Victoria Grandmothers For Africa 275K Cycle Tour 2019

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Friday, September 7th, 2018
Campbell River 8 am Friday - Victoria 3 pm Sunday

For the 13th consecutive year, the Victoria Grandmothers for Africa will sponsor a 275 km bicycle tour which begins at the Campbell River Rotary Beach Park. We have welcomed many new cyclists this year!

Riders will gather at 8:30 on Friday morning Sept 6th and ride south to Victoria over the next 3 days. We are accommodated with lunches and snacks by the many Grandmother groups along the way and stay in motels/hotels for overnights. The weekend is completed with a “ride in” ceremony at Centennial Square. You will recognize us by our colourful team jerseys of yellow, green, and orange stripes.

Riders are senior women 55+ and it is fascinating to hear their personal stories for taking on the commitment and training to ride and raise funds for the Stephen Lewis Foundation.The difficulty and challenge of the ride pales in comparison to, but provides a sense of solidarity with, the endless hard work done by African grandmothers. In addition to the time they invest in training and fund raising, all riders and support persons pay their own expenses for accommodation and meals. Every penny of funds raised by the cycle tour is forwarded to the Stephen Lewis Foundation to be used for African grandmothers.

African grandmothers are central to the life of their communities. With almost no support, they have stepped forward to care for millions of children orphaned by AIDS, sometimes as many as ten to fifteen in one household. They display astonishing reserves of love, courage and emotional resilience, even while grieving the loss of their own adult children.

The Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) delivers resources directly into the hands of the community organizations turning the tide of HIV and AIDS in Africa. SLF has partnered with more than 300 community-based organizations and over 1,400 innovative and inspiring initiatives have been successfully undertaken with proven measures of success in the 15 African countries hardest hit by the AIDS pandemic. Resources from the Campaign are invested directly at the community level, with organizations that provide grandmothers and the children in their care with supports that include food, educational supplies, uniforms and school fees, medical care, HIV counselling and testing, adequate housing and bedding, counselling and support groups, home visits, income generation, treatment adherence and much more.