Two weeks ago I packed up my ageing bicycle, boarded a plane
to Kigali and joined 12 others to cycle round Rwanda. It was the biggest challenge I’ve ever taken on and if I chatted to you beforehand I’d have told you.... I was nervous.

It was to involve cycling more than 500 miles in seven days across Africa’s hilliest country and if you were to put all the hills on top of each other we were to climb 50,000 ft. That’s more than one and half times the height of Everest.

Was this a horrible mistake? Would bike and body last the trip?

Well, the long and the short, is that I and my bike are back in one piece. We did make it round and while this might be late in the day, with levels of jeopardy diminished, I’m writing to invite you to give to the charity Great Lakes Outreach (GLO) I’m supporting.

GLO was set up by Simon Guillebaud, who moved with his family to Burundi 18 years ago to see the country transformed. Today it remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world (so dangerous we couldn't cycle round it and chose neighbouring - though hillier - Rwanda instead) but through GLO, Simon has identified and supports some of the countries brightest and highest integrity social entrepreneurs to do transforming work. 

Specifically, our ride is supporting:

• Burundi Bio-Agricultural Communities (BBAC) which imports pregnant high-yield cross-bred Friesen cows from Tanzania. The major benefit of the imported cows is that they produce around 10 times as much milk as Burundian cows. The initiative has radically transformed 400 families' lives, helped kick-start the local economy, and the children who had been looking after the cows 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 a Christian education emphasising leadership, character, and integrity. See www.gitegainternationalacademy.org for more info.
• New Generation, a street kids project. NGB runs a Road to School program helping street children catch up on the years of schooling many have missed. It provides accommodation for 35 street children and has recently built a new Kids Centre where the children eat their meals, do their homework, and relax. A big project for 2017 will be expanding New Generation’s streetwork. The team of streetworkers has been increased from 1 to 3, and the aim is to help the hundreds of children living on the streets of Bujumbura who NGB cannot afford to feed and accommodate in their Road to School programme. 

So please do give. Your generosity will go a long, long way in Burundi!

Please note: 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 LakesOutreach and will go directly to the charity. The trip costs (flights, accommodation, food, other expenses etc) are paid by ourselves.

Thank you so, so much!