A South African Community’s 60-Year Journey

Michael Masemola (center front) CEO of Rebamoratiwa Group and CEO Mr Jeff Zidel (right), Chairman of the Group at  Moratiwa Crossing shopping centre  Pump Track, built on land where his family's journey began more than 60 years ago.

The story of the Pump for Peace Academy at Moratiwa Crossing did not begin with bicycles. It began more than half a century ago.

In the 1960s, Michael Masemola's father started a small trading business in Monsterlus, a small town historically known as Mpudulle located in Limpopo province, serving the local community from rented land. Building a business was difficult and owning land was almost impossible due to the historical restrictive legislation’s on amongst others the group areas act. Yet through persistence, determination, and a deep connection to the community, the family established roots in the area and eventually  purchased  the land through the support of the NG KERK.

The Masemola family's original store in Monsterlus, where the journey that would eventually become Moratiwa Crossing began.

Over the decades, those roots grew into Moratiwa Crossing, a major development serving communities across the region today. For Michael, the success of this journey is not measured in square metres, tenant mix, or investment value. It is measured in children.

Growing up in Monsterlus, he remembers a community where recreational opportunities were non-existent.

Michael Masemola as a child in his father's store, long before Moratiwa Crossing and the Pump for Peace Academy became reality.

"The area has always been a very depressed area, both economically and socially when I was growing up," he says. "We always thought children who could afford bicycles were coming from privileged backgrounds."

Local schoolchildren were among the first to ride the Moratiwa Crossing Pump Track.

Moratiwa Crossing today serves communities across the region.

Today, local children ride on a world-class pump track built through a partnership between Moratiwa Crossing, Pump for Peace, and Velosolutions. The track is among the first in South Africa, and one of the first in the world, to be built within a shopping centre environment. For Michael, the transformation is difficult to put into words. When the track officially opened, he found himself reflecting on how much had changed for a new generation.

The Velosolutions Pump Track at Moratiwa Crossing.

"It was mind-blowing," he says. "It means that we are producing and changing the lives of people outside the track, not only on the track."

Historically, this land has always been connected to education. The area originally formed part of a missionary land parcel, and several schools still stand within walking distance of the crossing today. Incorporating the Pump for Peace Academy programme into the facility felt like a natural continuation of that legacy.

"The academy brings an educational element through looking after those who cannot look after themselves, especially children," Michael says. "That resonates with my history and how I see the area."

The goal is not simply to teach cycling, but to expand horizons.

Young riders on the Moratiwa Crossing Pump Track

"The academy was created as a platform that inspires dreaming beyond your geographical location," he explains. "We are hoping that through the pump track, we will motivate and produce talent that can be nurtured from novice to professional."

But elite talent is only part of the story. Watching children interact with the facility, Michael believes the greatest impact is much simpler.

"Children have become children," he says. "They are not becoming adults before time. They have found themselves."

Children from the Monsterlus community take part in the opening day celebrations.

At a time when so much of childhood is spent staring at screens, the track is a place where children move, explore, and socialise.

Michael’s parents, now aged 80 and 83, have witnessed every stage of this 60-year journey. They attended the opening of the pump track and academy, watching local children race around a circuit built on the very land where their family business began.