TIA (This is Africa)

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt on our journey through Africa it’s that nothing ever goes according to plan and you have to be willing to adapt to circumstances whenever they change on you.

It was no different as we arrived in Livingstone on Thursday with the prospect of two days of relaxing and a bike donation on Friday ahead of us. Upon arrival a few final arrangements had to be made for the donation but a big surprise awaited when I met with Graham Nel from Safari Par Excellence… Sometime during the week the princess of Zambia had passed away and has luck would have it Friday was scheduled as a national day of mourning and Saturday being her funeral meant we were not allowed to have any function on any of our two rest days. So instead of starting of our double rest days with a chilled afternoon the donation ceremony was moved to Thursday afternoon.

However, we’ve learn to roll with issues like these without any problem and in record time Graham and Sharmaine Barry from The Waterfront had organised all the stakeholders and media to make their way to the Waterfront that afternoon and the ceremony took place without any further trouble.

The ceremony



As riders arrived after three long days in the saddle of approximately 160km, 180km and another 160km they headed straight for the bar to put their feet up while gazing across the Zambezi. The fact that the ceremony took place at the bar therefore meant several of the riders were all too happy to attend.



The mayor of Livingstone as well as representatives from African Impact, the Happy Africa Foundation (THAF), school headmasters and the Ministry of Education were present as we donated 25 bikes to this initiative. With the help of African Impact and THAF several schools were identified to receive bicycles to help their students. The bikes go to these schools who in turn will distribute them to children who have to walk several hours to school every day. Because of the challenges these children face their schooling is often neglected and with the issuance of the bikes they will be able to get to school easier, better their education and thereby their future prospects in terms of employment and looking after their families.

Secondary school education is often neglected because of transport issues and with these bikes several children will be able to go to school for longer than they would have without the bicycles. The bikes are not donated to the children but to the schools in order to redistribute the bikes to children who need them year after year and to make the project sustainable.



After the ceremony TDA riders and staff were treated to a lucky draw where they won several prizes sponsored by local companies. Prizes included white water rafting, bungee jumping from Vic Falls, elephant walks, lion experiences and river cruises.

About African Impact and THAF



African Impact was started in 2004 at Antelope Park in Zimbabwe. They are the largest on-the-ground facilitator of socially responsible volunteer projects in Southern and East Africa and have been working in partnership with the local communities of Livingstone since 2006. They provide assistance in long term sustainable development initiatives to a wide range of projects including, education, medical assistance, social welfare, sports coaching and training for many local communities.

African Impact was instrumental in the establishment of the Happy Africa Foundation and provides much of the charity’s resources, in terms of staff, logistical support and its
administration of all of its projects. THAF is managed by Hannah Kerrigan and is registered as a charity in the UK and as a NGO in South Africa and Zambia.  African Impact is able to facilitate the implementation of all donor funding, again minimising a significant expense to the Foundation. 

The charity looks to find sustainable solutions to the challenges that local African communities face. THAF and African Impact partner with local communities to conserve and protect the environment, wildlife and cultures in areas where the Foundation is involved.

Thank you



Without the hard work of several TDA riders none of the donations during this year’s trip would have been possible. A special thank you goes to Walter Luetolf, Herman de Grave, Beverley Coburn, Natalie Howard and Paul ten Brummelhuis who donated generously to the TDA Foundation as well as all other riders who have been raising money for worthy causes on their own.

Thanks also go to Safari Par Excellence, the Zambezi Waterfront, Livingstone Adventures, Zambezi Adrenaline Company, Lady Livingstone, Abseil Zambia and Lion Encounter for facilitating the ceremony and for the prizes they donated to TDA riders and staff.



A special thanks to Carla White for the use of her photos.


-- Catharina Robbertze

Sunday’s bike donation ceremony in Nairobi was attended by Wheels of Africa (WoA), who were providing the bikes, the two recipients of the bikes ( Arrow Web Hospital and Kijiji Cha Upendo), Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) Kenya, who are working with WoA to develop Nairobi’s first bike hire business for local university students and EcoTourism Kenya, who have recently formed a partnership with Wheels of Africa as well. 
 


The ceremony was organized and hosted by Wheels of Africa who we are worked with for several years now.  Twelve bikes were donated to Arrow Web Hospital, my old friend Bramuel Simuel was there to receive the bikes.  Arrow Web has grown it’s health outreach program significantly since we first met them in 2006 and we’re happy to continue to play a role in that programs growth. 



This year marked our first donation to Kijiji Cha Upendo, an organization that provides financial and logistical support for families who have adopted orphans. Kajiji received 12 bikes which will be used by their out reach workers.


 
The student entrepreneurship group SIFE Kenya also attended the ceremony to give a report on a pilot project they have started with WoA and 2012 TdA Rider Peter Hille.  The project aims to start the first bike hire business in Nairobi to offer people an alternative way to commute to school. 



Starting next semester the students of Strathmore University will compete is a business plan competition to design a profitable business model for the bike hire scheme.  Winners will be given the opportunity to start a bike hire business with bike from Wheels of Africa.  Initial plans and tests indicate the hire a bike for 100Ksh ($1.20 USD) per ½ day provides transport that is cheaper than using local mini buses and would provide enough income to make the bike hire business profitable.  More information on the bike hire plan in future posts. 



Finally Kahindi from EcoTourism Kenya spoke about the opportunities he sees to make Nairobi a truly bike friendly city and the need for increased partnership between local bike organizations and Tour d’Afrique.  Kahindi is passionate about cycling as a means of transport and recreation in the city and has been working hard with government officials to increase awareness about the laws that protect Kenyan cyclists on Kenyan roads.
 
It was a ceremony full of promise and optimism to be sure.  It seems the cycling landscape in Nairobi is rapidly improving as partnerships are formed between like minded individuals and organizations.  I think big changes are coming to the Nairobi Cycling scene, stay tuned.


The Tour d’Afrique Foundation supports outreach workers in various countries in Africa by providing bicycles to them so they may travel more efficiently and serve more people.  Studies have shown that a health outreach worker can reach up to 5 times as many patients by using a bicycle and they can by foot. 

The Foundation relies on donations from people like you.  Donate to the Tour d’Afrique Foundation.

Related links:

http://www.tourdafrique.com/blog/foundation/buy-a-bike-for-africa

http://www.tourdafrique.com/blog/foundation/cool-cinelli-stuff-great-cause

http://www.tourdafrique.com/blog/tourdafrique/two-beautiful-days-the-bahir-dar-bike-donation-ceremony

http://www.tourdafrique.com/blog/tourdafrique/going-the-extra-mile-on-tour

‘KIJIJI CHA UPENDO’ is a Community Based Organization founded and registered in Kenya in 2009 by a group of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) caregivers. The organization started its operations in September 2010. The founding group had in mind an entity that will provide them with a forum for mutual support and empowerment and remove OVC’s out of the streets of Kibera. Kijiji has since then focused priority on those who were infected and affected by HIV/ AIDS. Kijiji’s vision is crafted along the Kenya National HIV/AIDS strategic plan (KNASP III) 2008-2013 which strives for a society free of HIV. The organizational objectives are outlined below:

● To empower caregivers and OVC, infected and affected by HIV/AIDS to live positively.

● To reduce the physical and psychological suffering caused by HIV/AIDS through provision of appropriate care at home.

● To integrate and support children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS into existing acceptable family structures.

● To broaden economic base of caregivers through Income Generating Activities.

● To scale up community sensitization on HIV and AIDS and OVC care.

● To build Kijiji’s institutional capacity by training staff and through cross- learning programs. 

OUR VISION

We envision vulnerable children, to the best of their potential, becoming well developed adults and healthy, productive and responsible citizens.

OUR MISSION

To complement the efforts of families, already providing physical and emotional support, to orphans and other vulnerable children, infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, through a family based approach, where children receive nurturing care by loving adults, within family homes.      

Program Thematic areas and Achievements:
  
■ Counselling: Provided at Kibera centre, person to person counselling to enable clients to make informed decisions on taking tests, living with test results and for those infected, live wholesome lives. At least ten people are reached every week, further strengthening their coping with the realities of living with HIV (positive living) or losing their parents, in the case of orphans and spouses in the case of adults (bereavement support). 
 
■ Guardians’ therapy: These therapy sessions are forums that provide a unique opportunity for sharing experiences and challenges in OVC care. These monthly sessions bring together fifteen families  

● Referrals: Referrals are done where needs presented by guardians are beyond Kijiji’s capacity. These include medical, financial, and legal among others. 
 
■ Home visits: Conducted to guardians and children living with HIV, who are sick or admitted at hospitals. At least thirty visits are done in a month.  

■ Orphan support: This thematic area constitutes a wide range of services targeting children orphaned by AIDS or are living positively with the virus in Kibera area.  

■ Community education: This intervention targets members of the public and other clusters of the population that qualify as most at risk populations (MARPS). At least one hundred persons are reached every month.  

■ The cooperative: This involves two monthly meetings held with an aim of sharing information and resources on income generating activities (IGA’s), credit facilities, savings and other financial services.  

KIJIJI Project accomplishments at a glance:

Since it begun operations, Kijiji cha Upendo has experienced a rising demand for its services in Kibera area. Fifteen households have so far benefited from the IGA initiative with evidently growing micro- businesses. This in retrospect implies that guardians have increasingly been economically empowered to care for the OVC’s. On the other hand, an individual donor has helped in conducting entrepreneurship workshop to beneficiaries. The organization is in the process of outsourcing school fees incentives for the school going OVC’s. By the end of the project in December 2011, this project had 200 household beneficiaries.  

INTENTION TO EXPAND PARTNERSHIP  

With the accomplishments indicated above within our previous partnership with Children’s department, Women Fighting AIDS in Kenya, CACC, Lea toto and MSF Belgium, CLAN, Community Members, Kijiji team are eager to continue working within Kibera and expand horizons in Nairobi area. We recognize that collaborative partnership is key to positive change in the wider community. Whichever way, we wish to promise that Kijiji will do its best to support the realization of the goals of our current and potential partners. We shall quickly put up a strong team, blended with both organizational experiences and the local level experiences to easily bond with and support the community initiatives that we shall be tasked to undertake.

CAP/AIDS who are our partners in Canada linked us to Tour D Afrique who in turn requested Wheels of Africa to support us. We not only thank you for this support but humbly request you to forge a lasting partnership with us through:

I.Training our older orphans and vulnerable children to become professional cyclists.

II.Train them to be cyclist mechanics so that they can earn a living through bicycle repair.
 
III.Fundraising events through cycling to support our education support program

Last but not least we request that Wheels of Africa organize a HIV/AIDS sensitization event in to promote its visibility in Kibera and its environs.

We wish all the cyclists all the best as they cycle to whichever destination. Thanks to the organizers of the event.

P.o. Box: 20821 00202 NAIROBI, KENYA. 
Email kijijichaupendo@yahoo.co.uk 
Web Site www.kijijichaupendo.org 
Office Location: Kambi Muru, Kibera.   
Cell phone + 254 722 499 084

Each year many riders on the Tour d’Afrique bike tour decide to go the extra mile and raise money for the Tour d’Afrique Foundation (TdAF)

Our Mission

The mission of the foundation is to promote the use of the bicycle as a means of transport and income generation.  We accomplish this primarily through bike donations to health workers and orphanages along our route in Africa, though we also make donations on our routes in India and North America.  A bike donated to a health worker in Africa allows them to reach up to five times as many patients in a day as they would without a bike.



This year, coupled with the fundraising efforts of the 2012 riders, the company will donate 100 bicycles in Africa. 

A New Project for Us



2012 also marks the opening of a new project for the TdA Foundation, a community bike shop in Nairobi, started in partnership with Wheels of Africa (WoA) in Nairobi and Wheels of Change in Montana.  The first container of 300 bikes arrived in December and have already been sold!  The second shipment is due to arrive in April 2012.  Ten percent of the bikes WoA receives are donated to local schools and the rest are sold for profit.  Profits from the shop are used for paying employees and for the outreach programs of WoA.

An Important Part of Our Efforts:



Rider fundraising is a critical part of the foundations efforts to meet its goals.  This year we have a number of riders on tour fundraising for the foundation and many former clients and patrons who have donated funds to help us fulfill our mission. 

In 2012, T-shirts and Hats also Play a Role



You too can help us to increase our efforts in promoting sustainable, human powered transport in Africa.  You can do this by donating through our website here or buy purchasing our Buy A Bike for Africa T-shirt (modeled above by our Tour race director Cristiano Werneck).

We have also partnered with the bicycle company Cinelli who are selling specially branded T-shirts and hats, the profits from which will be donated to the TdAF. 



Cinelli has also created a TdA branded bicycle for us which we are testing on tour this year.  After the tour we will give them feedback on its performance so they can produce the first ever “TdA Bike”.  Profits from bike sales will also be donated to the foundation.
 
You can buy a t-shirt, hat or donate to the Foundation via our website

Over the last few months TDA has been developing a partnership with BOOTLEG, a division of Cinelli Bicycles based in Italy.  One goal of this partnership is that through the sale of BOOTLEG/TDA merchandise we will raise 3000 Euros for the TDA Foundation that will be used to purchase bicycles to donate during the 2013 Tourd’Afrique. The merchandise are some beautiful Italian designed cycling caps
and t-shirts. 


These are now available on the Cinelli website
 

As we reported earlier, Tour d'Afrique has been working with a number of partners to get some used bikes to Wheels of Africa in Nairobi so they can set up a bike shop.

After a long sea voyage we are happy to report that the container with the bikes has arrived in Kenya...and more importantly, has cleared customs!



Watch this blog for further updates on the progress on this important venture.

On Saturday, December 3, 2011, Fitness Works for Women, 2171 Queen Street East, Toronto, hosted a fundraiser event to buy bikes for HIV/AIDS workers in Africa. The successful, fun filled event included great prizes such as NHL tickets - Montreal at Toronto - and Spin Master's BAKUGAN in a raffle as well as a 50/50 draw and five fitness classes. The classes, Step & Pump, Pilates, Bootcamp, Belly Dancing and Zumba, were instructed by our staff at Fitness Works for Women. 

The funds raised exceeded our expectations.  Our goal to raise enough funds for ten bikes was quickly surpassed to more than twelve bikes in a few hours on Saturday – with donations still coming in!! 100% of donations go to the purchase of bikes through the Tour d'Afrique Foundation.  Donations can be made at http://www.tourdafrique.com/what-we-do/foundation/donations

The Tour d'Afrique is a bicycle race and expedition that goes through the Continent of Africa from Cairo to Capetown.  The TDA 2012 is the tenth anniversary of the race/expedition.  Along the route, the TDA will be presenting bikes to healthcare workers at various locations.

One of our Fitness Works for Women staff members, Beverley Coburn, is riding in the upcoming 12,000 km, 94 stage tour that leaves Cairo, Egypt on January 14, 2012 and arrives in Capetown, South Africa on May 12, 2012.

Many people contributed to the Tour d'Afrique/Fitness Works for Women fundraiser event:

Velotique Limited
Informco Inc.
Spin Master Ltd
Mrs. Eleanor Coburn
Ann Gotfryd Photography
Kate Whimster, B Com, MIFHI, ND, Kew Beach Health and Wellness
Megan Webster, Webster’s Fine Books and Maps
Janice Battiste
Aysun Parker
Starbucks Coffee Company

as well as our staff:

Ariella Tsafantinos. Owner, Fitness Works for Women, Step & Pump and Pilates instructor
Eva-Mai Fortune, Manager, Fitness Works for Women
Beverley Coburn, TDA 2012 Rider - Bootcamp instructor
Taroub, Belly Dancing instructor
Janice Battiste. Zumba instructor
Judy Carr
Lynda Smart
Kristina Birkhans

and especially:

To all our Fitness Works for Women members and
To all our participants who generously donated to the raffle, 50/50 draw and the fitness classes.

Thank you ALL for making the Tour d'Afrique/Fitness Works for Women Fundraiser - Bikes for HIV/AIDS workers in Africa - such a success!

Our new Tour d’Afrique Foundation T-shirt is now available!

Designed exclusively for Tour d’Afrique by renown Toronto artist, Barbara Klunder, this beautiful and evocative tee is made by metowestyle, a socially conscious Toronto based clothing enterprise.

•    50% Organic Cotton, 50% Recycled Polyester
•    Pesticide & chemical free
•    Sweatshop free
•    Supports sustainable farming
•    1 tree planted for each tee sold
•    50% of metowestyle profits go to Free the Children
•    $10 from each tee sold goes to the TDA Foundation
•    Available in Heather Brown or Heather Green (shown below)

Look good, feel, good, do good.

The T-Shirt costs $30 CAD + $10 shipping worldwide and comes in a range of sizes.

Find out how to get yours here.

2012 Tour d'Afrique rider Beverley Coburn is trying to raise money for our Foundation. See if you can help her out!

10:15 AM - STEP & PUMP

   


Arrow Web Hospital has come a long way since it first started as a two room clinic in the slums of Nairobi in 2005. A lot has changed and unfortunately some things have not:  they were the only provider of affordable health services in Africa’s 2nd largest slum back then, and they still are today. 

A bit of History

In 2005 when Arrow Web first opened its small two room clinic they were the only provider of affordable care in Kibera, a 2.5 square km slum in Nairobi that is home to more than 250,000 people.  

In 2005 Arrow Web treated 3990 patients.  By 2010 they had moved to a 20 room hospital and treated  76,643 patients!  They also added a dental clinic, eye care clinic and pharmacy to their services.   They also began to realize that no one hospital was big enough to assist all the patients in the catchment area.  They needed an outreach program that could provide basic health care services by visiting people in their homes.



How We Got Involved:
  
In 2009 Rebecca Cherono, managing director of the Great Rift Valley Development Association, recommended we donate bicycles to Arrow Web to help support their newly created outreach program.  In 2009 we donated 15 bicycles to Arrow Web.  It was also the first time I would meet Bram Simiyu, co founder and project coordinator at Arrow Web, a man who continues to impress me with his dedication to this day.    That year Arrow Web’s outreach workers assisted 9561 people though the delivery of medicine, health education and basic health services to the people in Kibera.  In 2010 we donated 20 more bicycles to to the program and Arrow Web’s outreach volunteers increased their reach to assist 24,745 patients in their catchment area! 

Though majority of the credit goes to Bram and his team at Arrow Web,  we are very proud to be a part of their success. 



How You Can Help:

By raising funds for the Tour d’Afrique Foundation you are helping us support the efforts of organizations like Arrow Web.  But of course the hospital needs more than just bikes.  If you’d like to contribute to Arrow Web Hospital directly to support the activities of the hospital you can do so by visiting the website listed below.     

Related Links:  

Donate to the Tour d’Afrique Foundation:

Help us provide more bikes to Health Workers in Africa, visit our donation page.     

Learn More About Arrow Web Hospital:

Arrow Web Website: http://www.arrowkenya.org/index.php
Friends of Arrow Web blog: http://arrowwebhospital.blogspot.com/