Latest NewsFlash Release

July 2010

The July 2010 NewsFlash:

- KP/Rotary do it again
- Catcote with _Space group sponsored bikes
- Wednesday Tea Parties

See below to view past news stories for 2010, or click here to see jole rider's previous NewsFlashes.

Previous News Articles

JUL2010		Are these people at KP nuts?
		KP and Rotary do it again The guys at KP transport are certainly not nuts! But CEO and Rotarian, Kevin Pitt and his guys do have hearts of GOLD. This week they moved another consignment of 120+ bikes all the way from Norfolk to Hullavington for us. And again fellow Rotarian Sandy and his able team from Thetford orchestrated the loading in Norfolk. We do think it's nuts though that so many bikes would otherwise have gone to waste. Heartfelt thanks go to KP and the team for chipping in to help. We're in this together, and, because of that another 120 children will get to school by bike in Africa. We say Bravo! Phil of KP [2nd from left] with our team We think their new bikes4Africa livery on the KP wagon really looks the business. We're also in the Pink [together] ! A fleet of special bikes have begun their journey to Sifoe School in The Gambia. The bikes had corporate pink badges stuck on last week by the fleet sponsors _space group, aided by teachers and students of Catcote College. The party from Hartlepool flew in specially for the day. Also there on the day were students and teachers from Abbeyfield and Corsham secondary schools. As part of the bike maintenance course "Young People - Fresh Choices" delivered by jole rider, the students have been preparing bikes4Africa. All these bikes were then loaded into our 19th sea container, along with books, pens, furniture and other school resources, all destined for our Learning Development Centre at Sifoe. _space group and Catcote are now tracking their bikes all the way to Sifoe, via our Shipping News page. Check out the progress of our container aboard the MV Helle Ritscher on the next leg of its transit from Felixstowe. _space group and Catcote will be staying in touch with the bikes and the young Gambians whose lives they will help change. The Catcote Team from Hartlepool in their PINKS! We offer special thanks to _space group for sponsoring this fleet of bikes. This makes such a difference, in so many ways. Could YOUR company sponsor a fleet of bikes for a school? Apart from the great PR and tremendous fun on the day, what an impact YOUR company could make on the young lives in Africa. Only 8 days 10 hours 8 minutes and 14 seconds left now [approximately] There’s still time – just – to take part in the Night Baton Relay to support bikes4Africa. Register your team here in our all-night bike ride for teams, families and groups of friends on Saturday 17 July at Hullavington Airfield. A Night Baton Relay Rider at Sunrise Wednesday Tea Parties Why not join us for a tea party at the Hullavington BikeStation every Wednesday afternoon! We are there from 3.00 pm until 7.00+pm: drinking tea, sorting bikes, drinking tea, sifting books, drinking tea, loading and unloading vans... If you think you might like to get involved then come along and join us for a cuppa! [we also have coffee] Terry wrestles with a bike between cups You can also buy a bike - or deliver your bike to us 4 Africa. It's not just about tea though - as you know already, it's really all about changing lives. Theirs and ours! Contact us for directions. Call4Help We wouldn’t be able to help people change their lives through education if people didn’t help! Driving our vans is just one of the ways in which people chip in. We have a fantastic team of enthusiastic drivers and other helpers – but we don’t want to wear them out. Can you help here? Perhaps you know someone else who can? Please Forward to a Friend Who do you know that believes Education Changes Lives? Please send them this NewsFlash. Special Thanks We would like to give special thanks to: All in our Loading Team last week Rotary Club of Goole Sandra of Thomas Cook Nick of Imaging Equipment Sunday School, St John's Church, Chilcompton Partnerships HM Prison Service This partnership is the keystone for bikes4Africa. The benefits the partnership derives, in Africa and the UK, are beyond measure. Rotary jole rider is proud to be an RIBI international project. Our Books4Africa project is one of Rotary's 7 literacy projects. The partnership is sponsored by The Rotary Club of The South Cotswolds. Gambian Department of Education This partnership helps support our infrastructure and effectiveness in The Gambia. Finally... Our Story Book Day project is gaining momentum. This is a wonderful project promoting reading and literacy among children at school - here in the UK as well as in Africa. The focus right now is on primary schools and if you are a teacher, or know one, take a look at Story Book Day in schools. There is a downloadable iPac on our Books4Africa page. That said, Story Book Day - in the Office, is a great way to have some fun in the gaps between the daily excitement at work. Call us for information on how this can work in YOUR office. Oh, and have you checked out William Kamkwamba? He's also on our Books4Africa page. Books changed his life, dramatically. With your involvement we can change many, many more. Have Your Say Thank you for taking the time to read our NewsFlash. We'd like to receive your views, thoughts and opinions! Written by the jole rider team

JUN2010		What Is It That Makes People Do This?
		Simon, Beth... and Gloria came too Battling the best of the British summer, [you know...the usual freezing temps, biting winds, relentless rain and some sun] a small but inspirational team rode nearly 400 miles to help children in Africa get to their school by bike. And it meant giving up the school half term holiday to do it! What is it that makes people do this??? Simon Jacklin and daughter Beth [11yrs] nursed sore bottoms and aching legs through the six days of their coast-to-coast trek, from Lowestoft [on the far right] to St David's [on the far left]. Simon and Beth are now fully recovered, although poor Gloria - their tandem - is in need of TLC after carrying them, and camping gear, over every torturous mile. Well done Gloria. We gather Beth wasn't so in love with you on day 6, but feels better about you now. We think you guys are just fantastic, especially Beth. Thank you from the team. [PS We love you all, support team and Gloria too!] Proof...we made it Read more of their terrific father and daughter story at their fundraising page: http://www.justgiving.co.uk/2sorebums Imagine, London to Paris By Bike 5 riders of all ages - and abilities - cycled from London to Paris to support jole rider's bikes4Africa programme. Nick Stevens, MD of Imaging Equipment in Paulton, Bristol led Vic Griffin, Paul Wakeling, Burt Collier and Dan Stevens on their 260 mile and three day Euroventure. Company colleagues were at the Eiffel Tower to cheer the guys when they arrived, having already raised enough to send a complete shipment of bikes4Africa. "Cycling with a real purpose felt absolutely great. I'd recommend anyone to get on their bike to help get children to school. Next up for us is the Night Baton Relay." Nick Nick and co, you are complete Eurostars! Thanks from us to the Famous Paris Five - The Night Ride should be a doddle for you guys now? The Famous Paris Five Find out more about how they did it at their fundraising page: http://www.justgiving.co.uk/imagingequipment The Beauty of Chain Reaction Well, it all started with a call to Pam. Pam clicked into gear and rang Kevin, followed by a call to Sandy. Phil at Center Parcs was running out of bike space and jole rider was running out of bikes. The Mission [nearly ImPossible] was to shift 170+ bikes from Center Parcs in Norfolk to jole rider in Wiltshire. Rotarian Kevin [Brad] Pitt, owner of KP Group, offered up the transport and Rotarian Sandy Witton organised the local loading party with fellow Rotarians and the A Team boys at Center Parcs. [And all this started with Rotarian Pam Watson-Jones] Later the same day, [and thanks to KP driver Phil King] 70 of the 170+ bikes arriving in Wiltshire were heading for jole rider's other partners, HMP Liverpool, for refurbishment. Thanks to all those involved. Sandy, the Center Parcs A Team and driver Phil What a great team effort! And Tom Cruise was not required - was he Brad? 37 days, 8 hours, 17 minutes and 25 seconds left - approximately Thinking about riding in the Night Baton Relay on Saturday 17 July? We ARE! Well, you can stop thinking now and register your team, by going here, in our all-night bike ride for teams, families and groups of friends at Hullavington Airfield. Just 5 of the dawn riders To be part of this event in support of bikes4Africa the minimum fundraising for each rider is just £100 [£50 for riders under 18] Quite reasonable really, to stay awake on a bike most of the night! If Beth can do it, so can you! Join TEAM360, our team riding a tandem 360 man-miles in the Night Baton Relay.

MAY2010		You Were Stranded Where?
		Stranded Here... Now imagine this. You’re in The Gambia. You’ve just heard that the students and teachers have arrived home safely after their African Xperience trip... You’ve taken down all the tents and collected up the buckets... You’re now settling down for a much-deserved rum and coke, admiring the scene - a deserted tropical white beach, where there are usually more cows than people. When... you discover that a curious ash cloud has paralysed every airport in the northern hemisphere. Really?... With rescue uncertain, all you can do is sit tight where you are, and - somehow - make the best of it! Sometimes in life you can be dealt that card of good fortune. And, sometimes life can get even better than that! What a place to relax, work and plan for shipment No 18 - and beyond [assuming we do get rescued - but from what, we asked?]. Learning Development Centre Sifoe School - The Gambia On tue13apr10, and pre-ash cloud, a mini-conference took place at jole rider's Centre. Teachers attended from a number of schools in the Centre's catchment area. Also there were 16 students and teachers from Abbeyfield School in Chippenham and representatives from English Martyrs School in Hartlepool, no less! Left to right: Sam [do see his blog], Saidu, Helen, Boyo The purpose of this first international event was to raise awareness of how the LDC will boost education, and that is by: enabling students and teachers to access first-class books and education resources; arranging inspirational programmes supporting in-school learning and development; promoting a new two-way education facility through UK-African school partnerships. We are now looking forward to the conference later in this academic year. Loading 18 On wed28apr10 our 6000th bike was loaded into our 18th container for Africa. Thank you to St Mary’s Primary School in Tetbury, who donated classroom furniture. St Mary’s will also be taking part soon in Story Book Day, to deliver story books to Africa. DCC Rob and David [now rescued] at Loading 18 Thanks from our whole team go to Six Acres [of Taunton], Spokes and Kidderminster College, [both of Kidderminster] St Gregory The Great School [Oxford] and HM Prison Swansea on the day, for their company, their refurbished bikes4Africa and particularly their help in the 4hr loading process. It was really great to see you guys! Special thanks also go to DCC Rob Beckley and the Avon & Somerset Constabulary. The police force are now routing bikes to the programme from across the whole division. The positive effect of this partnership will be felt both by prisoners here in the UK and children in Africa. "This programme really does change lives, and Avon and Somerset Police is very proud to be part of such a fantastic organisation." DCC Rob Beckley. Night Baton Relay Sat 17 Jul \| Sun 18 Jul 2010 jole rider’s all-night bike ride for teams, families and groups of friends at Hullavington Airfield in Wiltshire. It is a Fun Fundraising bike ride in support of the bikes4Africa programme - getting children to school by bike. The minimum fundraising we are asking each rider to do is just £100. The target however is £200 per rider, or £1000 per team of 5 [half these figures for riders under 18yrs] To find out more and to join the event, book here. If you would like to join the ride, but don't have a team, then join our TEAM360 on Tandem. This is our team of riders riding our tandem to cover 360 man-miles on the night. We look forward to welcoming you and your team for the weekend!

APR2010		The Power of Young People !
		Foxhills Foxhills Junior School in Hampshire celebrated World Book Day by having a ‘Wear Your Comfy Clothes To School’ day. The children brought their favourite books from home into school and took part in special reading sessions throughout the day for which each child paid £1. And the reason... The children raised nearly £300 to send 540 books, most released from their school library, to African schools through jole rider’s Books4Africa project. Books were also donated by the children from their own collections at home. Bouba reading the Jungle Book in Gambia "All of us at Foxhills are excited to hear what happens when the books arrive in Africa. We hope the children there enjoy reading them as much as we have!" Sharon - School Librarian St Mary's St Mary’s in Tetbury, Gloucestershire is the latest primary school to join in jole rider's “Story Book Day - in Schools.” St Mary's has recently received new furniture, and so have desks and chairs they no longer need. jole rider will deliver the furniture to schools in The Gambia where children don't always have chairs to sit on. To help get the furniture there, pupils and teachers will take part in Story Book Day, and have fun exploring stories and storybooks, over the next few months. They will learn, at special assemblies, about children’s lives in Africa and find out how they can make a real difference for them through education - just by bringing in one or two story books from home with 50pence with each title. The funds the pupils raise will send the school’s furniture, along with the books they collect, to schools in The Gambia. These two schools are showing how young people can make a real difference in our world. Working together and learning through stories, they show the power they have to change the lives of children, just like them. We say "Believe, and they will show us!" Why not get your local school taking part in Story Book Day? Night Baton Relay 2010 jole rider's All Night Baton Relay - on bikes - on Hullavington Airfield in Wiltshire, starts at 8pm on sat17jul and finishes 12 hours later with a BIG Breakfast at 8am on sun18jul. Teams of up to 5 riders take turns to carry their team baton around the flat, smooth, traffic free circuit. It is not a race, but there is competition to see which teams can clock up the most laps over the 12 hours. Throughout the night there will be a campfire, live African music, a hog roast, and a magical atmosphere for the hundreds of people riding with a single goal: to get African children to school... by bike. Find out more Have my eyes gone funny? We raised over £11000 last time and we aim to do even better this time! So with your help, we can make this our most successful event to date. But places are limited so we suggest you register early. Enter yourself, and your team - for your company, club, school or group of mates by registering now! We look forward to seeing you there! Cogs in a Well-Oiled Machine On wed24mar we loaded container no17 outside the Dover Immigration Removal Centre. The Centre is run by the Prison Service and is a major contributor to the bikes4Africa programme. Dover IRC is the main cog in a unique machine that involves a number of different parties. Kent Police and Kent County Council contribute bicycles to the programme, as well as members of the Dover and wider community. Keying into Dover’s European links, bicycles even get delivered in by volunteers from Luxembourg. Detainees, as they are called at Dover IRC, have a brand new bike workshop in which the bikes are refurbished and the standard of the bikes being produced is testament to how successful the programme is working, both inside and out! All this means that the Centre and the programme in Dover is self-sufficient in bikes, with bikes collected locally and shipped locally. Not only is this a major plus for children and education in The Gambia, but also a major plus for recycling in Kent and not least, skills training among the men detained at Dover. This was the third container to be loaded outside the gatehouse at Dover, aided by Centre staff John, Jason, Steve and others plus volunteer inmates from the resettlement prison in north Kent, Standford Hill.

MAR2010		Who needs a school in a box?
		Books Change Lives Story books and educational resources have started to arrive on the shelves of our new Learning Development Centre at Sifoe in The Gambia. Bravo and well done to all those who have helped us make this happen. The Centre, however, still needs heaps more books and classroom resources of all kinds. And with them, quite literally, it can change many thousands of lives. Lives of children at Sifoe and at all the schools in the Centre's catchment area. We also need to raise £6,000. This is to fund the shipment of a huge consignment of donated furniture - all perfect for our Centre and other Gambian schools. The desks, chairs and bookshelves will fill 2 sea containers, but will still leave enough space to pack in masses of books and learning resources. Help us to get this School in a Box to Sifoe. Bikes Change Lives I've been involved with jole rider for 3 years now; collecting bikes, fixing them up and packing them into vans and containers. Each time I watch the truck disappear into the distance I get a warm feeling inside - knowing that in a few weeks loads of kids in Gambia will be overjoyed at receiving a bike and the promise of an education. But I've always wanted to see it all for myself… So in February I joined David and English Martyrs School [EMS] from Hartlepool for 7 days in Gambia. I spent time with Boyo Touray (jole rider's local director) and his team of engineers, including Lamin and Mama. I'm an engineer myself and, 3500miles from my own family, I was on home ground here. We did some training and talked about the challenge of keeping 5000 plus bikes on the road. Also, with the help of our EMS students, we prepared the latest consignment of bikes for hand-over to schools. It was wonderful to be in the middle of nowhere in Abdou's bus - bouncing down a track in the heat - seeing kids on bikes. Not just one or two - but loads. And it's like this everywhere in Gambia now. jole rider is getting kids to school - on a massive scale. The whole thing works so well. With more funding, it's very clear, so much more can happen, and happen even better. What struck me in particular was how much the whole community appreciate what jole rider is doing for education, and all simply through books and bikes. I was at the BikeStation one morning and a boy came in. He explained that he had been loaned a jole rider bike and that he prayed every day for jole rider. He no longer has a mammouth walk to school, he now gets there by bike. Anthony J Raybould [or AJ] [also now known as Alhaji Touray] Help us get more kids to school by bike A first! 27 EMS students and staff of Hartlepool left their homes in the frozen north and travelled to Africa with jole rider... and 27 came back. It's the first time that's happened! We've never had such a LARGE party. And what a party it was too. We all had a fabulous time getting to grips with the local language, and getting immersed in Gambian culture with tribal dances and music. We met village elders, were made welcome in a family compound and spent time at partner school, Darsilami UBS, for several days of activities. The students also got hands-on with our programmes. Gender is funny - boys opted to turn handlebars and put pedals back on bikes, and at the Centre in Sifoe, the girls unpacked and shelved books during the school's 3rd Africa Xperience trip. 27 Xperience seekers helped change lives in The Gambia - and they changed their own too. Our Gambian friends and the two schools are already looking forward to reuniting at the same time next year. And if you are up for it, you don't have to be at school to join up with us and get hands-on in The Gambia. We are now inviting returnees, gap year students, grown-up gappers, and anyone else who'd like an adventure of a lifetime, to join us in The Gambia for a jole rider Africa Xperience, changing lives. Find out how on our TAX page. Boyo on Radio Listen to Boyo talking about the bike programme on BBC Radio Wiltshire

FEB2010		Welcome to our Team, Rotary!
		Great news! jole rider's Education project, in support of bikes4Africa and Books4Africa, has been accepted by Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland as one of their 16 preferred projects. This is an opportunity to ask the thousands of Rotary Clubs around the country to support our work by collecting bikes and books in their local communities, with the funding so they can be delivered to African schools where children need them. Two students learning to maintain the bikes they ride to school We will keep you up to to date with Rotary’s support in future NewsFlashes. The Rotary contact, and now part of our team, is Ray Sanderson of the Rotary Club of the South Cotswolds. Ray's contact details are: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it If you’d like to help us collect bikes and books and move them to our main base at Hullavington, Wiltshire [or you know someone who might!] please get in touch. the africa Xperience As you read this, David is in The Gambia with a group of students and teachers from English Martyrs School & Sixth Form College. They are spending a week experiencing the rich Gambian culture, visiting schools that jole rider works with and helping with bikes4Africa, Books4Africa and The Learning Development Project. David will be back in the last week of February and we will tell you all about the trip in our March NewsFlash.

JAN2010		Who Would Do This?
		On wed30dec09 we loaded our 16th container at our hangar on Hullavington Airfield. This makes a total of 5 shipments for 2009 and nearly 2000 bikes delivered for the year. We were joined on the day by Frank Pratt from the bike workshop at HM Prison Cardiff, Ray Sanderson from the Rotary Club of the South Cotswolds, and a whole raft of new volunteers. Mei says (comfortably seated) "Thank you for coming!" Home-made soup and crusty bread, along with industrial quantities of tea and coffee, helped our fantastic team pack in 400 refurbished bikes, more than a thousand school books and 20,000 pens. We also loaded furniture to equip our Learning Development Centre at Sifoe, The Gambia, West Africa, and tools which Gambian school students will refurbish and sell in the local community. We will keep you informed of how all these resources are changing lives for African children, through our newsflashes. Thanks to Phil, our DHL driver, for giving this young man his highlight of the day... and his son Jack! Who would do this? You have to ask, why would anyone turn out on a bitterly cold damp day to spend several hours packing a container? The answer is, Bikes Change Lives. A great big Thank You to everyone who was there on Loading Day, but especially Gillian and Sue, our lovely cooks who kept all our tummies warm.