2007 Lonely Road Challenge
On June 30, 2007 Thabang Skwambane,
Founding Director of The Lonely Road Foundation, set off on the
inaugural Lonely Road Challenge – a solo bicycle ride from Johannesburg
to Tanzania that crossed six countries and covered a distance of nearly
5,500km! At the end of his cycle, he was met by a team that joined him
to climb to the top of Uhuru Peak on Mount Kilimanjaro.
Thabang’s journey was a poignant reminder of the lives of children who grow up alone and unsupported through childhood and adolescence. After surviving childhood with little support and very few resources they are expected to become productive members of society - a “mountain” to climb at the end of such a “lonely road”.
Thabang’s journey was a poignant reminder of the lives of children who grow up alone and unsupported through childhood and adolescence. After surviving childhood with little support and very few resources they are expected to become productive members of society - a “mountain” to climb at the end of such a “lonely road”.
“This is a journey to activate the
hearts and minds of all those who believe they belong to the African
society, and a fight against apathy and a lack of ‘citizenship and
patriotism’. Above all, The Lonely Road Challenge is a journey that
will hold out a hand to those who have lost everything, and give them
something that returns their dignity and their humanity.”
-Thabang
Skwambane
If you want to be inspired and get a closer look at Thabang’s journey, check out the following links to read entries from Thabang’s diary on the road, or see photos and video clips, or listen to audio clips all taken from The 2007 Lonely Road Challenge.
Bicycle diaries, soundbites and video clips added to website