Chris Geils and a team of runners are taking on a mammoth run to raise funds for differently-abled children in the Northern Cape.
Cape Town, South Africa – On the 8th of May 2019, Chris Geils (41) from Sunningdale, Cape Town, along with a team of 11 other individuals (able-bodied and differently-abled) will take a one-way flight to Pretoria and then run back to Cape Town to change the perceptions around disability.
This is an incredible non-stop 24 hour, 10-day, 2100km epic journey from Pretoria to Cape Town, leading up to the final stage of the tour, where team OCAL Global will make their way to the start line of the FNB 12 ONERUN on the 19th May.
“People are disabled not because of their condition, they are disabled by the poorly accessible world we currently live in. With all of those daily challenges, disability can be something that you create within yourself… that disables you from living a life that’s whole and that’s full and that’s meaningful,” says OCAL Global founder Nicolene Anley.
As one of the team members, Chris has committed to raising R25 000 on BackaBuddy to support differently-abled children in the Northern Cape.
“The OCAL 2019 JOURNEY FOR CHANGE is not only being run to raise awareness around “disability”, but will also be raising funds for differently-abled children in the Northern Cape. All these children have physical disabilities most commonly resulting from Cerebral Palsy, Spinal Bifida, amputations, genetic syndromes, spinal injuries and traumatic brain injuries. The necessary funds for his or her immediate mobility and day-to-day living needs, all these funds raised will be used to purchase in consultation with our occupational therapist partners, wheelchairs, walkers, prosthetics, crutches and other requirements.” – says Chris
Chris too has faced dilapidating health issues, which he credits as his inspiration behind his BackaBuddy campaign.
“When I was 24 years old I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis – A chronic Inflammatory bowel disease with no known cure. Over the next 6 years, I would yo-yo between states of being well and then lows of feeling terrible and being in constant pain.
Eating anything would leave me in pain and immediately running to the bathroom! At the age of 30, I decided to make a change and listen to my body, it was about this time I started running. Thankfully I am well enough now to live a healthy, active lifestyle but this could change at any moment and I want to make the good days count! It is for this reason that I want to be able to help and bring about change for the children in the Northern Cape.” – says Chris
He wanted to use his ability to raise awareness and funds for those who cannot.
“When I heard about the Ocal Global journey for change I knew I had to get involved. Sometimes in order to make people sit up and take notice, you need to do something a little crazy! The journey for change has just the right amount of crazy for me. While out on the road, times will get dark and legs will get tired but I will always hold the children in my thoughts and hearts. We have a chance to make real positive change doing this and what better way than by pushing myself out of all my comfort zones!” – says Chris
His campaign has been a real success as his fund is nearly fully funded. Chris has raised R21,756.25 towards his goal of R25,000.00. OCAL Global will manage the funds and distribute them to the children in need. OCAL is an NPO – their focus is to empower differently-abled people in establishing sustainable goals for themselves and their respective communities and cultivating an environment to achieve those goals.
You can find more information about his crowdfund here.
by 