Committed to the cause! No one trick pony, this good-hearted cyclist was inspired to go many extra miles after his first adventure for a worthy children’s cause. 10 and a half years later, he’s still at it!
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (29 May, 2023)—After good-hearted cyclist Justin Bircher’s got his first glimpse of the change he could make for Ingane Yami children’s home, he couldn’t look away.
Cycling thousands of kilometres for orphaned children is a powerful purpose to have all on its own. Treading extra miles beyond the backroads is another.
That first Trans Africa Adventure (a cycling event dedicate to raising funds for Inyange Yami) would become the beginning of a new life path for Justin, who now refers to his commitment to the home as his ‘personal purpose’.
The moment was 10 years ago. Since then, he’s sponsored a child. Encouraged his team at Bircher and Associates Biokineticists to run the Children’s Village physical education programme, and spent over 300 hours on the kids, even when it meant turning clients away to make the time possible.
Then there are the other sacrifices, like reducing his living costs and lifestyle expenses so the children can elevate theirs.
The good-hearted cyclist might not have realised initially how that decision to cycle for people he didn’t know would carve out his path as a pillar of support. But, isn’t that the awesome thing about commitment? Spare-change efforts add up, and one decision butterflies into multiple avenues of purpose.
About Ingane Yami
From isiZulu, Ingane Yami means “My Child”, the child of a community! The non-profit is a permanent village for orphaned children, based in the Shongweni Valley and started by Roger and Yvonne Greig in 2007.
Unlike most orphanages, the Children’s Village sees individual homes with a chosen foster mother in each house. Teachers and other members of the NPO’s team stay on-sight to support and care for the children, elevating the phrase ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ to all literal senses.
You can learn more about Ingane Yami here, and the Trans Africa Adventure that supports them here.
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