Bikes for Everyone

Windhoek, Namibia - When all was said and done, I managed to raise more than $4000 for BEN-Namibia. This is thanks to the incredible generosity of my family and friends and a few strangers too. I was so grateful for this outpouring of support, and it was one of the things that kept me pedaling all those miles and miles!

Right before I started the ride, I received this note from Michael Linke, the director of BEN-Namibia:

Michael Linke wrote:

Hi Mara,

That's amazing! You're an incredible fundraiser, and this news has made my day! I'm cc'ing Clarisse here, as I'm off to Canada today so it would be best to communicate with her if you need to do any follow up before you arrive. We can allocate more bicycles with the money you have raised (TDA is funding 60) we should be able to deliver around 44 more. This includes assembling the bikes with the healthcare volunteers and providing them with tools and training in bike mechanics.

We hope to have representatives from the organisations receiving bikes attend the handover ceremony (though many are more than 1,000km from Windhoek). The bikes themselves are still on the way from China, but we'll have a few of the same model on display on the day. We'll certainly give you reports and photos so you can feed back to your supporters.

Thanks again, and enjoy the ride!

Michael

PS we can certainly find a good home for your bike, thanks very much.

As Michael mentioned, the Tour d'Afrique foundation also provided some funding to donate bikes to BEN, so there was a small "ceremony" in Windhoek. It was actually more of a meeting, as there were only a few people present. But it did give me an opportunity to meet a few representatives from the organizations that will be receiving the bikes. These NGOs operate in the distant corners of rural Namibia - one providing outreach and support for disabled individuals, and another providing treatment and education for HIV/AIDS patients. I am pictured here with the two NGO reps, as well as Henry Gold, the founder and director of the Tour d'Afrique.

I also said goodbye to my own trusty bike. It was a rather sentimental moment, as my baby Bianchi has been with me for about 15 years. She was one of the first gifts that Jerry ever bought for me when we first started dating. And now she had carried me almost 1000 miles across the deserts and deltas of southern Africa. But I could think of no more fitting finish than to turn her over to some volunteer or health care worker, who will continue to ride her for years to come.