“As I grow older, I pay less attention to what people say. I just watch what they do.” – Andrew Carnegie

During a raid into Mozambique in 1976 Dale Collett, an Officer in the Selous Scouts, was shot in the spine and paralysed from the chest down.

Confined to a wheelchair, his disability has never deterred him from simply getting on with his life with vigour, enthusiasm and utmost confidence.

Living now in Botswana he has built up his own business by employing disabled local citizens, and developed a small farm from scratch in the raw bush. This included erecting the farm-house, outbuildings, animal pens and drilling boreholes.

Over the years Dale has had countless operations in an endeavour to counter the side effects of paralysis and pressure sores. In 2011, whilst renovating a building on his property, the roof collapsed on top of him and the resultant injury called for the amputation of his left leg. He subsequently suffered a shoulder injury which, despite surgery, could not be repaired.

Nevertheless, he has been an absolute inspiration to anybody who has ever met him. Not just content to run a business AND a farm, Collett has also advanced into the motivational speaking industry with the theme “Nothing is Impossible”.

Knowing him as I do, it is difficult to describe the boundless energy, enthusiasm and that booming voice – always one push of his wheelchair ahead of you.

He recently acquired an ancient 750cc motor-bike with sidecar. Fitted with a platform over the seat so he can ride lying down, his comment, 36 years after the shooting was, “62 years old, running at top speed and improving.”

A press release in April 2014 reported, “An elderly one legged paraplegic has successfully ridden a vintage motorcycle the 1548 kilometres from Botswana to Cape Town, lying on his stomach. Despite the extent of the physical ordeal, his focus remained on the reason for the challenge – to gain sponsorship for the kids supported by the Ray of Hope Foundation in Gaborone.”

In his sidecar Dale carried everything required – wheelchair, fuel, spares, tools, clothing and rations. He intended to sleep on his bike but at each stop, hospitable citizens put him up for the night. Four long days later the Harley Davidson Club escorted him into Cape Town to a thundering reception. Mission accomplished Dale then repeated the journey back to Gaborone.

The thought to ponder; here is a seriously disabled individual, who you would think needed the aid himself, and yet he is the one reaching out to terminally ill children – to give them some quality and comfort in life before they die.

Dale Collett is one of those people who just seizes life and gets on with it, never expecting help from anybody. Rather he sets the example, and in so doing, encourages others to do likewise.