Andrew Jansen van Vuuren (39) an avid biker and boilermaker from Kempton Park, Johannnesburg was involved in a traumatic road accident in January 2022, which resulted in the amputation of his right leg from the knee down.
Pictured above: Andrew with his daughter Mekaila and his wife’s grandson, Baylin.
Despite undergoing 2 operations and facing many obstacles along the way, Andrew, a father of two, returned to work a month after his accident as he is the main breadwinner for his family. His fiance, Maria sadly lost her job, like so many South Africans during the Covid-19 pandemic.
To make ends meet Andrew and Maria run a weekend fast food business which operates out of their tuckshop at the motocross track. Always looking out for others, even in difficult times, the couple delivers leftover meals to those in need and has even given a homeless man a job and a place to sleep.
Giving Andrew a leg up
Unable to afford the cost of a prosthetic leg, Andrew used his mechanical skills to construct his own substitute leg that has allowed him to continue working, drive his car, quad bike and even ride his bicycle.
While his impressive innovation has made life a little easier, Andrew suffers severe pain on his stump and experiences strain on his joints.
Inspired by Andrew’s amazingly positive attitude to life, his remarkable will to succeed, his endless kindness to others and his selfless acts, a group of fellow bikers have decided to take on a fun charity ride to Lesotho this November to the Roof of Africa hard enduro race to give Andrew a leg up.
Pictured above: From the left Kyle, Grant, Sharky, Cwade, Andrew, Gavin, Louis, Dylan at the MX track in Kempton Park where Andrew runs his fast food business.
Travelling from Johannesburg to Lesotho, to the Roof of Africa on delivery bikes, the friends hope to raise R200 000 on crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy, to purchase a well-deserved prosthetic leg for Andrew.
The gentlemen begin their 1500km journey on 8 November 2022 and will arrive at their destination on 13 November 2022.
Since the launch of the campaign, almost R40 000 has been raised through kind contributions from 19 donors.
““Andrew has never let his situation get him down and always makes the best of every situation. For that reason we are taking the opportunity to turn our adventure into something meaningful and make Andrew’s life a little easier.” – says Gavin Naude, the main driver of the campaign.
Support Andrew on BackaBuddy:
https://www.backabuddy.co.za/andrew-jansen-van-vuuren
Alternatively, donate via Snapscan:
https://pos.snapscan.io/qr/AndrewJansenvanVuuren
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