Into the Valley


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The CAL riders compete against prime athletes, most of them on R50k-plus MTBs, and backed by the latest technological and nutritional advances in sport. Yet they hammer hard, never giving up. And you see them on the podium, race after race. Kwanda, powering uphill on his stock-standard Mongoose. If only the MTB suppliers out there would wake up to the fact that these guys are the future of the sport, not only regionally, but nationally. Put this dude on a top-of-the-line bike, and he'll kick serious ass. This is the house that Lucas built. With his own two hands, mostly funded by proceeds from racing and working with the Martin Dreyer Academy at various events. The walls are covered with paddling photos. And a liberal sprinkling of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED beauties to boot.
And when the racing is done and dusted, it is back into The Valley, to where the kids and moms (and wives-to-be, I suspect) await. It's not much, but so often this is the difference between just surviving, and going to bed with a full stomach. This not only insures their nutritional intake, but often that of their extended families as well. As part of the CAL programme, the athletes get food once a week.
Potatoes, onions, mealie meal - this is staple stuff, yet it means the earth. Lucas' mom is the matriarch in the village, and she keeps a hand on the young men. In the end, they are a Band of Brothers, and wen they get together around the fire, it is all about sharing a joke and having a laugh. The Boys Club. No ties required.
Stoking the fire of life. Lucas and his mom. 'I think I will get married when I'm 35', he says when I ask him about girl friends. Inside his bedroom/kitchen/lounge, lighting a candle as the sun goes down over the village. Richard, proudly posing at his house, with the stickers from a range of renowned paddling and multi-sport events splattered across the windows of his room.
    
Photos 1 - 16 out of 32 | Back to Albums
Description: Change. Life. Two words. The change can be big or small. Life has to be lived, in the best way possible. In the Valley of A Thousand Hills, a vast and undulating rural patchwork encompassing much of KwaZulu-Natal stretching inland from Durban, a beautiful story of grit and determination is unfolding. Here, within the meandering roil of the Umzindusi Valley, Martin Dreyer has done the impossible. Over a period of three years, the Dusi King has dug deep to mould a dream; not only for himself, but more importantly for two dozen young paddlers and their families. Through hard graft, unblinking commitment (and with the support of forward-thinking sponsors such as USN, HI-TEC and of course COMPUTERSHARE), 'The Duke' has immersed himself in a process which saw a handful of young herd boys put up their hands to become true sporting heroes. The pictures below tell the the story of just one day in their story, the saga of CHANGE A LIFE. It is inspirational to be, in a very small way, part of the process, and I wish there was a way I could tell it to 10 million people.
Location: Nagle Dam, KZN

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