Bikers for Mandela Day 2011

July 18 is significant for more than being the birthday of one of the world’s most revered elder statesmen.  In 2010, Nelson Mandela was honored by the United Nations General Assembly with a unanimous vote to have the day recognized around the world as Nelson Mandela International Day.  So what makes this day so special in South Africa or any other country?  Madiba has spent more than 67 years in public service, championing the rights of ordinary people, the cause of civil liberty and social justice.  Sixty seven years of public service, sacrifice and leadership.  With Madiba now retired from all public life, his legacy continues through Mandela Day celebrated on 18 July.

Mandela Day is a call to action for people around the world to spend 67 minutes of committed effort bringing about meaningful change in the world around them.  We all know resources are in short supply, but 67 minutes isn’t a lot to ask…even if that time is spent reading a story to kids, lending a hand at an animal shelter or cleaning up a public park.  If we want to live in a caring, nurturing and sustainable world, we all need to take responsibility for it, and for each other.  We all need to contribute selflessly and resist the urge to ask for something in return.

Bikers for Mandela Day started in 2010 as an initiative of the Nelson Mandela Foundation to promote the principles of Mandela Day around South Africa.  A group of 25 motorcyclists spent a week riding from Johannesburg to Cape Town stopping at various towns and cities along the way, spending 67 minutes feeding orphans, the aged and the impoverished, cleaning, renovating and repairing, and demonstrating the objectives of Mandela Day.  This year the group took a different route, and I was again privileged to be one of the bikers for Mandela Day.  For the second successive year, Gold Rand Harley-Davidson sponsored motorcycles for some of the celebrity riders as part of its support for Bikers for Mandela Day.  This year, the team of riders also included a number of well known actors, entrepreneurs and radio personalities; Sean Shipalana, DJ Fresh, Darren Kelfkens, Angie Khumalo were some who generated a wave of publicity in support of our efforts during the ride.  And Harley-Davidson was well represented in the mix of motorcycles! Sean, DJ Fresh, Angie, Gert and I sitting proudly aboard our steeds, knowing we would cover the distance in safety, style and supreme comfort!

Day 1 – Mon 11 July 2011

The first day always seems to be the toughest, a really early start in the cold before daybreak.  We start with a press conference at Monte Casino, breakfast, interviews and farewells; the anticipation is tangible.  We’re all packed, fuelled, fed and 2200km to go.  The first leg of the journey takes us to Harrismith and the Good Hope Children’s Home.  We’re renovating the playground, painting the jungle gym and part of the home in bright, funky colours.  Still lots of media about and we’re careful not to lose sight of our tasks while chatting to radio and TV reporters.  Sixty seven minutes isn’t much time so we have to make it count.  By dusk we arrive at our first overnight stop: Drakensberg Sun.

Painting at the Good Hope Children's home in Harrismith

Day 2 – Tues 12 July 2011

After live radio interviews with OFM, we set off for Howick.  It’s so much warmer in KZN so bikers are peeling off layers of winter riding kit, by midday we reach our location and it’s really warm.  We’re planting trees at the site where Madiba was arrested by security police in 1969.  There’s a plaque erected to mark the site of the arrest, and I’m amazed that I’ve never come across this before.  We’re met by SA bike legend Alphie Cox who arranged the saplings, ground preparation and extra hands at the site and it was the only time on the trip that I’ve asked to have my picture taken…what can I say, I’m a huge Alphie Cox fan!  Still a long way to go, we have to ride to Eshowe before nightfall and the wind is starting to pick up.  Thank goodness for my newly fitted detachable windshield on my bike!

Jack and Alfie Cox

Day 3 – Wed 13 July 2011

Our 67min will be spent at a primary school in Eshowe, just a few kilometers from Shakaland, where we spent the night.  Pupils are on their end of term break but they all come to greet and welcome us…in uniform!  We carry in food supplies which were donated by a local farmer, and we help set up vegetable garden tunnels.  But I’m delighted to see how much the principal, staff and kids had already done to set up the irrigation and garden beds.  Here is a school deep in rural KZN, desperately poor but not concerned with begging for hand-outs.  They make optimal use of what little they have and know how to sustain their meager resources to benefit the kids and their education.  Our arrival late that afternoon at Tiger Lodge, Jozini was a relief.  The ride was exhausting but the 20km ride through the mountain pass was pure biking joy.

Day 4 – Thurs14 July 2011

Two sites to visit: the first is feeding kids at a clinic in Jozini, and we spend our time making sandwiches and preparing vegetables for soup.  The sites are always well prepared in advance by our co-ordinator so we don’t spend time mucking about trying to organize things to start work…it’s all there, just waiting for us to get there.  Pity we don’t get time to taste the soup, but it’s on to the next site.  It’s a tough one.  Nokuthula is about 20yrs old, she takes care of five kids – two of which are hers, the others from her deceased siblings.  None of the children are over 6yrs old.  They live in a tiny two bedroom shack in Jozini and half the roof is missing… how she manages, I have no idea.  We set about painting the inside of the shack and erecting a wendy house alongside it just to give them some shelter from the worst of the weather.  She is overcome with tears of joy and appreciation.

Preparing vegetables for the soup kitchen in Jozini

Day 5 – Fri 15 July 2011

We leave Jozini and head for the border of Swaziland, formalities take a while but are dispensed with easily enough…bikes, support vehicles, clearances and passports, of course the Harleys grabbed the lion’s share of attention wherever we stopped!  Major routes through Swaziland are reasonably well maintained so the going was good.  We make good time and are soon re-entering South Africa through Mpumalanga.  Our task for the day is to lay a wreath at the Samora Machel Memorial, the actual site of the fatal airplane crash.  It’s a remarkable place situated at the top of a hill not far from the Swazi border and it’s also a museum dedicated to the memory of the late Mozambican president.  The building houses the shattered fragments of the engines, fuselage and wings and I felt a tremendous sense of sadness over that fateful crash in 1986.  One of the features of the memorial is a concrete foundation with long, hollow metal poles sticking out of it, and like gigantic organ pipes, the wind gusting over them cause them to emit a mournful, discordant tune.  I’ve never heard a more desolate song of loss and anguish.  These are the moments that make you wonder how you will be remembered…

Samora Machel Memorial

Day 6 – Sat 16 July 2011

By now we’re all feeling frayed and exhausted, but our overnight stay at Emnotweni Sun in Nelspruit perked us up.  The roads in Mpumalanga are great and we’re looking forward to some of the best riding routes in the country.  We have two sites so we get going early, and our first stop is a shelter for abandoned children in Nelspruit – Amakhaya.  We spend time with kids and renovate some rooms; fixing little things that need attention and brightening things up with a coat of paint…we even take some of the older kids for a quick bike ride around the block – most wanted to hop on the back of my Sporty!  The next stop is a school for mentally disabled kids about 20km outside of town.  The school is well organized but the playground needs refurbishing, so we get stuck in with brightly colored paint and we are soon wrapped up with some time to spare.  The kids and teachers at the school get us all to join in their ‘Happy birthday Madiba’ and we have such a strong sense that our time there is a huge thrill for the kids.  It made a difference to them, and that means the world to us!  The ride from Nelspruit to Graskop is incredible, the stuff of biking legend and by the time we get to Graskop Hotel I’m grinning like a chimp, the Custom Sportster carved through those passes with rampant power and sublime handling!

Painting at the playground at the disabled 

Day 7 – Sun 17 July 2011

The end of our tour is in sight and we’re all beginning to wonder where the time went.  I’m still energized by the magnificent riding and we arrive at our designated location – an orphanage in Graskop.  We’re preparing vegetable gardens and we’ve become quite the experts by now.  There is a quick prayer and blessing with the bikers by the local Minister…it’s Sunday, remember?  Heading out of Graskop we make a quick stop at God’s Window, one of my favorite places in Mpumalanga.  We meet a group of American tourists who say they had seen our work on an SABC TV news snippet…they want to know more about Mandela Day, they get the whole 9 yards…talk about spreading the message!  Naturally, they spotted us because most of the TV and You Tube footage showed the Harley riders up front…it must have seemed a familiar sight coming all the way from the States!  We have a long haul to our final overnight stop – the magnificent Tudor style resort, Kloppenheim.

Jack’s 1200 Custom Sportster at the Tudor-styled resort, Kloppenheim

Day 8 – Mon 18 July 2011 – Mandela Day!

We’re not quite sure what to make of it…is it really over?  One stop left: an orphanage in Belfast and quite a lot of work to be done because it’s quite a big school.  Well organized, lots of kids and the teachers are really hands-on.  We repair toilet seats, paint rooms, lay out mats and stock up their kitchen with donations of food.  Everyone is so excited to help and be a part of the 67 minutes of service, it all feels quite effortless.  But that’s exactly the point, isn’t it?  We are soon heading back home and our final media conference at the Royal Elephant Hotel and Conference Centre in Centurion.  What a reception when we arrive!  Bikes revving, cars hooting, staff cheering, media with mikes and cameras rolling.  We feel confused by the mix of emotions, bittersweet joy and relief.  American actor Morgan Freeman and Sir Richard Branson (who shares a birthday with Madiba) send us their wishes and congratulations via Skype.  We enjoy a sumptuous lunch and a few more interviews follow…but we still can’t grasp that the week-long adventure has come to an end.

We bonded as friends and shared incredible moments of joy and sorrow with the magnificent people of our country.  We saw the plight of people in desperate need, and the selflessness of true heroes who give what little they have for no other reason but that they can.  We were touched by people’s gratitude and humbled by people’s desire to help make a difference.  As a group, we demonstrated the value of trust and cooperation and more than anything, we made a measurable difference to the lives of people by spending 67 minutes each day not just talking about it, but doing something about it!  We had reached our final destination safely and I was sad to say goodbye to my friends at the end, but thinking more on it, perhaps it was just the beginning?  What if we made everyday a Mandela Day…?

Thank you to Gold Rand Harley-Davidson for again partnering with Bikers for Mandela Day to promote the cause of Nelson Mandela International Day.  It was another magical tour and my implicit faith in the reliability, power and handling of my Sportster made the 2200km as effortless as it was complete blast!

By Jack Devnarain – proud Brand Ambassador of Gold Rand Harley-Davidson

Who is Jack Devnarain?

As Rajesh Kumar on SABC 3's flagship daily soap Isidingo, he’s a household name but there’s a depth to Jack Devnarain that is rare in people who make it to the big time. Unable to suppress his talent, Jack started his acting career while working as a cop in Durban and was soon touring the Indian community theatre circuit with colorful musical comedies.

Television was a natural progression and, in 1998,  he swapped his badge and gun for the small screen  and acting  roles in drama and comedy productions until the day he landed the role of Rajesh Kumar in Isidingo. In film, he has worked with Hollywood names like Val Kilmer and Stephen Hopkins and iconic Indian art film director Shyam Benegal.

Even as a cop, his talent for the stage led to his becoming the preferred host for prestigious civil  events, like the Mayor's Awards for Bravery, the Batho Pele Service Excellence Awards and the Durban City Stars Awards. Corporate events with Jack as MC now include the best of the best, including the Standard Bank Blue Star Awards, the ABSA Prestige Awards and SABS Awards, BHP Billiton, Shoprite Checkers and, or course, regular gigs for the South African Police Service.

Jack is committed to community based initiatives and is involved in various cultural, youth and charity events.  He supports fundraising events around Johannesburg and is an ambassador to CHOC (Children’s Cancer Association). His largest audience to date has been at the Newtown Diwali Festival in Johannesburg, which he has MC'd three years in succession since its inception in 2005, and has entertained a record breaking crowd of fifty thousand people.

His popularity has expanded to the African continent and his work on TV and film has been viewed as far afield as Zambia, Canada and India. He enjoys a high media profile as a personality and was awarded the People Magazine Crystal Award for Best Soapie Actor and Favorite Actor award at the You Magazine Spectacular in 2006. He is a nominee in the South African Film and TV Awards (SAFTA) for 2008 in the People’s Choice category of ‘Best Hero’.

Jack with his son Neil

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