A Schedule of Our 2012 Bike Donations in Africa

Our 2012 Bike Donations In Africa

The Tour d'Afrique Foundation Donates Bikes to Health Workers and Outreach Organizations Across Africa

Below is a list of our 2012 Bike Donations in Africa.  The list is a work in progress and changes may be made but this should give you some idea about the recipients and the dates of the ceremonies.  More up to date information about each donation will be provided to you on tour.  

If you are fundraising for the Tour d’Afrique Foundation these are the organizations and projects that your efforts will support.  If you have questions or would like more information about any of these project please email us at info@tourdafrique.com

2011 Donation In Gondar, Ethiopia

Riders Pooled their money and in addition to bikes, donated school uniforms

Gondar,  Ethiopia

Date: Sunday, Feb 12, 2012
Time: 9 am - 12 pm, including coffee ceremony
Partner Organization: LINK Ethiopia
Bikes donated to: TBD

Link Ethiopia is a charity working to support education in Ethiopia and to increase cultural awareness between young people in Ethiopia and the UK.  

Details:
This is a special donation ceremony organized by 2010 Rider Tony Nester who has worked with the school for the past 5 years. Riders will be picked up from the hotel at 9 am and taken to Arbatu Ensesa School where the donation ceremony will Occur.  Bikes will be donated through LINK Ethiopia and school uniforms will be handed out to students of the school.  Ceremony will include a tour of the schools (they have a really neat garden), an exhibition football match with the kids and a Traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony.

Read more about Link Ethiopia here: http://www.linkethiopia.org/index.html

2011 Bike Donation in Bahir Dar

Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
Date:  February 14, 2011
Time: Tuesday Feb 14th, 2012
Partner Organization: Anti Malaria Association (AMA)
Bikes donated to: AMA

Use of Bikes:   Bikes will be donated to AMA’s health outreach workers.  Health outreach workers provide basic health services and health education to the underserved populations in the Bahir Dar area.  

Anti Malaria Association:  AMA is a non-partisan, non-religious, indigenous NGO committed to empower the community in order to improving the health status of the very poor. Focus is on preventing the spread and mitigating the impacts of malaria, HIV/AIDS and other major communicable diseases and providing reproductive health services through it's outreach programs.

Details:  This ceremony will take place the day the tour arrives in Bahir Dar at our Hotel.   TdA will be donating bikes to AMA so they may reach more people in their health outreach efforts.

Learn more about AMA here: http://www.amaethio.org/

Wheels of Africa Bike Outreach with Kids

Nairobi, Kenya

Date: March 11,2012 Time: 9 am - 11 pm.  
Partner Organizations: Wheels of Africa, Great Rift Valley Development Agency (GRVDA), Bikes donated to:  Arrow Web Hospital, others TBD

Use of Bikes:  
Bikes will be donated to Arrow Web Hospitals heath outreach workers who provide basic medial services and much needs health education in the Kayole-Soweto Slum of Nairobi.  Arrow Web outfits each bike with a hospital sign and a rear rack to carry a basic medical kit.  

Out First Income Generation Project: 

Wheels of Africa (WoA) is a Nairobi based bike charity formed to champion the culture of cycling in Africa.  They host various cycling events, teach cycling at local schools and provide bike mechanic services through their Bike Doctors program.  

For the past year we have been working with WoA to organize a shipment of bicycles to Nairobi so they can start a community bike shop. The bikes arrived last week and we look forward to visiting the shop on tour.


Details of the Donation Ceremony:
Usually one of our larger donation ceremonies, details for this ceremony are still being worked out but most likely it will be held at our camp in Nairobi on the rest day.  Bike donations will be made to Arrow Web Hospital and at least one other Nairobi based organization.  

Learn More about Wheels of Africa here: http://www.wheelsofafrica.or.ke/
Learn More about Arrow Web Hospital: http://arrowkenya.org/



Livingstone, Zambia:

Date: April 14, 2012
Time: TBD
Partner Organizations:
Safari Par Excellence (SafPar), The Happy Africa Foundation (THAF), African Impact

Bikes Donated to: TBD

The Happy Africa Foundation supports community and conservation projects in eastern and southern Africa.  Bikes will be donated to THAF for distribution to Home Based Care Workers that they organization supports.

African Impact helped to establish the Happy Africa Foundation Foundation and provides much of the charity’s resources, in terms of staff, logistical support and its administration at all of its projects.

Safari Par Excellence operates the Zambezi Waterfront where the donation ceremony will be held as helps up to organize the donation ceremony.

Details:
Details for this donation ceremony are still being organized.

More about Safpar: http://www.safpar.net/
More about THAF: http://happyafricafoundation.org/
More about African Impact: http://happyafricafoundation.org/our-partners/african-impact/

4 Pieces of Unconventional Travel Wisdom From an Unconventional Guy

Image by Tour d'Afrique via Flickr

A guest post by my Co-worker, Miles McDonald:

With the end of the year coming I’ve made a pre-emptive New Years resolution.  I am going to better the world.  How?  By sharing some travel wisdom accrued over the last 20 years as a traveller and as Tour Guide for Tour d'Afrique.  

It pains me to part with this wisdom, but in the end the knowledge is greater than any one person and should be shared.  



On Speaking the Language:

• If you don't understand what someone is saying to you in a foreign language, just smile and nod your head as if you do understand, and reply in your own language about whatever you think they may be saying.  Never admit that you don't understand.

On Getting Lost:

• If you have arrived somewhere you never planned to go simply pretend that it was always your destination and act relaxed.  Never admit that you don't know where you are.

One Eating:

•  If you are unsure of cultural norms while sitting to eat with locals, simply say you are not hungry and refuse to eat.  Never admit that you do not know the local customs.

On Meeting other Travelers:

• If another foreigner asks you for information, pretend you are a local and that you do not understand them.  Never admit that you are a foreigner.

Some people may think there should be at least 10 tips above, and if you’re one of those people, I suggest you add your own travel tips to the list and re-post this.  

Miles

A Bunch of Random Tips for the Silk Route Bike Tour in No Particular Order

Image via Wikipedia

I learned a lot of things on my scouting trip to China.  Here is a random assortment you may find helpful if you are joining us on our Silk Route Bike Tour. These tips obviously apply to China. I'll share some tips for the other 6 countries we'll be riding through later on.



-Shanghai has two Airports.  One is largely domestic, the other largely international (but not exclusively).  Be sure you know which one you fly into because they are 30 km apart.  

-Most of our hotels in China do not have laundry service.  Local laundries require 24 hours to wash your clothes.  

-Don’t ever stop in middle of a road/bike path, unless you are fond of being run over by an electric scooter. 

-Bring a bell or horn.  A really loud one. Also bring mirror and handlebar bag that has a map case.

-Wean yourself off of coffee before coming.  Get used to drinking tea.  

-Carry the name of each hotel we stay in written in Mandarin with you each day. Believe me, at some point this will save your ass. Especially if you follow the advice at the end of this list.

-Internet in most of the hotels we stay in is cable only, no wifi, so iPad and Mac Air users are out of luck 

-If you enter your hotel and the lights don’t work it is because you didn’t insert your key card into the automatic cut off switch at the door.  

-Hotels charge for dirty towels and sheets.  A lot. They will check your room thoroughly before you check out. So don't clean your bike with a towel and don't steal anything.

Image via Wikipedia

-SIM cards and phones are cheap in Shanghai, you should plan on getting one. 

-Every time you take a cab take picture the cab’s ID and phone number, just in case you forget something.

-You will have to carry your bags upstairs at most hotels in china so pack accordingly.

-Always carry Toilet paper. (this is a good rule for all our tours actually).

-If you don’t like noodles, I hope you like rice.

Image via Wikipedia

-Drink bottled water or boiled water.  A lot of the water is not safe to drink.

-Learn to use chopsticks. Long chopsticks were easier for me to use than short ones. Wooden ones were easier to use than plastic or metal. I've heard the reusable plastic chopsticks restaurants use are rarely cleaned well so its best to use the disposable ones or bring your own.

-Buy a filter mask for dust and smog (if you have allergies or asthma take extra precautions)

-No skinny tires.  All tires should be 28mm or wider.  You've been warned.

And Finally: Get lost.  It’s fun and China is very safe and fun to explore.  Just get found again before I have to come looking for you!

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Well there you go. I told you they were assorted!  More coherent info about preparing for the Silk Route Bike Tour coming soon, including a food decoder and some awesome language tips.  

Been to China? Have some tips of your own? Love to hear them in the comments.
Paul