Thursday 26 March 2015

These Children Need Your Help

A video to remind you of one of the main aims of the ride - raising money to help disadvantaged children in parts of the developing world through the charity CHALLENGEAID.  People sometimes ask me what has been the biggest challenge I have faced while doing my ride, but I can confidently say that absolutely nothing compares with the challenges these children face on a day by day basis.
ChallengeAid particularly supports children in the appalling slums of Nairobi in Kenya, including Kibera the second largest slum in Africa, and Korogocho, a newer but infinitely more lawless, dangerous and thus deprived slum.
A main drive is the 'Schools of Hope' programme, which provides a safe environment and opportunity for pupils to study in the evening. This is particularly important in communities where many families are child-led due to HIV or other factors.  Children in such families may not be able to attend school at regular hours, and would otherwise fail to receive the education they need to help them escape the stifling poverty they live in.
Apart from these obvious factors, why should you support ChallengeAid rather than other similar charities?
Firstly all administration costs (such as for this video) are covered by separate sponsorship, so any money donated goes directly to the projects supported.
Secondly there is a focus on designing the projects to be ultimately self-sustainable, so financial input is tapered over a few years to leave working self supported projects.  Participants are encouraged to help themselves, unlike many knee-jerk projects one encounters.

You can donate online via my JUSTGIVING page.  I am reliably informed by Justgiving that it is possible to donate in dollars from Canada!