The largest timed cycling event in the world, the Cape Town Cycle Tour, is taking place on Sunday, 10 March 2019 with more than 35 000 cyclists expected to participate.

All of the charitable surplus raised by the Cycle Tour goes towards community and social upliftment initiatives.

The Rotary Club of Claremont, who receives half of the charitable surplus, has the important task of ensuring that the funds are allocated to worthy causes and programmes.

The Rotary Club allocates much of its resources (with substantial donations received from the Lewis Group) to the Injongo Project.

The Injongo Project provides holistic support to Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres in Philippi.

Malcolm Dodd, President of the Rotary Club of Claremont says it is one of the biggest of its kind in the country.

“Besides structural upgrades, the Injongo Project offers additional training for teachers and facilitators, ensuring that the Centres are places where children thrive and learn.”

In the past six years the Club helped to overhaul 14 ECD Centres and assist altogether 59 with training, at a cost of R18 million. One of these ECD centres include Nolufefe Educare Centre pictured below, before and after its transformation.

Besides investing directly into community projects and organisations, many charities benefit through funding support channelled through other Rotary clubs.

In the past six years over R1.5 million in grants has been allocated to other Clubs.

In 2018/2019, funds were allocated to the Rotary Club of Sea Point to assist Includid Group Homes in caring for people with over 70 intellectual and physical disabilities in Maitland, Cape Town.  Similarly, Rotary Club of Beaufort West provided a brand new water tank to the Western Cape Association for People with Disabilities, a steady water sources for their residents. The Rotary Club of Tygerberg helped eight young women to receive training at Fisantekraal Centre for Development, increasing their chances of entering the job market. The Rotary Club of Oudtshoorn spread the Christmas cheer with giftboxes to 840 children who may otherwise receive no presents during the festive season. The Rotary Club of Signal Hill helped over 500 children from impoverished areas get to the beach for a fun day of cricket. Rotary Club of Durbanville provided prizes to more than 100 farm school children to motivate them in their studies, while the Rotary Club of Lüderitz provided pupils in Namibia with scientific calculators.

These are just some of the projects that Rotary engages in with the charitable surplus from the Cape Town Cycle Tour.

For more information on Rotary Club of Claremont and the various community projects and initiatives they are involved with, please visit their Facebook page or email ContactClaremont@rotary9350.co.za.