Local bikers help a friend raise money for a prosthetic leg
While his impressive innovation has made life a little easier, Andrew suffers severe pain on his stump and experiences strain on his joints.
Andrew Jansen van Vuuren (39), an avid biker and boilermaker from Kempton Park was involved in a traumatic road accident in January this year.
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The result of his injuries was the amputation of his right leg from the knee down.
Despite undergoing two operations and facing many obstacles along the way, Andrew, a father of two, returned to work a month after his accident.
His fiancé, Maria, sadly lost her job like so many South Africans during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Andrew is, therefore, the family’s breadwinner.
To make ends meet Andrew and Maria run a weekend fast food business, which operates out of their tuckshop at a motocross track.
Always looking out for others, even in difficult times, the couple delivers leftover meals to those in need and they have given a homeless man a job and a place to sleep.
Unable to afford the cost of a prosthetic leg, Andrew used his mechanical skills to construct a substitute leg that has allowed him to continue working, drive his car, quad bike and even ride his bicycle.
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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 and his will to succeed, a group of fellow bikers decided to take on a fun charity ride to Lesotho earlier this month to the Roof of Africa hard enduro race to give Andrew a leg up.
Travelling from Johannesburg to the Roof of Africa in Lesotho on delivery bikes, the friends hoped to raise R200 000 on the crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy, to purchase a well-deserved prosthetic leg for Andrew.
The men began their journey on November 8 and arrived at their destination on November 13.
Since the launch of the campaign, over R60 000 was raised.
“Andrew has never let his situation get him. For that reason, we are taking the opportunity to turn our adventure into something meaningful and make Andrew’s life a little easier,” said Gavin Naude, the main driver of the campaign.
To support Andrew on BackaBuddy: www.backabuddy.co.za/andrew-jansen-van-vuuren
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