As World Cup mania sweeps the streets of the country, a Somerset College teacher and three colleagues are following a dream of their own, across the country.

Dieter Lutge, a Life Orientation teacher and sports coach at the school, along with fellow teachers, Jeanna Wessels, Clarence Oliver and James Webb (and his wife, Nadine) are on a cycle ride that started at Dieter's home in the Cape, Lievland farm. It will end at his home in Natal. Dubbed ‘home2home', the trip takes the intrepid cyclists on a 20 day journey of 1780 km to educate and raise awareness and, at the same time raise funds, for arthritis and cancer sufferers.

A few years ago Dieter's mother was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and he has since lost a young aunt to cancer. Not someone to sit on the sideline, unaffected by the effect that these diseases have had on his family, Dieter came up with the idea of the cycle ride.

"At the time I never thought much of it, as I did not know a great deal about arthritis, until I saw how it crippled my mother. So many of us go through life taking our health for granted, me being one of them, but when you see someone that holds a very special place in your heart go from a healthy person to a person that cannot walk unaided, you find it very difficult to accept and you begin to ask yourself questions."

The group hopes that the community will join them on their Home2Home journey, in which they will no doubt have to overcome challenges of their own, together. Should you want to sponsor or assist in some way, or just follow them along the way, go to their website http://www.home2home.co.za/

Pic 1: "What have we done?" Dieter Lutge and James Webb seem to be asking one another after they had their hair shaved by pupils of Somerset College at the end of term as part of a fundraising drive for the Home2Home cycle to raise awareness for arthritis sufferers. (L to R): Nicole Wilmans, Sydney Spiller, Demi Rawstorne, Liza Perold, in front of Dieter Lutge, Matt Carruthers, Niel van der Merwe and James Webb.

Pic 2: Intrepid cyclists - four teachers from Somerset College (L to R): Dieter Lutge, Jeanna Wessels, Clarence Oliver and James Webb.