Jean du Plessis cycled up to the King’s Blockhouse on the slopes of Table Mountain every day for 200 days as an act of solidarity for a GBV survivor. Now, his effort has become an entire movement known as Blocktober.
Cape Town, South Africa (07 October 2024) — Back in 2020, Jean du Plessis made it his mission to ride up to the King’s Blockhouse every single day for the better part of a year—200 days. Tackling Table Mountain’s slopes and the great climb up to the Blockhouse via bike was not just a means to put his wheel to the test but Jean’s way of showing solidarity with a gender-based violence survivor. However, this slow-burn solidarity didn’t end in 2020. Instead, it has inspired the growing movement known as Blocktober.
What is Blocktober?
Jean’s journey has moved old and new friends alike. Year after year, as October rolls in, people have come together to trek up to Blockhouse in their own ways to show their solidarity—be it walking, jogging or riding up the slopes.
Unlike many endurance efforts that speak to individual goals and metrics, Blocktober speaks simply to solidarity.
The steep climb that people tackle is a metaphor for the mental hills survivors climb daily. Just as a climb can be anxiety-inducing, painful and a real test of one’s strength, so it is with the healing journey after immense trauma.
But, as all South Africans know well, we are stronger together. As such, Blocktober’s incredible effort toward solidarity is a reminder that even when circumstances have made you feel more isolated than you ever thought possible, there are people who care more than you know and who are willing to go to great lengths to show it.
How to Get Involved
Every Sunday for the month of October, everyone who wishes to show their support through movement is encouraged to head to the mountain to join a group solidarity walk. Find the group here.
Others are embarking on slow-burn solidarity rides every day for the entire month, while those who may not be able to contribute their time are encouraged to pledge a donation or sponsor a rider.
Donations go to the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children (SBC) in Manenberg, and this year, the goal is R100,000 (last year, Blocktober raised over R50,000!).
Plans are also being made to develop an education support project for children of residents who pass through the SBC during their last three years at school to help them prepare for matric finals and even tertiary studies.
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As for Jean, his plans for this year’s Blocktober are as follows:
“I have committed to ride up everyday from the Newlands side, come rain or shine. If I manage to achieve this goal, I will by end October have climbed over 17 000 metres (the height of two Mt. Everests) and travelled over 600km.”
Aiming for the same goal is Dawie Bosch from Vredehoek. Together, the two have pledged to sponsor themselves at R100 each per their ascents!
“[Blocktober] is a humbling privilege, a deeply instructive way of identifying with survivors of gender-based violence, says Jean in explaining the consistency of the initative. “It is a case of ‘choosing not to have a choice’, and gives one an inkling (just an inkling) of what it must be like to be a survivor who has no choice but to get up and face every day with the nightmarish memory of an event or events of sexual violence.”
You can find out more about Blocktober here and contribute donations to this exceptional cause here.
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