The power of connecting good people

By Blake Dyason

Back in 2014, I crossed the Comrades Marathon finish line completely broken. Not only had I completed the ultimate human race, but. I’d managed to become Comrades top fundraiser that year, raising funds for PinkDrive.

At the time, I thought the biggest achievement was the money we’d raised. Looking back now, I realise the fundraising was probably the least important part of the story.

A few years later, my business partner, Carel Nolte, also ran Comrades for PinkDrive and was named the top fundraiser. Between the two of us, we’ve helped raise a meaningful amount of money over the years, but what we’ve gained in return has been worth so much more.

We’ve built friendships.

Noelene Kotschan, the founder of PinkDrive, has become one of those people I genuinely admire. She’s one of those rare humans who seems to have endless energy for helping others, and over the years our relationship has grown far beyond fundraising campaigns and events.

I’ve realised something through Love Our Trails, CN&CO and a lot of the NPO work I get involved in: good people tend to know other good people. Sometimes all they need is an introduction.

A few months ago Noelene called me before heading overseas to receive yet another well-deserved award. She wanted to take something proudly South African with her as a gift for the partners she’d be meeting. I immediately thought of The Heartfelt Project.

Heartfelt is an incredible social enterprise creating dignified employment for women in Makapanstad through beautiful handmade products. They created a collection of PinkDrive heart and Africa-shaped keyrings for Noelene to take overseas, and they’re now busy designing a miniature PinkDrive mobile clinic for the PinkDrive merchandise range.

It could have ended there. Instead, something much bigger happened. As Noelene got to know the Heartfelt team, she learnt more about Makapanstad, a rural community where many people still don’t have access to running water and where healthcare isn’t something that’s easily accessible.

So PinkDrive did what PinkDrive does best. They packed up their mobile clinic, their nurses and health educators, and travelled to Makapanstad for a day of breast cancer education, awareness and screening. One introduction became an opportunity for an entire community.

I wasn’t there on the day, but I loved reading Heartfelt’s account afterwards. One sentence from Charlene Makopane, who manages the project, stayed with me: “You don’t leave empty-handed; you leave with knowledge.” What a beautiful way to describe real impact.

This was never really about branded keyrings. It became about women receiving healthcare they may never otherwise have accessed. It became about education, dignity and relationships. It became about people using what they have to create opportunities for others. That’s something I think we don’t celebrate enough.

We often talk about the power of networks as if they’re about opening doors for ourselves. The best networks don’t work like that. They’re about opening doors for someone else. Sometimes all it takes is introducing two organisations that share the same values. One conversation. One phone call. One connection. And suddenly there’s a mobile clinic parked in a rural community helping people who need it most. That’s pretty special.

The story doesn’t end there either.

On Saturday, 26 July, CN&CO is partnering with PinkDrive and Sparkys for the Bra Bash at Waterfall Ridge Shopping Centre. It’s a fun run with a serious purpose, raising awareness around breast cancer while collecting bras and funds to support PinkDrive’s work.

It’s fun, it’s slightly ridiculous (in the best possible way), and it reminds us that conversations about breast health don’t always have to be heavy. If you’d like to join us, we’d love to see you there. REGISTER HERE.

Looking back, I don’t remember much about the pain of Comrades. What I remember are the people. Because that’s what lasts. Fundraising campaigns come and go. Events come and go.

But genuine relationships have a funny way of creating opportunities you could never have planned.

And every now and then, those opportunities paint an entire town pink.