AM600 Challenge raises P1.7 million for charity
Komatsu-AM600 Cycling Challenge continued its philanthropic work this week with the distribution of P1.7 million to deserving beneficiaries. The proceeds were from the KomatsuAM600 Cycling Challenge held in May.
The cycling challenge has been held in recent times in memory of former Debswana managing director, Albert Milton who passed away in August 2019. The cyclists covered 600km over three days from Jwaneng to Gaborone via Lobatse on day one, Gaborone to Mahalapye on day two and Mahalapye to Gaborone on day three.
The corporate sponsors raised P1.7 million and the beneficiaries are Mokoboxane Primary School, St. Joseph’s Primary School, the modern ICT hub in Letlhakane and Journey of Hope Botswana. Komatsu managing director, Martin Cowley said research and investigations were done to make sure that deserving requests are beneficiaries.
“Age-appropriate furniture will be donated to Mokoboxane and St Joseph’s is receiving a library. You are all aware of the government agenda of moving our economy from a resource-based to a knowledge-based economy. What a better way to contribute to that than making sure that learning takes place in a conducive environment,” he said.
Cowley said the library would assist in research and stimulate the minds of the learners. Journey of Hope will receive an ultrasound machine as Cowley said breast cancer cases continue to rise in the country. Meanwhile, Gaone Skelemani of Fumwa Group, the CSI company behind the Komatsu Botswana AM600 Challenge told Mmegi Sport that in 2020, they hosted the Majwe-AM570 challenge, leading to the KomatsuAM600 challenge.
“Our duty is to look for sponsors who can assist us to run the AM Cycling Challenge and the main sponsor is given naming rights. In 2020, we raised P2.4 million and it was given to different beneficiaries. We have built a classroom block at Kgosimpe Secondary School in Jwaneng.
There is another classroom block at Mokhomba Primary School, which is 90% complete,” she said. Skelemani said they had heavy-duty photocopiers, which were clustered amongst five schools around the Jwaneng zone of influence. “Through the MajweAM570 Cycling Challenge, we have a reusable sanitary pads project, which we are doing in conjunction with Mabutsane Sub-District Council.
I am excited about this project. We engage unemployed women and some are victims of GenderBased Violence and we want to empower them. We train them in order to produce the pads.
Some of them are donated to school-going girls,” Skelemani said. She added they have decided to align mostly with education and health through the Komatsu-AM600 Cycling Challenge.
She said they want to make inroads in education. Skelemani said the building for the ICT lab has been completed in Letlhakane and they are left with installing equipment.