The girls in the picture here are typical of many young children in Rwanda. Access to clean water is scarce, with many having to travel 2 hours, twice a day, to collect water in jerry cans weighing 20kg. This affects their lives in many ways - they miss school, are prone to injury and sickness, and worse can be attacked on their journeys.

When you add into the mix the backdrop of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, where more than a million people were killed during a 100 day period, Rwanda is a country where the scars run deep, and whole communities are stuck in a cycle of despair and hopelessness.

In February, along with 17 other cyclists from around the UK we hope to make a difference by increasing awareness of these communities and raising £1000 each towards the Tearfund's work in this part of the world. Then, at our own expense, we will be visiting three areas of Rwanda to visit various projects that are working in rural areas to improve access to clean water, combat extreme hunger by improving farming methods and continuing to develop peace and reconciliation. However being cyclists we will be cycling to see these various projects and Rwanda is known as 'The Land of a Thousand Hills!'

Please help me and the team to transform a cycle of despair into a new cycle of hope for those we meet.

153201 NI Cycle-Hope Ride 17

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.