My name is Jolandie Rust. I am 24 years old and I live in Johannesburg.
Come end of 2008, I will launch on my journey of becoming the first woman in history to circumnavigate the entire African continent on my bicycle.
 
 I have written the following letter in reaching out to my fellow South Africans.
 
The Greatest Miracle in The World:
 
What is the definition of a miracle?
It is something that happens contrary to the laws of nature or science…a temporary suspension of one of these laws.
Do you believe that you are capable of performing miracles? Most people would answer no to this question. But consider the following:
 
I stand across from you holding a pen in my hand in front of you. Now the law of gravity decrees that should I drop the pen, it will fall to the floor. I drop the pen and you instinctively catch it. Your action will have temporarily suspended the law of gravity. By any definition of a miracle you have just performed one.
 
Now what would you judge has been the greatest miracle performed on this earth? A consensus of world opinion would agree it to be: Bringing someone back from the dead.
 
Believe it or not, a lot of people have performed this miracle.
Most humans, in various degrees, are already dead. In one way or another they have lost their dreams, their ambitions, and their desire for a better life. They have surrendered their fight for self-esteem and they have compromised their greatest potential. They have settled for a life of mediocrity, days of despair and nights of tears. They are no more than living deaths confined to cemeteries of their choice.
 
Yet they need not remain in that state. They can be resurrected from their sorry condition. They can each perform the greatest miracle in the world. They can each come back from the dead.
 
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I include this piece here because it has great relevance to my life story, the dreams I am determined to realise and the message I carry with me.
 
I sometimes find it difficult to adequately explain why I have chosen to cycle around the African continent. However, I will try my best to do so here.
 
Not too long ago I found myself to be among the living dead. What had brought me to this state is in the past and therefore irrelevant. The choice that followed the realisation that my flame was slowly dying is what enabled me to perform the greatest miracle in the world.
 
No single person can perform this miracle for someone else, but you can lend a helping hand in bringing someone back to life.
 
This is why I have chosen the specific project of being the first woman to circumnavigate the African continent on a bicycle. I have this life and this experience here and now on this earth only once. I have therefore decided that I want this life of mine to be an extraordinary one. I have reclaimed my dreams, re-ignited my desire for a better life and re-instated my right to happiness.
By living my dream I hope to inspire others to also perform the greatest miracle in the world.
 
What I am doing might not be of the norm, but in my opinion, if we always stuck to the norm we would leave no room for change to happen.
 
We as humans have become so incredibly effective at making ourselves believe that we do not deserve the greatest good life has to offer. I hope to change this, even in the smallest of ways.
What better place to start than Africa? A continent riddled by poverty, crime, malnutrition, disease and corruption. I want to tell the people of Africa: ‘You do deserve happiness, you deserve a better life and you are deserving of your dreams. It is available to you; you just have to claim it.’
No matter what age, sex, race, culture or religion you are.
 
 
We are all here together, sharing that which is the human experience. We all want a better life, less corruption, less crime, a healthier planet etc. It is only when we work together that we will achieve this. However, it has to start on an individual level.
 
A lot of people might say: ‘You have to face reality!’
Well…reality is that you create your own reality.
 
Now that I have explained what I stand for, let me explain why I write to you.
After numerous attempts at signing potential sponsors to no avail, I have decided to now take a different approach.
 
 
I am asking my fellow South Africans to help me realise my dream, and in doing so each individual will play a part in spreading the message.
 
I am asking you for a once-off R100 contribution to the project. This will mean that instead of my having to try and persuade potential corporate sponsors that I deserve to live my dream, we’ll have thousands of South Africans coming together in helping this happen. In return for your contribution, I will put all the names of the people who have made a donation on my support vehicle to travel with me around the African continent.
 
 
A few points:
 
1. I realise that some people might think this to be a hoax. I therefore provide proof of my – and the project’s existence.
 
Public profile on Mygenius.com: http://www.mygenius.com/JolandieRust.Profile
Interview on SAFM – http://www.soundupload.com/pop_audio.php?key=2pm3rzchukwpay2
Website: http://jolandierust.com
Interview in The Star, newspaper: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=139&art_id=vn20080328061756424C593036
Profile on Spice4Life: http://www.spice4life.co.za/intheknow/who/content.asp?articleId=908&PageNumber=1
 
 
   And finally – my phone number: +2776 167 2008.
I realise this might mean my receiving thousands of phone calls…but I am willing to take each and every call as proof that I do exist, as well as the truth of what I say here.
 
2. Once you have made a contribution, please put your name and e-mail address on the list. I ask that every hundredth person on the list please forward the list to me at: jolandie.rust@gmail.com
I plan to put every person who has helped in making a contribution’s name, on my support vehicle. So the whole world can see how supportive this nation really is, and as my way of saying thank you.
 
3. –Banking details-
Absa
          Acc Name:            Jolandie Rust T/A Beat
          Acc Nr:                  9207910944
          Branch Code:         632005
          Branch:                  Melville
 
4. I ask that you please forward this letter to your friends and colleagues for it to reach as many people as possible across the country.
 
 
I thank you in advance for your help.
 
Sincerely yours,
 
Jolandie Rust

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You can see a short video of Jo as she starts off on her trip, here…

Another short video clip of Jo packing her bicycle, is here….

And this is a video of Jo saying farewell to Jill Stirk and Rose Preston who came to see her off.

Interview on ETV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSphm6pm-3g

Video and audio clips kindly provided by Sefton Balkind.
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