Delivery Bike Adventure:
By Zane Groenewald
Biker friends Ride to Lesotho on delivery bikes to gift man a prosthetic leg.
Andrew Jansen van Vuuren (39) an avid biker and boilermaker from Kempton Park, Johannesburg was involved in an accident in January 2022, which resulted in the amputation of his right leg from the knee down.
Despite undergoing 2 operations and facing many obstacles along the way, Andrew, a father of two, returned to work a month after his accident as he is the main breadwinner for his family.
His fiancé, Maria sadly lost her job, like so many South Africans during the Covid-19 pandemic.
To make ends meet Andrew and Maria run a weekend fast food business which operates out of their tuckshop at ERORA motocross track. The couple delivers leftover meals to those in need and has even given a homeless man a job and a place to sleep.
Unable to afford the cost of a prosthetic leg, Andrew used his mechanical skills to construct a substitute leg that has allowed him to continue working, driving his car, quad and even riding his bicycle.
While his impressive innovation made life a little easier, Andrew suffered severe pain on his stump and experienced strain on his joints.
Inspired by Andrew’s amazingly positive attitude to life, his remarkable will to succeed, his endless kindness to others and his selfless acts, a group of fellow bikers decided to take on a fun charity ride to Lesotho during the Roof of Africa hard enduro race to give Andrew a leg up.
Travelling from Johannesburg to Lesotho, to the Roof of Africa on delivery bikes, the friends hoped to raise R200 000 on crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy, to purchase a prosthetic leg for Andrew.
The gentlemen began their journey on 8 November 2022.
“Andrew has never let his situation get him down and always makes the best of every situation. For that reason we are taking the opportunity to turn our adventure into something meaningful and make Andrew’s life a little easier.” – says Gavin Naude, the main driver of the campaign.
What a Jol!
The guys took their little bikes through torrential rains, hail and all kinds of stuff, rode the Roof flat and returned with big smiles having raised R64000.00 to date.
They are still short, but it’s a great start!
Support Andrew on BackaBuddy:
www.backabuddy.co.za/andrew-jansen-van-vuuren
Alternatively, donate via Snapscan:
www.pos.snapscan.io/qr/AndrewJansenvanVuuren
