Ashinthwela thanks running community as he hands over uniforms and shoes to Limpopo kids

When he started his bold initiative to raise over R100 000 to buy school uniforms for sixty kids from his village of Ga-Matlala in Limpopo, Maphuthi Monyamane had little idea of the impact he would make on the lives of others using the sport he loves. What started as the Homecoming Charity Run last July, escalated into a 1500km journey between 23 September and 23 October, with a final push of 105km on the last day, as the man affectionately known as Ashinthwela ran more than the extra mile in order to achieve his goal of raising R105 000.

Monyamane posing with some of the kids and parents who benefited from his 1500km fundraising run. Photo Credit: Memories with Thami.

"I am glad about the donation we received from Mr. Monyamane and his group. I'm grateful for the support. We are honoured to receive this donation," said Mr MS Mpherwane who is the principal of Phoffu Primary School - one of the beneficiaries of the Urithi Athletic Club runner's fundraising effort. "This donation will make a tremendous change in our leaners. It'll make learners realize that members of the community support their learning. It will go a long way to changing the way they see things and it will encourage them to see the importance of learning."

It means that thanks to the donations of the running community who donated for every kilometre that the Bus Driver spent on the road, a total of 75 children at both Phoffu and Dibeng Primary School were gifted new shoes and uniforms for the academic year ahead.

Having travelled from Gauteng to Limpopo for the handover which took place on the 8th of February, Monyamane is now back in Ekurhuleni and reflecting on his amazing journey into the Unknown.

Ashinthwela and his support crew many of whom hailed from his Urithi Athletics Club received a heroes welcome upon arrival at the Dibeng Primary School in Ga-Matlala to handover school shoes and uniforms earlier this month. Photo Credit: Memories with Thami.

"It gives me pleasure and a great feeling to see the happiness and the smiles on the faces of the kids and the parents who received the gifts. It makes me feel that I have done my part and planted a positive seed in my community. That's the most exciting feeling that one could ever wish for. Seeing the happy faces of these future generations was just overwhelming," he shared. "Even if you change one life, you have changed the world forever!!! The dream finally came to life and I was very, very, very happy," he concluded.

And it's not over yet for the affable Urithi Athletics Club runner who has revealed that he is planning to go even bigger in 2022. When asked if he is planning a similar run to raise funds this year, his emphatic response was: "Most definitely, even more and we will be doing different schools in the same district of Ga-Matlala."