GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - Six cyclists on the road on a quest to tackle bullying in schools and promote child safety in rural areas have arrived in Graaff-Reinet on Monday 3 March.

The Xtreme for Kids Cycle Tour team has to cover the gruelling 1 900km in just 12 days. 

The route took them from Johannesburg, through the Free State and the Eastern Cape, and then to Cape Town via the Karoo.

The six cyclists participating in the 2025 tour include various high-profile businessmen, professionals and a police representative, and all of them are volunteering their time for this cause. 

Garth Briggs (MD, Wolf Security) is this year’s tour leader. 

He will be joined by Izak du Plessis (director, Moore Stellenbosch), André Thys (head of operations, V&A Waterfront), Kai Bellman (German entrepreneur), Holder Marshall (retiree and director of the Stellenbosch Trail Fund) and warrant officer Jenestin Julies (Riebeeck West SAPS and SAPS WC Cycling team member).

The cyclists will be joined by a troupe of actors who will be performing at the schools along the route. School like Laer Volkskool in Graaff-Reinet, Winnie Mandela, Aberdeen, Willowmore, De Rust and Montagu will be visited by Captain Bully Buster, who is there to sniff out the bullies and to teach the children to protect themselves against them.

The Xtreme for Kids Cycle Tour was launched in 2013 by award-winning child protection NGO Matla A Bana - a voice against child abuse. 

The aim was initially twofold - to raise awareness of the plight of abused children and to raise funds for the charity. 

But it was then decided to use the tour as a vehicle to visit schools in rural areas who are often not exposed to child protection programmes, and this became the main focus.

Matla A Bana was founded in 2002 by ex-hostage Monique Strydom after she was released from her hostage ordeal. 

She said she had received a calling when she was still in captivity, to come back to South Africa and help others in need. 

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