The 1965 Ride is an 850km cycle fundraising initiative that takes place between Johannesburg and Queenstown.
Funds raised are placed into an educational scholarship and bursary fund, which enables deserving students to attend quality schools. The cyclists are all amateur volunteers who strongly believe that improving education is a priority in our country. All participants raise their own sponsorships to support this initiative. Cyclists and their sponsors support the work of the Queenstown Education Foundation (QEF) Bursary Committee, which provides the widest flexibility enabling it to award bursaries from across the spectrum of eleven schools in the Eastern Cape.
Brian Andrew, Managing Director of RS Components South Africa, and his wife Corina are among the many volunteers who are saddling up this year to take on the nine-day cycling challenge. “Our country has come a long way regarding accessibility to education, however, as a country we still have a long way to go before we start seeing the results of a nation that is educated. The Queenstown district is in the heartland of the Eastern Cape, with well over 90% of the population being Xhosa and desperately poor. Education in this province is notoriously very poor, sometimes even virtually non-existent,” he said.
The 1965Ride tour starts on 13 April 2022 from Life Hospital Suikerbosrand at 7.30AM, where Life Hospital manager, Kubashnee Naidoo, will be joining the tour this year. At the start, the group of cyclists will be met by a group of Harley Bikers, who, with much fanfare, will escort the cyclists out of Heidelberg and through the traffic to keep them safe. The nine-day tour will then see cyclists visiting the towns of Villiers, Warden, Bethlehem, Fouriesburg, Ficksburg, Constantia Cherry, Farmstall, Ladybrand, Hobhouse, Wepener, Zastron, Rouxville, Aliwal North, Jamestown, Penhoek Pass, and Hazelmere, before finally finishing in Queenstown/Komani on The Rec at 13h00 on 21 April 2022.
1965Ride’s ultimate aim is to use the bursary schools as the fulcrum around which to drive up the standards and quality of education in the whole district, providing deserving learners the opportunity to receive a quality education, and thus provide them with the opportunities of a lifetime. The initiative aims to transform education in the Queenstown district by elevating the standards and by improving the quality of learning and teaching throughout the community from pre-school to PhD.
To date, 1965Ride has been able to award more than 150 bursary years at Queenstown schools, which could not have been achieved without sponsorship partnerships. One of many success stories is that of bursar Jojisam Luzipo-Adu, who had the privilege of being one of the 1965Ride Bursars. Jojisam attended Queenstown Girls’ High School before being accepted at Stellenbosch University Medical School, where, at the end of 2021, she graduated with her Bachelor’s of Medicine and Surgery degree.
“I know that the support of not only my family, but all those cheering me on – the 1965Ride Team specifically – helped me reach my goal. I’m now a Junior Medical Doctor in Johannesburg, finding my feet in the Medical Profession and I’m excited for what the future still holds for me. Doors remained open for me because of the good work the 1965Ride does and I’m eternally grateful, and proud to be a part of this organisation which has Education at its core,” concludes Dr Jojisam Luzipo-Adu.
Brian concluded by urging everyone and anyone who is able to sponsor this year’s event to do so to make their contribution to SA’s future leaders. “Any sponsorships towards the ride would be appreciated and if a SA tax-payer, you would be eligible for a S18 tax deduction for your contribution. Thanks for your support for this important initiative,” he concluded.
If you would like to sponsor Brian and Corina Andrew’s ride, please click here: https://qkt.io/mhcjp6 and email your donation confirmation to: 1965ride@pitqif.com to receive your S18 certificate.
For more information about the event please visit: https://1965ride.co.za/