Wilde: Dieter takes his cause to the road

The Tygerbear Foundation is a non-profit organisation that offers a unique service in a facilitated environment to treat traumatised children. These traumas include children who survived malnutrition; illness; neglect; physical, emotional and sexual abuse; gang violence, as well as HIV/AIDS and Cancer. As a non-profit organisation, the TygerBear Foundation relies on contributions from the corporate and public spectrum. That's why Dieter's voyage from Cape Town to Mosselbay between the 18th and 22nd December 2009 was a great initiative.

Dieter Voigt, known for being Mr. South Africa 2007 and television presenter for Afrikaans actuality programme, Pasella, set out to cycle all the way from Cape Town to Mosselbay, making various meet-and-greet stops to raise awareness about his initiative to raise funds for the TygerBear Foundation. We followed him every pedal of the way.

Dieter Voigt said that he is grateful for being able to experience such a life changing adventure - he met a great amount of people from different walks of life, be it cultural or economical. Dieter said that he was treated with great hospitality at every stop. He really enjoyed hearing the stories that people had to share, but it was the willingness to give that really touched him, as he recalls:

There was this Rasta that I met at the Klipheuwel crossing. I told him about my plan to accumulate donations for children in need, even though I didn't expect him to give me anything. He then surprised me with three R5 coins and said "I give this to you with a willing heart, because I know that God will bless us."

This was the start of a very blessed journey for me.

Dieter Voigt would like to thank Kabous Marra for inspiration and support, as well as Johan-Murray Muller for his passion and commitment to the cause. Johan joined Dieter on the road, even though he wasn't on a saddle himself. Dieter requested that Johan must cycle with him next time, are you ready Johan?

Here are some photos from the trip.