Vir \u2019n 44-jarige atleet van Kirkwood, Gideon Mengo, was dit nog altyd \u2019n droom om Kaapstad te besoek en om daar aan \u2018n maraton deel te neem. Nou is hy in die Moederstad om Sondag aan die Sanlam Kaapstad Maraton deel te neem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDie dorp se mense was vir my baie goed. Hulle het my gehelp met vervoer, verblyf, tekkies, klere, registrasiegeld en dat \u2019n groot droom van my kan waar word. Ek wil vir almal wat gehelp het baie dankie s\u00ea,\u201d s\u00ea Mengo wat in Aquapark woon en \u2018n bekende hardloper deur die strate van die dorp en op plaaspaaie is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mengo, \u2019n lid van die Nedbank atletiekklub in die Baai, het met \u2019n fondsinsamelinglys verskeie besighede op die dorp besoek en ook uitgehardloop na omliggende plase vir moontlike finansi\u00eble bydraes. Dit was juis op een van di\u00e9 plaasbesoeke dat sy pad met di\u00e9 van Natasha Potgieter gekruis het. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSy besoek het my hart geraak. As iemand wat ook hardloop en bevoorreg is om die nodige toerusting te kan bekostig, het ek begrip vir sy nood en respek vir sy desperaatheid om vir hulp te soek,\u201d s\u00ea Potgieter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
N\u00e1 sy besoek aan die plaas waar Potgieter werk het sy die volgende op haar Facebook-blad geplaas: \u201cGideon kom vanoggend aangedraf by die kantoor met \u2019n donasielys om hom te help om in die Kaap te kom. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Die maraton trek dadelik my aandag en ek begin hom uit te vra. Nou hoe gaan jy daar kom Gideon? \u2018Nee mevrou ons gooi sommer duim of klim agter in \u2019n trok\u2019. Dankbaar vir twee wonderlike mense in my kantoor stap hy hier uit met genoeg vir \u2019n buskaartjie Kaap toe. Sy inskrywingsgeld is reeds betaal deur \u2018n barmhartige Samaritaan in die vallei. <\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ek vra hoe lyk jou skoene, \u2018Nee mevrou, ek het darem hardlooptekkies\u2019. Ek sien die helder pienk hardloopskoene wat al voos gehardloop is en reeds gate in het.<\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Net om julle \u2019n idee te gee, hierdie man se tye is soos volg, hy het vir die half maraton gekwalifiseer in minder as 1uur en 30 minute. <\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dit is een ongelooflike talentvolle mens en ek hoop en bid dat hier mense is wat hom sal kan help om hierdie droom te bewaarheid en elke inwoner van die Vallei trots te maak. <\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ek verduidelik vir hom ons gaan op sosiale media vra vir donasies en trots kom hy hier aan met sy sak medaljes en staaltjies oor die hardloop en harde lewe. Tye wat my in trane het, maar ook so \u2019n hart vol hoop<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Die reaksie van mense uit die Sondags- riviervallei oor hierdie plasing van Potgieter was oorweldigend positief. Binne minute het weldoeners geld in sy rekening inbetaal en aangebied om die nodige aan Mengo te skenk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDit is absoluut wonderlik. Baie dankie aan al die mense wat gehelp het dat ons Gideon van kop tot tone kon uitrus en dat hierdie man van ons Vallei nou \u2019n droom van hom kan beleef. Hy is \u2019n regte ambassadeur vir ons lieflike Vallei.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gideon is \u2019n inspirasie vir ander<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cVir my is Gideon nou my inspirasie om nog harder te oefen. Veral vir volgende jaar se Addo Elephant Trail Run wat in Maart gehou word,\u201d s\u00ea Potgieter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kort voor sy vertrek het Potgieter weer \u2019n draai by Mengo gaan maak en vir hom \u2019n ordentlike waterbottel, energiedrankies, eetgoed, energiestafies en nog \u2019n paar luukshede gegee wat sy reis na sy droombestemming sal vergemaklik. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Potgieter skryf of haar Facebook-blad, \u201cVandag het ek \u2019n ongelooflike dankbare hart dat \u2018n Gideon so onverwags oor my pad gekom het en my weer kom wys het dat al wat \u2019n mens in die lewe nodig het is \u2019n wil sterker as enige struikelblok wat oor jou pad kom. Geen fancy smartwatches, die beste hardloopskoene, duurste accessories en weke lange se duur eetplanne nie. Net \u2019n droom in jou hart. Godgegewe talent en die deursettingsvermo\u00eb en harde werk om daardie droom te laat bewaarheid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mengo was oorweldig deur die Vallei se mense se goedheid. \u201cEk kan nie glo die mense is so goed vir my nie. Nou gaan ek sommer \u2019n nog beter tyd hardloop om te kwalifiseer vir volgende jaar se Two Oceans. Dit is hoekom en Kaap toe gaan, want Two Oceans is nou my volgende droom wat ek wil laat waar word.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Vir Mengo is om te hardloop meer as \u2019n passie, dit is sy hele lewe. Daarom bedank hy ook graag Irene van Eeden van die Nedbank atle-tiekklub vir haar ondersteunende rol in sy lewe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Vir \u2019n 44-jarige atleet van Kirkwood, Gideon Mengo, was dit nog altyd \u2019n droom om Kaapstad te besoek en om daar aan \u2018n maraton deel te neem. Nou is hy in die Moederstad om Sondag aan die Sanlam Kaapstad Maraton deel te neem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":48127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_eb_attr":"","_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"bf2f4317-5e85-4c0a-88dc-58dbf4150bfb","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"","article_feature_type":"","article_main_image_caption":"","article_media_icon":"","article_template":"","author_byline":"Heilie Combrinck","background_color":"","block_editor":"","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":[],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-48125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n