All,

 

Uchenna and Ahmed will be cycling from London to Paris on 22 August 2014 to 

a) Raise awareness on the need for African unity and for people of different ethnic groups to live in harmony  

b)  Raise money for the Africa Educational Trust to help children and young people from conflict-affected regions of Africa access education and training. 

 

What we are doing

 

We would be cycling from London to Paris on 22 August 2014 over three days.

 

Why we are cycling?

 

In Africa we live our lives daily through the tainted prism of intra tribalism within countries and inter tribalism across countries with great fanfare. Unfortunately, in many parts of Africa, members of the different ethnic groups find it difficult to live together. In 21^st century Africa, tribalism still plays a destructive role. It is very common for a member of a particular ethic group to predict, presume or justify the action of another tribe based on some historic stereotype that has been passed down flippantly from one generation to another. Most of the wars taking place in Africa are founded on tribalism, painted on tribalism and cemented on tribalism. These wars have lead to the death of millions of innocent souls.

 

We believe tribalism is the cancer inflicting all African countries and it is hindering the development of many countries on the African continent. Tribalism is preventing cooperation amongst diverse tribes in a lot of African countries and cooperation amongst African countries. In other words, tribalism is a weapon of mass destruction and the root of all evils in Africa.

 

Uche and Ahmed come from 2 distinct ethnic groups in Nigeria. Uche is from the Igbo ethnic group in Eastern Nigeria and Ahmed is from the Yoruba ethnic group in West Nigeria. Ahmed and Uche are good friends who met during a CFA networking event organised by the CFA Institute in London in 2006. The purpose of this ride is to promote greater solidarity and cooperation among all tribes in Africa and raise funds for the Africa Educational Trust .  To that end we are cycling from London to Paris on the 22nd of August over 3 days.

 

We hope our campaign highlights the urgent need for Africans to break the jinx of division by imaginary differences fanned by tribalistic jingoism within our countries and across the continent.

 

It is  time for us Africans to look beyond the narrow confine of ethnicity and see ourselves as one. A wise man by the name of Kwame Nkrumah once said, "Africa is one continent, one people, and one nation. The notion that in order to have a nation it is necessary for there to be a common language, a common territory and common culture has failed to stand the test of time or the scrutiny of scientific definition of objective reality."  In other words, Nkrumah was rephrasing the words of Apostle Paul, by implicitly arguing that there is neither Yoruba nor Igbo, Zulu nor Xhosa, Shona nor Lemba, Kikuyu nor Luo; Tutsi nor Hutu for we are all one.

 

About Africa Educational Trust

 

Africa Educational Trust (AET) has helped over 750,000 disadvantaged children and young people from Africa to access education and training. AET specialises in developing creative, innovative approaches to providing access to learning in these challenging environments. Much of its current work takes place in South Sudan, Somalia and Uganda.

 

Why your support is so important

 

Through your contribution, you are helping young people in conflict regions of Africa have access to education.

 

How to donate

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. It's easy to donate online with a credit or debit card - just go to our JustGiving page:

 

https://www.justgiving.com/UcheAhmed-CycleForAfrica

 

JustGiving sends your donation straight to Africa Educational Trust and automatically reclaims Gift Aid if you're a UK taxpayer, so your donation is worth even more. We hope you'll join us in supporting Africa Educational Trust.

 

Is it secure?

 

Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

 

So please dig deep and donate now!

 

If you believe in the cause - please circulate  to your contacts

 

Give generously!

 

Many thanks.

 

 

Uche Ndu, CFA                                                           

Ahmed Sule, CFA