When your working day is spent helping communities create better opportunities for children, it can be difficult to switch off when you go home. 

For Jaco de Kock and Gail Davids, two members of the Breadline Africa team, that commitment has found its way into something they both love doing in their spare time – running. 

On 21 November, Jaco and Gail will each take on 23.7km at the EX23 trail run at RMB Ultra-Trail Cape Town. Together, they will run 47.4km to raise R48,000 towards a new classroom at Khanyisa Educare Centre in Site C, Khayelitsha. 

But the story isn’t really about the run. It is about the children waiting at the other end of it. 

Khanyisa has been part of its community since 1999. Today, 81 young children are being cared for in a centre designed for 60. Breadline Africa has already helped the centre with a kitchen, toilets and a classroom, but more space is urgently needed. A new classroom would ease the overcrowding and give children a safer place to learn and grow. 

For Jaco and Gail, this is a chance to take something they already care deeply about and put it towards something tangible. 

Their fundraising target is deliberately simple: R1,000 for every kilometre they run. Every kilometre sponsored brings the centre closer to the classroom it needs. 

“We work for Breadline Africa because we believe in this cause, and now we want to put our own legs on the line to prove it,” says Jaco. 

Gail agrees that the motivation goes far beyond crossing a finish line. 

The two are hoping their run will inspire others to get involved too. A donation of any size can help turn kilometres into something that will last long after the race is over. 

On 21 November, Jaco and Gail will run 47.4km. 

For the children at Khanyisa, those kilometres could become a classroom. 

Support their fundraiser and help build a better space for the children of Khanyisa Educare Centre: https://www.givengain.com/project/jaco-raising-funds-for-breadline-africa-127530