Cansa Relay for Life 2019 goes ‘global’
The Relay will take place on 9 March and this year promises to be different to any other Relay.
POLOKWANE – It was only a few years ago when the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa) Relay made a million Rand profit in Polokwane, and this year the Relay committee set that as their benchmark.
The Relay will take place on 9 March and this year promises to be different to any other Relay. Cansa Community mobiliser, Christopher Combrink, explained the differences.
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“We decided to host the Relay on a Saturday and only for seven hours. We want to offer the community something more and different than in the past. Even though the Relay will only be for seven hours, we have a full programme with one extra special walk.”
The Relay will start at 15:00 and between that time and 17:00 the teams will have a few minutes to entertain the guests.
Sally Hanson, Relay chair, explains: “Each team will choose a country from a list of 27 countries. These are all countries that also participate in the Relay. The team will dress up accordingly and be allowed to sell merchandise from that country. During the first two hours these teams will have to provide entertainment. Germany can have a Oompa band, for example.”
Children can also look forward to something special in the kiddies tent. Here the children will be looked after by professional caregivers with entertainment such as face paint and much more.
The first lap, previously called the survivors lap, will now be known as the warriors lap. “I feel that those affected by cancer are not survivors but warriors. They are constantly fighting the disease,” Christopher explains.
“The second special lap is the walk of legends, previously known as lumenaria. After that, being sad at the thought of lost loved ones, we will have the walk of hope, the entire committee will participate.”
The evening will end with the fight back lap, where everyone walking will fight against cancer.
“We have booked the Peter Mokaba Stadium for Friday and Saturday. On Friday the teams will come and set up and on Saturday, from 07:00 to 15:00 there will be a special market at the closed off parking. Here we will sell redundant stock from big retail shops at discount prizes,” explains Sally.
“We also have stickers that will be sold across the city, There will also be a competition for the schools. The school, preschool, primary and high school who sell the most tickets will walk away with a prize along with the child who sells the most. Children will be able to wear purple to school along with their sticker on 8 March. Stickers cost R10 and will be on sale from 1 February.”
To enter or for more information contact Christopher at 072 681 1949.
