B.O.S.S Riders Club’s charity drive for children
B.O.S.S (Boundaries Order Structure and Support) Riders Club recently held a charity drive where they handed out care packages containing educational toys and other goodies to more than 50 children living with disabilities in the Goreangab informal settlement under the theme ‘Ride for Smiles’.
The children who are all from Side by Side, an early intervention centre that aims to educate families with children living with disabilities ages range between zero to nine.
Director of the centre Huipie van Wyk said the contribution from the riders was immeasurable and highly appreciated, and that this is a matter close to her heart as she has a daughter born in 2013 with a defect.
“I have a daughter who was born with a severe brain defect and then I started doing research and got the founder Sandra to assist where she can so that I can give my daughter the best life and that is something we want to give to these children,” she said.
The children’s excitement was visible when the motorbikes arrived at the centre in Goreangab. “It was goosebumps and the support received is overwhelming. Finance doesn’t mean anything if the heart is not in it. Oh my, and seeing the bikers and the kids was an overzealous experience for them and their families,” mentioned van Wyk.
The initiative which attracted riders from around the city in solidarity had them reminiscing on what they can do for the children, especially during Covid-19. “This year has been particularly tough for all of us. And we had to do something. We believe so much in these children. This is the reason why we reached out and we had the whole team preparing these gifts from the little ones,” shared Stephen Awaseb, the
President of B.O.S.S Riders Club.
He added: “We must never push away children and this is another reason we are reaching out and here to celebrate with them to make life a little lighter for all of us. That is the spirit we come herein and we hope that we can do a lot more in the future. There is so much negativity out there in the world, now imagine if we can take over with positivity and how we can transform our communities,” he ended.
The initiative also formed part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence (GBV), where the focus was more on positive reinforcement, by doing activities for children homes, women centres.