Qhubeka stands for a noble cause TEAM DIMENSION DATA AIMS TO FUND 5,000 BICYCLES FOR PEOPLE IN AFRICA VIA QHUBEKA
n Saturday, when the 2018 Dubai Tour concludes, there will be at least a few more children with bicycles somewhere on the African continent, all thanks to the support lent to a non-profit organisation by Team Dimension Data.
The Mark Cavendish-led team is part of Qhubeka — an organisation that uses bicycles to connect people and bring about change within society — and the seven members of Team Dimension Data will ensure that the charity gets a much-needed boost during the course of the week.
Team Dimension Data rides to raise funds for Qhubeka that believes in mobilising people with bicycles and changing their lives through creating access to education, health care and economic opportunity. The team has set itself a goal of funding 5,000 bicycles for people in Africa through Qhubeka.
One of the activities on the team’s stall during the five days of Dubai Tour will be a couple of stationary bikes. All one has to do is turn up at the venue and cycle so as to help the team match the kilometres that the riders will actually be doing on each of the five days. If the mission is achieved, then Team Dimension Data will donate a bicycle to Qhubeka at the end of the Dubai Tour.
Way of saying thank you
“Honestly, it is our way of saying thank you to everyone concerned. We want the people of the UAE to get involved in this drive and be part of changing the lives of people in Africa. For us, it may only be a bicycle. But for the people of Africa it means much more … it is a tool for changing their lives,” Mechelle Buys du Plessis, Managing Director, Dimension Data Middle East, told Gulf News ina chat before the start of the 2018 Dubai Tour.
Founded in 2005, Qhubeka [meaning “to progress” or “to move forward” in the Nguni language] is meant to help people achieve more. “A bicycle is a tool that helps people move forward. Bicycles help people to travel faster and further, and to carry more. This means they can get where they need to go and do things that are difficult without transport, such as fetching groceries, travelling to school or to work, visiting a clinic or even providing emergency help after a disaster,” du Plessis pointed out.
Till date, the non-profit organisation with its headquarters in South Africa, has managed to hand over 80,087 bicycles to people. “All we ask of the community here is to come and cycle for a cause. One kilometre may not be too much of a distance on a stationary bicycle, but it can be of great help in bringing about change in the life of someone on the African continent,” du Plessis said.