the same cause, but on a larger scale. It was very rewarding seeing people being so generous during these tough times,” he said.
Also read: Durban North runner raises more than 12k for food hampers
Da Silva, who has been cycling for 10 years and enjoyed the chance to get back on his bike, especially in support of Hopkins work.
“I was a bit out of practice, but it was nice to do since it’s for a good cause. I’ve been doing 100km a week on a stationary bike,” he said.
As a friend of the KZN convener for CPC, Lindsay Hopkins, Da Silva has also worked as a volunteer for the coalition.
“Already we’ve seen the benefits of the coalition, because we have actually been handing out the food packs ourselves, and we can see that it’s going to where it needs to go. There are a lot of people struggling out there, but the most important thing is seeing the joy on people’s faces when they receive the food. We’ve done a lot of repeat visits and it’s amazing to see the joy and relief it brings,” he said.
Also read: Lockdown ‘runathon’ raises more than 30k for street children
Hopkins is the founder of Waste Action Tribe and project director for Little4Tokens, Durban-North based organisations that focus on waste management and community upliftment.
“They are usually keeping our rivers and beaches clean but are now looking after our less fortunate communities and keeping them fed during the epidemic. The communities live hand to mouth but are currently in worse poverty due to the pandemic. Lindsay is buying bulk fresh produce and dry goods from local farmers who also want to help,” said Da Silva.
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