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Charitable Purpose

The purpose of B2B is to maximise funds to be raised for Support for Africa to be applied for an orphanage in Africa.

Support for Africa is an extremely deserving cause with its President, Patti Boulaye and numerous prestigious patrons and celebrity friends, including The Rt Hon Sir John Major, The Rt Hon Charles Kennedy and Paul Gascoigne.

The charity has already built four health centres in villages in Africa. Three are in Nigeria and one is in Cameroon. Please visit Support For Africa's website at www.supportforafrica.org.

Patti Boulaye  

Two things stood out following my initial conversation with Patti. Firstly, Support For Africa is an extremely streamlined and efficient charity. This means that unlike some charities, all the money raised will be sent to Africa. 

Secondly, Patti is not only connected with Africa but also has a deep understanding of it, its problems, its culture, its politics and economics.

Patti personally controls every penny spent to ensure that it is spent wisely. Only a strong and committed person who has keen business sense and an intimate knowledge of Africa is able to do this.

Motivations

We are privileged in the West to have choices. Others do not. I believe that as privileged human beings, we have a moral duty to assist those less privileged by facilitating (not in any imperial sense) people to fulfill their potential and to protect and preserve their basic human rights.

My personal motivations are that I want to prove to myself that it is possible to overcome 'adversity' if I try hard enough – not just read about it in books, or watch it on TV. More importantly, I also want to do something really special and unique to raise money for such a deserving cause.  

B2B Expedition

B2B is a solo cycling expedition with no ‘on the ground’ support. It is due to start in December 2008 and will take between 4-6 weeks and cover approximately 2,500 miles, some 300 miles further than this year’s Tour de France.

B2B will start from Bangkok and I will cycle down the east coast of the Malay peninsula to Singapore whereupon I will transfer to Jakarta and cross Java to Bali which I will circumnavigate.  

I am likely to encounter tropical storms, terrible roads, 40 degree heat, 100% humidity, tropical ‘creepy crawlies’, extremely mountainous terrain, as well as some beautiful scenery and great people along the way.

All I will take is my cycling gear, passport, credit card, board shorts, vest, flip flops, GPS (as I am useless at directions!) and sun block. Weight is all important in cycling and as such deodorant and pants will be dispensed with!

Many thanks for your support.

Mark