Soos dit nou al tradisie geword het, en as deel van die Nelson Mandela-eeufeesvieringe, gaan motorfietsryers, van regoor die land, volgende maand ry vir ’n goeie doel op Mandeladag.

BIKERS FOR MANDELA DAY, in samewerking met die Nelson Mandela-stigting, gaan vanjaar saamtrek met een doel voor oë; en dit is om “Meisiekinders Op Skool” te hou deur sanitêredoekies in te samel vir die driemiljoen meisies wat op ’n jaarlikse basis skool mis omdat daar nie geld is vir basiese toiletware nie.

Hierdie inisiatief is in 2010 deur Nelson Mandela se voormalige persoonlike assistent, Zelda la Grange, begin om Mandela se nalatenskap te vier deur minderbevoorregtes te help. Motorfietsryes, regoor die land, word elke jaar aangemoedig om deel te neem deur ritte en saamtrekke in hulle eie dorpe te reël of om deel te neem aan die massasaamtrekke wat in die provinsie op 14 Julie gehou word.

“Vanjaar se projek stel meer motorfietsryers in staat om deel te neem aan hierdie negejaaroue tradisie van prethê, terwyl goeie dade gedoen word. Madiba het geglo dat selfs die kleinste poging ’n verskil kan maak. Ek hoop dat die eienaars van enige tweewielaangedrewe voertuie met enjins, van bromponies tot groot motorfietse, sal deelneem om ’n doeltreffende impak te hê op hierdie goeie doel. R180 is genoeg om aan een dogter se jaarlikse sanitêredoekiebehoeftes te voorsien en haar in die skool te hou. Met so min, kan so baie bereik word,” sê organiseerder, Zelda la Grange.

Motorfietsryers word uitgenooi om op Saterdag, 14 Julie 2018 te ontmoet by die Parade in Kaapstad om 8h00 die oggend.  Die rit sal om 9h30 na die Drakenstein gevangenis vertrek.  Hierdie inisiatief word ondersteun deur City of Cape Town.

Voornemende motorfietsryers kan gratis registreer by https://www.nelsonmandela.org/nelson-mandela-100 en deelnemers word versoek om elkeen ’n pak sanitêredoekies saam te bring – of soveel as wat hulle kan bekostig – vir die rit. Al die produkte wat ingesamel word, sal dan aan minderbevoorregte dogters versprei word deur BIKERS FOR MANDELA DAY se projekvennoot, Mimi Women, ’n trots-Suid-Afrikaanse organisasie wat sanitêredoekies vervaardig, verkoop en versprei. Maatskappyverteenwoordigers sal ook by beide geleenthede, in Kaapstad en Johannesburg, doekies verkoop.

Om oorsese motorfietsryers die geleentheid te gee om deel te neem aan die geleentheid en skenkings te maak vir die BIKERS FOR MANDELA DAY-inisiatief, is ’n groepbefondsingsblad geskep om Mimi Women te ondersteun. Om ’n skenking te maak deur middel van GivenGain, besoek https://www.givengain.com/e/bikersformandeladay2018/

BIKERS FOR MANDELA DAY se loodsrit is in 2010 deur ’n groep motorfietsryers van Johannesburg en Kaapstad onderneem. Sedertdien is meer as 100 000 kilometer afgelê oor al die provinsies, asook Botswana, Swaziland en Mosambiek.

Tot op hede, het meer as 10 000 mense voordeel getrek uit dié projek – oor die afgelope nege jaar, het motorfietsryers gehelp om weeshuise op te knap, kos en komberse by ouetehuise afgelewer, skryfbehoeftes aan skole verskaf, groentetuine geplant in arm gemeenskappe en geriewe opgeknap by sentrums wat slagoffers van geslagsgeweld ondersteun en polisiestasies regoor Suid-Afrika.

Die inisiatief was ook betrokke by die bou van ’n klaskamer en kleuterskool op ’n plaas in De Rust in 2010. Twee jaar gelede is daar berig dat kinders wat uit hierdie kleuterskool kom reeds kan lees en skryf teen die tyd wat hulle laerskool toe gaan.

Twitter:                @Bikers4MandelaD

Instagram:          @BikersforMandelaDay

The levels of the dams supplying water to Cape Town have been rising consistently and significantly over the past six weeks. This week, total dam storage capacity is at just over 43%, and we still have more than two months of expected winter rainfall ahead of us. Over the last few months, our collective water usage has been around 520 million litres per day.

This may be compared to the situation at the end of winter last year, when dam levels were at 38% and consumption was over 600 million litres a day.

Having analysed this new data, the City is in a position to state that not only have we managed to avoid Day Zero this year, but we will also safely get through summer in 2019. This is due to the amount of water already in the dams, our intense water demand management programmes, our unrelenting communication, awareness and the behavioural change it has effected over the past two years, as well as the continued support and sacrifice of Team Cape Town.

We have shown what we can achieve if we all pull together and work towards a common goal.

While the City hopes to reduce the current restrictions in the near future, and the tariffs associated with them, that decision is dependent on National Government relaxing restrictions on releases from the water supply system. If the National Department of Water and Sanitation agrees to relax restrictions, the City expects to be in a position to proceed with a stepped up reduction of water restrictions and the associated tariffs.

Until then, let’s keep up the good work and keep saving water for a little while longer. We have to ensure that we make a permanent change to our approach to water usage.

The City also explained what has changed since January 2018

At the beginning of the year, we were in the extended stages of a devastating, deepening and unprecedented drought. For three years in a row, our rainfall had been significantly lower than in previous years. The 2017 rainfall was the lowest in recorded history at only 40% of the long-term average. This resulted in a substantial decline in the levels of the six large dams that supply water to Cape Town, the surrounding municipalities and agriculture.

In January, projections of the rate at which the dam levels were falling indicated that we could reach a level where emergency measures would have to be implemented in April 2018. This became known as Day Zero. This projection was made despite the fact that the City had already halved its summer consumption rate, from 1 200 million litres per day to 600 million litres per day.

We did, however, have three things in our favour to ensure a rapid drought response: our pre-existing water demand management programme; the City’s highly skilled engineers and professional staff; and the residents of Cape Town.

These combined elements allowed us to reach the start of our winter rainfall season without running out of water. The reason we never reached that projection of Day Zero was due to the enormous effort and sacrifice of both urban and agricultural consumers to cut consumption levels even further throughout the summer.

Due to the water conservation efforts of our residents, and the ground-breaking interventions instituted by the City to reduce consumption, our dam levels bottomed out at 20% by the end of the summer. This was just 7% above the level at which we would have had to start restricting consumption to 25 litres per person per day.

Fortunately, the rains started early in our winter (May) and fell at rates closer to the average than in the previous years. It was only then that we could see that circumstances had changed.

In short, almost half-way through our winter, we are already in a much stronger position than we were at the end of winter last year.

Based on this information, and provided that adequate water restrictions are maintained, there will be no prospect of reaching Day Zero in 2019.

How did Cape Town do it?

We are now in a much better position, not only due to the encouraging rainfall we have seen so far, but also because of the incredible cooperation of our residents and due to the various technological and human interventions initiated by our municipality to drive down consumption.

In the meantime, we must continue saving water and encourage those visiting from other areas to do the same.

Please visit www.capetown.gov.za/thinkwater for all water-related information.