Roodepoort parkrun’s super volunteer honoured for contribution
‘This award, though unexpected, has made me want to volunteer more’
Roodepoort parkrun’s super volunteer, Pascal Simba, has received an award from Discovery Vitality, thanking him for his contribution to running in South Africa.
The 46-year-old received instant ‘celebrity’ status, after a video of him motivating runners and walkers at the weekly Roodepoort parkrun, went viral. “The video went viral in September, and received more than 400 000 views in South Africa, more than 5 800 000 views internationally, 14 000 comments and 69 700 shares. I did not think that my small contribution could make such a huge impact,” he said.
Read the initial article here:
https://roodepoortrecord.co.za/2018/09/17/roaring-encouragement-for-runnerswatch-roodepoort-parkrunners-receive-roaring-encouragement-from-pascal-simba-web/
He added that, after the video went viral, he discovered that everyone could make an effort to uplift others and make the world a better place, and said, “I realised that we are together for a reason. But, I do not see myself as a celebrity; I am just a servant of the community. I must admit that my life has changed tremendously, especially in the sense that I am receiving a lot of support and encouragement, which is helping me to give my little contribution.
I am now even more involved in making things better for everyone around me, especially the little ones and elderly persons.”
Pascal said that the though of receiving an award had never crossed his mind, and, when he received an invitation to the awards ceremony, he was just honouring it.
“When I received the award, I was very humbled and happy to have been able to make some impact in the lives of runners and walkers, to help them live a better and healthier lifestyle. This has also encouraged me to volunteer even more, make our events more successful and have everyone enjoy their running and walking experience at the parkrun. I am just fired up!” said Pascal.
He added that the award showed him that there was a reward for every good thing we do, no matter how little or simple that might be, and said, “But, we should not only focus on whatever gain or benefit we may get, we should only express what is deep inside our hearts and always do our utmost best to impact positively and permanently on someone else’s life.”
When asked what this meant for him going forward, Pascal answered, “I am now also a parkrun director, which gives me another opportunity to volunteer and give my best for the runners and walkers. And, I will still be involved in the parkrun, even though it might happen that I sometimes miss events at my home parkrun (Roodepoort), to honour invitations to the other parkruns. But, be that as it may, every Saturday, you will still hear me urging you to not walk on the red carpet and to overtaaake!”
He concluded by thanking everyone from the Discovery Vitality team, and said, “I was also inspired and honoured to meet Bruce Fordyce, who started parkrun South Africa, and his wife, as well as Anne Answorth and her husband David, who were instrumental in getting Roodepoort’s parkrun started. Thank you for starting this, and affording us the opportunity to give our contributions.”
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