The City of Cape Town welcomed Japanese charity fundraiser and adventure motorcyclist Shinji Kazama to the city, at the end of his 78-day journey from the northern tip of Africa to Cape Point, the south-western tip of the continent.
The 58-year-old completed the epic motorcycle journey to raise funds and awareness for the Bone and Joint Decade, a campaign supported by the World Health Organisation.
The Bone and Joint Decade aims to improve the quality of life for people with musculo-skeletal disorders throughout the world, by raising awareness, identifying needs, empowering patients, promoting prevention and treatment and conducting research.
Musculo-skeletal conditions affect hundreds of millions of people globally, and are the most common cause of severe long-term pain and physical disability. Back pain is the second-leading cause of sick leave, while joint diseases account for half of all chronic conditions in people aged over 65. Severe injuries from traffic accidents also place a burden on health expenditure.
Kazama was met at his hotel by Councillor JP Smith, who presented him with a book about Cape Town and spoke to him about his journey through an interpreter.
“He spoke briefly about the trip and about the campaign that he is trying to raise consciousness about with his various travels. He was friendly and charming and very upbeat, but I think he was a little tired and was nursing an injured leg, which was giving him visible discomfort,” Smith said.
Kazama has been riding motorcycles around the world for 40 years, and is the only person to ever reach both the North and South Poles by motorcycle. He has also established world-record heights for a motorcycle on Mount Everest, Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Aconcagua and Mount Vinson.
His journey through Africa started in Egypt on 23 October 2008 and ended at Cape Point on 3 January 2009. He visited nine countries, including Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. He was accompanied by a support team in two vehicles.
For more information about the campaign, visit www.boneandjointdecade.org