Ubunye. Togetherness. The perfect word. As a Xhosa phrase, it embodies a feeling of collective unity, a sense of team spirit. And what better word to head a three-fold endurance test charity campaign organised by a South African?
Ubunye. Togetherness. The perfect word. As a Xhosa phrase, it embodies a feeling of collective unity, a sense of team spirit. And what better word to head a three-fold endurance test charity campaign organised by a South African?
Cameron Bellamy, Rhodes University graduate, has decided to put his physical endurance to the test to raise funds for the Angus Gillis Foundation and the Africa Foundation. Having had much experience cycling across parts of China and Europe, Bellamy's endurance is already inspiring but this year could be harder than ever.
Cycling the length of the U.K from Land’s End to John O’Groats, a distance of 1500 km, will be the first event and the easiest according to Bellamy. The second, and the hardest event, will be his swim across the English Channel between the UK and France.
Six other swimmers will be taking part each with their own pilot boat to care for their well-being. Ideally, a prospective swimmer of the treacherous English Channel should have 18 months of training in cold water at 25-35km a week. Spending time in South Africa has somewhat delayed his training but Bellamy is confident that he will manage it.
“I am not trying to break any records but I hope to complete the swim in roughly 15 hours. Any longer in 15 degree water would be hard.”
The third and final challenge is the main event and culmination of the Ubunye Challenge. Bellamy and five other Rhodes graduates will row across the Atlantic Ocean from the Canary Islands in mid-December and land in Antigua in the Caribbean.
“This is going to be the highlight of the Ubunye Challenge but we are still trying to raise funds for it, said Bellamy, this time we do hope to break a record by managing the crossing in under 32 days. I was very involved in the Rhodes Rowing club so I have some experience but we have many ocean-going members of the crew to make it safe.”
With the aim of raising £250 000 (almost R3 million), the campaign hopes to give half of the funds raised to the Angus Gillis Foundation and the other half to the Africa Foundation to assist in early child development. At the moment, Bellamy and members of the Angus Gillis Foundation are choosing five different sites around the Eastern Cape at which to place five Edutainers to act as crèches.
“Some of the crèches we have seen are very over-crowded and do not have the resources to provide for the kind of early education that is needed so we hope to be able to improve that” said Bellamy. Fund raising and other activities will run throughout the year, most significantly in London, to create awareness about the project.
“I’ve never had the chance to do something for a good cause,” said Bellamy. “When I get an idea, I generally quit my job, buy a bike and leave. This time, I wanted to do something for a worthy cause.”
