MULTISPORT
ForAfrika to Thrive
Before its rebranding , ForAfrika was known as JAM International . The organisation was founded in 1984 by South African Peter Pretorius , after he responded to the Mozambican government ’ s plea to the international community for urgent humanitarian relief during a famine that had placed nearly four million people at risk of starvation . He visited Pambarra Village , near Vilankulo in Inhambane Province , and was meant to be on the ground for a day , but he was stranded there for 10 days with no food , water or other supplies .
Rehann with wife Liesl- Barbara and daughters Lienke and Marlé
Ecstatic after completing his first challenge in 2017
After varsity , any further thoughts about running took a backseat as work became his focus when he moved to Johannesburg to do his articles with Deloittes . He then stayed in Gauteng until moving to the UK in 2015 , to go work for Ernest and Young , and he now lives there full-time with wife Liesl-Barbara and daughters Lienke ( 8 ) and Marlé ( 5 ). It was here , two years later , that Rehan says his miracle happened . “ I ’ m a member of the Christian Revival Church , or CRC , in London , and in early 2017 , I was attending a morning service when our pastor , who was preaching from another campus and wasn ’ t even there , went off topic , saying there ’ s a young man who needs healing for his knees ,” he recalls .
“ I felt God was speaking directly to me , so I jumped up , and received healing through his grace . I felt a burning sensation in my knees that I can ’ t explain , but I ’ ve had no problems since then . I always tell people that I shouldn ’ t be running at all , let alone doing 300-kilometre runs or triple Ironman challenges , but here I am . The past six years have just been one miracle after another !”
Setting Challenges
Following his seemingly miraculous healing , Rehan felt inspired to run again , and also felt the need to ‘ give back ’ somehow for the blessing he felt he had received . Soon
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Peter witnessed the horrific consequences of starvation in that community , with up to 30 people dying each day , including children , and leaving many other children orphaned . The experience changed his life forever , and he and his wife Ann committed themselves to fighting for a better future for Africa ’ s children . They started JAM as a relief-focused nutritional feeding organisation , and the first shipment from South Africa was 80 tons of supplies to Pambarra .
From initially just providing lifesaving nutritional relief in one country , the organisation has grown to deliver a variety of localised programme interventions in six African countries : Angola , Mozambique , Rwanda , South Africa , South Sudan and Uganda . Today , ForAfrika is the largest African non-governmental organisation working for an Africa that thrives , bringing resources and implementing programmes that are locally led to address the barriers people face , leading to growth and transformation .
To find out more about ForAfrika ’ s work , go to www . forafrika . org / runforafrika .
after that , he met the late Pieter Pretorius , founder of ForAfrika , and found a cause that he wanted to get behind , to help vulnerable children . “ Something that I liked about ForAfrika was how Pieter talked about the power of one . You might not have the power to change the world , but you have the power to change the world for one person , through what you do ,” says Rehan .
“ The ForAfrika mission is to create an environment in which people can thrive , and change their own future , and that of their families , but they don ’ t just do handouts , they are always linked to sustainability . So , they provide food to nongovernment-funded early childhood development ( ECD ) centres , and help them get the funding they need . This work really makes sense to me , because I have my own two children to look after , and I simply cannot imagine being a parent and not knowing where their next meal will come from .”
So , in late 2017 he tackled a 100km fundraising run on the South Downs Way , a network of paths , trails and country roads running from Winchester to Eastbourne in southern England . He ran under the title of Run Forest Run , a nod to his childhood nickname , given to him because of his metal leg braces , but with the name changed to Forest , because of his love of running in nature . That run just made him want to run more , and try give back more , so in December 2018 he took on the North Downs Way , which runs from Farnham to Dover , and set a ( then ) Fastest Known Time ( FKT ) on a 206km segment of the route .
Running the North Down Ways in 2018