Velokhaya Life Cycling Academy

22 Feb 13

For young people, growing up in a township can be hard. They are constantly faced with societal ills like drugs, unemployment, gangsterism and violence. For this reason, Pick n Pay has partnered with the Velokhaya Life Cycle Academy, a not-for-profit organisation based in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.

The word Velokhaya is a combination of velo, the French word for cycling, and Khaya, the Xhosa word for home – so it literally means ‘home of cycling’.

The academy’s programme aims to give children from disadvantaged communities the skills they need to make a success of their lives. It encourages kids to get off the streets and onto a bicycle, to spend their afternoons at the BMX track, or to ride together on the road. In this way, it promotes safe, recreational and competitive cycling that will have a meaningful effect on the individuals who take part.

Even though many of them could start in better seeded positions, every year a peloton of cyclists from Velokhaya cycle the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour together to thank Pick n Pay for their support.

Digital campaigns

In last year’s LikeBike digital campaign, customers could contribute by “fuelling” the LikeBike on Pick n Pay’s facebook site. The messages were transmitted to presenter Liezl van der Westhuizen, who was cycling in the actual race. For every 10km she cycled “fuelled” by likes on the Facebook app, Pick n Pay donated one bike to the academy. In the end, 20 bikes were donated.  

This year, LikeBike+ is about more than just bikes – it’s about more ways to give. With LikeBike+, customers can now choose how to help Pick n Pay contribute to Velokhaya and becoming part of the GOODNESS.