We send used bicycles to Africa to improve access to water, education, jobs
Story
When
On 16th & 17th of April 2010, 23 cyclists and various support staff from Sony Professional will take on the challenge of cycling 174km over two days in Death Valley, Las Vegas (infamous as one of the hottest and driest places on earth).
WhoThe Cyclists are (alphabetical order):
Farah Azirar, Daryl Blair, Georg Blunschi, Jose Antonio Bolos, David Bush, Naomi Climer, Matthew Coombs, Daniel Dubreuil, Michael Engstfeld, Goran Hantschel, Oliver Helfrich, Andy Hotten, Rainer Luethy, David McIntosh, Manny Neto, Shinichi Ohno, Claus Pfeifer, John Roberts-Davies, Malcolm Robinson, Mick Sheehan, Nick Smith, Roger Stephens, Peter Sykes & Vitaliy Semashko.
The Support Crew are (alphabetical order):
Richard Brooking, Glenn Duffy, Sandra Kokot, Melanie Paynter, Amy Scharf, Paola Segrada, and Michelle Simpson.
Why
Why? Why not?! This is an opportunity for a group of mostly amateur cyclists to work as a team to reach a challenging goal in extreme conditions. The bonds formed during an activity such as this will be hard to break and the sense of achievement for the cyclists impossible to take away. The team would also like to achieve another goal – raising money for a fantastic charity called Re-Cycle (Bicycle Aid for Africa).
Charity
We would like to raise money for a charity called Re~Cycle (Bicycle Aid for Africa) http://www.re-cycle.org/ who collect second-hand bicycles and ship them to Africa. They train up youth groups and volunteers to repair and renovate them and then provide recycled bikes to those who need them in Africa - to enable children to get to school which is often a 20 mile round trip or more; to nurses to get drugs and treatment to those in remote areas; or to enable communities to collect water and supplies so they can survive. The addition of "Re~Cycle" bikes can have a hugely positive impact on the lives of those who are lucky enough to receive them but it takes time, effort and funding to get the bikes into a suitable state, and then get them to Africa, and this is why your donations are so critical.
Thanks for taking the time to visit our 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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
We would be really grateful for any sponsorship that you may like to give - either through this Justgiving site, or alternatively through cash donations given to any of the cyclists or support staff. So please dig deep and donate now.
Share this story
Help Sony Professional
Sharing this page with your friends could help raise up to 3x more in donations
We collect used bicycles in the UK and we ship them, in containers, to people who need them in Africa. Some people living in rural African communities walk miles everyday to reach water, school, work or healthcare. Bikes are a sustainable mode of transport and help change lives for many families.