David Vernon
7-day 777 km cycle in aid of Burundi, one of the world's poorest nations
Fundraising for Great Lakes Outreach (GLO)
Story
From May 26 to June 1, I took part in the African GLO Tour 2018 around Rwanda in aid of Burundi (pop. 11, 216, 000) one of the poorest and most malnourished countries in the world, struggling to recover from civil war and genocide.
The ride covered a total of 777km with 14500 metres of climbing (about 47,500 feet). Rwanda is called the Land of a Thousand Hills with good reason. The ride was organized by GLO, a remarkable charity pioneering the transformation of Burundi.
To see a summary, with videos and pictures, of all seven days of the tour, please take a look at my daily blog.
Burundi is still in crisis and I am seeking your support to raise funds for
GLO. Every day they work selflessly to promote peace, advance education, and enable social enterprise through community outreach initiatives.
Every donation makes a huge difference so please consider giving something, no matter how little: $5 / €5 / £5 or whatever you can afford ... it all helps. Thank you.
We are raising money for three key programs:
1. Burundi Bio-Agricultural Communities
2. Gitega International Academy
3. New Generation
Burundi Bio-Agricultural Communities (BBAC) imports pregnant
high-yield cross-bred Friesian cows from Tanzania. The major benefit of the imported cows is that they produce around 10 times as much as Burundian cows. BBAC encourage communities to keep them in one area to minimise damage to neighbours’ crops and, at the same time, avoiding the need for children to tend them. This methodology has radically transformed 400 families' lives and has helped kick-start the local economy. The children who had previously been looking after Burundian cows can now go to school financed by the milk sales.
Gitega International Academy is the first English-speaking boarding school in the country. It is raising the next generation of shapers and shakers for Burundi. Many of the country's leaders attend and they receive an education emphasising leadership skills, moral character, and personal integrity; see www.gitegainternationalacademy.org for more information.
New Generation is a street kids project. NGB runs a Road to School
program helping street children catch up on the years of schooling many have missed.
For more information on these three programs, see the cycling page on my website.
If we raise sufficient funds for the projects mentioned above,
any remaining money will go to GLO’s other projects in the country.
Your donations are solely for the work of Great Lakes Outreach
and will go directly to the charity. I covered all my costs: registration
fee, accommodation, food, and all other expenses. Once you donate, Just Giving will send your money directly to the charity.
Just Giving applies a 5% administration fee which I think is reasonable but if for any reason you are not comfortable with that, contact me and I will be more than happy to pay that 5% myself.
Your donations make a massive difference to the people of Burundi.
$6 pays for a child to go to school for full month: buy her or his books & uniform and pay for a daily meal. The meal is crucial: without proper nutrition, cognitive development is impeded. Also, without the meal, parents may not be willing to allow the child to go to school because they often see the meal as the main benefit.
$1000 buys a pregnant Friesian cow that provides an income for an entire family and their neighbours: selling milk, selling grass to feed the cow, transporting the milk, and various the other services. It creates a small ecosystem for that community. Over time, the owner pays back the capital from the profits and then that is used to buy a cow for another family. A friesian cow is easy to take care of so the children don't have to mind it and they can go to school. It's a win-win all round.
For information on GLO, click here