Ian Locker, founder and Managing Director of leading wind farm solutions provider ZephIR Lidar, will start a 500km cycle ride across central Kenya later this year to raise awareness for Child.org as part of ‘Ride Africa’. The trip will raise funding for development projects that transform the lives of children, and support research into effective methods of community development in Africa.
To donate, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/ride-africa-2023
From 10th November 2018, Ian Locker will join a team of 75 cyclists to ride an epic 500 km in six days from the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to the rural town of Meru. Ian will be taking on the journey in aid of Child.org. 100% of donations raised will go directly to the charity and all personal expedition costs will be paid directly by Ian.
The Kenya 2018 ride will take Ian and the other cyclists through the diverse Kenyan landscape, including the country’s bustling cities, vast plains, national parks, lakes teeming with wildlife and a grueling climb to the base of Mount Kenya.
Ian said: “Our last day will be spent in rural Meru, where I’ll discover first-hand how Child.org is transforming the lives of children in the region by empowering mothers and grandmothers. This day, in particular, is important to me as it will offer first-hand experience of the tremendous work the Child.org charity does in Africa.”
Child.org is a small, innovative charity that aims to break down the barriers to child equality. The charity are passionate about research and development, and gather robust evidence with every programme they fund. This ensures every penny is spent effectively and provides useful information for the wider international development community.
Carrie Murphy from Child.org said: “The money raised by Ian, ZephIR Lidar and all involved in the Ride for Africa: Kenya 2018 will help us to fund new projects to improve the lives of children in some of the world’s poorest regions. It will also provide valuable insight to drive effective community development. We’re particularly excited about the potential to expand our baby box project for the young mums of Nairobi, where we’re gathering evidence to determine whether baby boxes can be effective in encouraging new mums to attend postnatal care appointments. One in 26 babies in Kenya don’t survive to see their first birthday – we can change that.”
Ride Africa: Ghana 2016 ride raised £220,000 and helped Child.org to expand and scale. Its flagship school health programme, HealthStart. HealthStart aims to break the cycle of poverty by ensuring children living in poverty don’t miss out on an education due to poor health. Child.org work with schools to provide a full spectrum of health services ranging from family planning and life skills education to clean drinking water, toilets, deworming treatments and malaria nets.
Carrie added: “All the evidence suggests that tackling just one problem, such as the lack of clean water, in a school simply isn’t enough to make a meaningful long term difference to school attendance and educational attainment. By fully addressing the health needs of children, Child.org take a step closer to helping these communities eradicate poverty for good.”
A keen cyclist, Ian is looking forward to taking part in the ride, and added: “Our ZephIR Lidar wind monitoring systems assist in the development of renewable energy generation across the world. They thrive in a diverse range of challenging environments, from desert conditions in Abu Dhabi to Finland’s Arctic landscape! I, on the other hand, am more used to cycling through the Herefordshire countryside. So, I hope I can draw on some of the ZephIR systems’ resilience to help me on the 500km ride. ”
ENDS
