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The Challenge:

On the 21st of June, a team of 7 cycling laymen will set out on a gruelling expedition through France, beginning in the capital, and ending in the Mediterranean coastal town of Montpellier, some 1,100km to the South. All this to raise money for the construction of 3 Ground Water Wells in Sudan, through the international NGO Muslim Hands - United for the Needy.

The Route:

Our route will take us through some of the most breath-taking regions of France, including Fontainebleau, through the picturesque Loire Valley, Dordogne, the forests of Bordeaux, Toulouse, Narbonne and finally along the Med Coast to Montpellier, a total of 1100km! We will be camping on the way to keep costs down (we meet all our expenses, so all the money you give goes straight towards providing water sources for those most in need). To get in shape for this challenge, we have all started a gruelling training regime which will see us rack up some serious miles even before we start!

The Team:

Omar Abdel-Mannan - Medicine, St John's College Oxford

Imad Ahmed - History and English, Keble College Oxford

Mohamed Madi - Philosophy, Politics & Economics, Trinity College Oxford

Imran Mahmud - Medicine, Keble College Oxford;

Shameq Sayeed - Medicine, St Anne's College Oxford;

Tahir Mahmud - Team Doctor,

Tariq Razzaq - Team Engineer.

We will be leaving Paris on the 22nd June 2008, and will fly back from Montpellier on the 4th July 2008 (all in all, 10 days of cycling)

The Cause:

"The Water Cycle" takes its name from the cause we are supporting: through your help (Insha'Allah) we are aiming to raise £6,000 for the construction of 3 Ground Water Wells (£2,000 each) in the African country of Sudan. Each well is able to support up to 1,500 families, providing essential clean and safe drinking water.

Lack of access to clean drinking water and sanitation is the leading cause of illness in the world.

Safe water and sanitation are now recognised as human rights, yet shockingly 1.1 BILLION of the people on this planet do not have access to safe drinking water. This is a key part of the ongoing struggle to avoid life-threatening disease and diarrhoea among some of the world's poorest nations. An estimated 3,900 children die daily as a result (many from diarrhoea) - that's approximately one child every 15 seconds (or one child since you began reading this paragraph).

There are 2 reasons for this: 40% of world's population do not have access to safe pit latrines, and 20% do not have access to clean drinking water. Muslim Hands, who will execute the construction of the wells on our behalf, are experts at this type of project. For more details of their work see www.muslimhands.com

For more information on the United Nations "Water For Life Decade", please see:

http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/pdf/waterforlifebklt-e.pdf

The Charity

We've chosen to support Muslim Hands - United for the Needy - an International NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation) based in the United Kingdom.

Reg'd charity no. 1105056. Annual spending on charitably projects ~ £7m (in 40 countries)

You can contact the charity on 0115 911 7222; or email contact@muslimhands.org

Muslim Hands does not discriminate recipients on grounds of:

+ religion

+ race

+ ethnicity.

Muslim Hands is a signatory of "The Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement":