WHETHER it is raising funds for cancer research and awareness or the St Theresa’s Children’s Home, Durban North resident Linga Naidoo never shies away from playing his role in making a difference.
The 66-year-old, who was part of a group of 16 cyclists that rode from Johannesburg to Durban (dubbed the Jozi2Sea Cycle Tour) last year and raised R220 000 for the children’s home in Sydenham.
Now the local resident is raising funds for the Cape Town’s Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH) Trust by cycling the 109km race of the Cape Town Cycle Tour on March 12.
Naidoo, a member of the East Coast Cycling Club, has set a fundraising target of R10 000.
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As a quadruple-heart-bypass patient with two stents as well as being a diabetic, Naidoo said his goal was to give back to those who couldn’t afford life-saving surgeries.
“The hospital set up the trust as there were patients awaiting essential surgery due to the challenges to the healthcare system. As someone who has received life-saving surgery, I know the importance of raising these funds for those who are on the waiting list for cataract removals or cancer surgeries. I truly hope people get behind my fundraising initiative as I’ve only raised R2 100 of my R10 000 target. Any amount is welcome, and if I do go beyond my target, that would be amazing too,” he said.
In preparation for the Cape Town Cycle Tour, Naidoo has already cycled 1 250km on the roads in and around Durban.
“I’ve been cycling for more than six years, and I got on the bicycle after I had completed eight Comrades Marathons. There was nothing else for me to do besides walking, and it was only when I won a bicycle in a competition that I began taking the sport seriously. Since then, I’ve completed a number of Amashovas and Tour Durban races, and I’m aiming to complete my second Cape Town Cycle Tour this March,” he said.
If you would like to support Linga’s fundraiser, visit his GivenGain page.
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