A young triathlete, James Gerber, 24, gave it his all at the sport and crowdfunded over R500 000 in a little over six months to put an underprivileged child through school.
Gerber, who wants to become a pro triathlete, said that growing up, he lived a life that many could only dream of and wanted to use his privilege for good. He said he got the inspiration to start this venture from his parents.
‘’Many don’t come from a place of privilege and every day is a fight and a struggle. If I could give one boy the chance to go to King Edward, I was going to do everything I could to make that happen,'’ he wrote on his crowdfunding page on MatchKit.
But Gerber has raised the money he has so far through other avenues, such as the TAG Foundation, an organisation started by his parents to send underprivileged boys to school.
MatchKit, which was co-founded by Mike Sharman, is a mobile web app that is “committed to helping athletes become financially fit”. Sharman commended the young man and said James's story is an inspirational and remarkable one.
'’He’s a great athlete, first and foremost, and when we first met, he told me that he was incredibly shy. We booked some radio and TV interviews for him and he built a crowdfunding campaign. He achieved this big, hairy, audacious goal in under a year. It literally gives me goosebumps,’’ said Sharman.
Gerber said it was not easy at first but as he approached more people and companies, the money started to trickle in. He approached a school and interviewed seven boys. In the end, he chose 13-year-old Risima Mgiba.
Included in the young boy’s school tuition are his boarding school fees, uniforms, textbooks and more. Gerber promotes this cause through triathlons.
‘’I want not to be just a triathlete but someone who gives back in any way that I can. My goal is to hopefully turn pro next year,’’ he said.
Having completed several Ironman triathlons and going for more, the young man has a strict training regime and works with a coach.
‘’There is a lot of work behind the scenes. A normal training week for me is between 20 to 30 hours. This includes running, swimming and cycling.’’
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