Down Right Kenya
6,000 miles by bicycle to East Africa, for rural Kenyan schools
Down Right Kenya is a cycle ride in aid of a charity that supports schools in rural Kenya. Three teams of cyclists headed across Europe, hanging a right through the Middle East, and carried on down through Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopea and into northern Kenya. The latest news from the teams is below – but do also browse through the links on the right though to find out more about the ride and check out the route and daily reports on the map. Oh – and don’t forget to visit the sponsorship page to show your support!
About Down Right Kenya
Where are you off to?
Oh…down a bit, right a bit…
Down Right Kenya is the UK to East Africa bicycle rally that left Cambridge on the 20th September 2008 on a 6,000-mile journey in aid of rural Kenyan schools.
The ride aims to raise £60,000 – enough to build a primary school for 700 children – for the remarkable charity ‘Harambee Schools Kenya’ (HSK) which supports education for poor local communities.
This epic adventure will take up to 6 months of constant cycling, with riders grouped in small, unsupported teams who decide their own route – down and right – to Kenya. The teams are also taking part in a hectic schedule of school visits to raise essential awareness and funds.
Each rider is personally raising £3,000 for the charity, as well as funding their own costs and assisting with all aspects of planning the rally.
The rally is ongoing as you read this, please use the web site to find out where all the teams are, what they have been getting up too, and kindly donate a few quid if you are inspired to do so, thank you!
About HSK
HSK is a truly remarkable charity that builds and equips primary and secondary schools in dejected areas of rural Kenya. Underlying all its work is the belief that, more than any other factor, it is education that gives impoverished communities the hope and skills to improve their lot.
HSK strongly deserves our support because:
It has essentially no running costs. Every penny raised goes directly to a project. For a UK based charity operating in East Africa, this is exceptional.
It knows its job inside out. Whether dealing with government ministers or local street boys, HSK understands education. To be precise: Kenyan education, with Kenyan solutions.
It is a community charity. The same battered Landrover transports bags of cement, pregnant women, tin-sheet roofing and the school football team. Sometimes there isn’t room for the cement!
Its impact is astonishing. HSK can build and equip a school for 600 children for the UK equivalent of one years’ wage. Whether that builds a primary or secondary school depends on your salary.
For further information about HSK or for information on other current fundraising projects relating to HSK, please visit their website at www.hsk.org.uk
Please support the superb work that HSK does in Kenya by helping us to raise £60,000 to build a new school for 700 primary children.
To donate securely through the JustGiving site, click here.
Or you can choose to donate to an individual rider (each of whom will be rasing £3,000) by following their team link on the right hand sidebar.
If you’d prefer to pay by cheque, then please make it payable to ‘Harambee Schools Kenya’ and mail to:
David Ashwanden, HSK Treasurer
Butts Legh, School Lane, Cookham, Berkshire SL6 9QJ
Our Patron
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu (born 7 October 1931) is a South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. In 1984, Tutu became the second South African to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Tutu was elected and ordained the first black South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, and primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa). Tutu chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and is currently the chairman of The Elders. Tutu is vocal in his defence of human rights and uses his high profile to campaign for the oppressed. Tutu also campaigns to fight AIDS, poverty and racism. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism, and the Gandhi Peace Prize in 2007.
“Down Right Kenya is an exciting and innovative project to help rural communities build schools and improve education standards. Education is a fundamental human right and is the best way of eradicating poverty. Support Down Right Kenya enthusiastically and generously. You won’t ever regret it.”
Desmond Mpilo Tutu