Members of the ZimFree Riders Motorcycle Club have dedicated their biking passion to assisting in the fight against drug and substance abuse, particularly among young people.
The country as a whole is grappling with efforts to curb drug abuse, a development that puts future generations at risk.
President of the club, Wisdom Nherera, told CITE in a sideline interview during the commemoration of Bulawayo Day that this was one of the major causes they were riding for this year.
“This commemoration coincided with our annual race, which we hold around June/July every year. It’s impressive that this day is marked by a full week of cultural celebrations. Everyone enjoys different cultures, and we’re also joining in with our biking culture, which we’re trying to promote in this city and throughout Zimbabwe,” Nherera said.
“As ZimFree Riders, we don’t just enjoy riding; we also ride for a cause. We not only engage in philanthropic work by donating to the less privileged, but we are now fully committed to fighting drug and substance abuse, which is negatively impacting our youth and the general population, not just in Bulawayo, but across the country.”
Nherera said they are taking the opportunity to share their message of saying no to drugs, not only with Bulawayo but with the entire country and continent.
“We urge the youth to stop drug and substance abuse. There’s a misconception that bikers are gangsters, but we’re far from that. Most of us have good moral upbringings and Christian backgrounds. We even have a pastor in our club here. We’re here to preach the gospel of safe livelihoods and healthy lifestyles. So, we encourage our youth to say no to drugs and live clean lives,” he said.
“We launched the Bikers Against Drugs (BAD) campaign in Harare, where we visited five suburbs preaching the gospel of living a clean life. The turnout we received was quite amazing. It wasn’t just the youth who attended, but even the parents were there too.
“They were grateful for our contribution to helping fight drug abuse. Parents are struggling to persuade their children to live better lives, and they need another voice to help them. We stepped in as that voice. We also presented the same message at the national rugby festival event held in May at Prince Edward.”
