Selborne College Grade 11s are doing their bit to help change the life of fellow pupil Ubuko Mpotulo, who has lived with extreme physical motilities for most of his life.
Brady Potter, Connor Earl, Matthew Earl, Josh Carr and Riley Boardman have raised more than R10,000 for Ubuko through running under the banner of Run For Lives.
The boys committed to running 30km in three hours from Spargs in Beacon Bay to the Gonubie beachfront and back.
“A lot of us are runners and were happy to participate. We sent the campaign links to all our friends and family.
“The way it works was that we would pledge an amount per kilometre and some people donated lump sums,” Josh said.
“All the money goes directly to the campaign and the bank account; we don’t handle the money ourselves.” Jono Kruger, who is the co-founder of Sport for Lives, said the boys had exceeded expectations.
“It has been really amazing to watch these boys trading the responsibility of social encouragement. Many of them have gone above and beyond to raise money,” Kruger said.
“They came up with their own unique and original ideas and it’s been great to watch them surpass our expectations.”
Ubuko, a quiet and softly-spoken young man, expressed his gratitude for his peers’ wonderful efforts.
“It makes me very happy to see people do this for me. I don’t have the words. Thank you so much to everyone for all your efforts. I appreciate it very much,” Ubuko said.
Some of the other campaign activities included cycling, basketball, tennis, rugby, rowing, and walking. The campaigns will continue being held until the end of the year.
