Victoria Grandmothers For Africa 50K Cycle Tour 2019

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Sunday, September 9th, 2018
10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

For the 6th consecutive year, the Victoria Grandmothers for Africa will sponsor a one-day, 50km bicycle tour which starts on the Saanich Peninsula and ends at Centennial Square to celebrate together with cyclists who are finishing the longer 3-day tour from Campbell River to Victoria. We have already welcomed many new cyclists this year! We have women from 55 to 80! This is a great way to get involved and enjoy group training rides in preparation.

Riders will gather at 10:00 on Sunday morning, September 8th, ride to Centennial Park where they will meet up with the long tour cyclists for lunch. Riders from both tours will ride the after-lunch leg together, completed with a “ride in” ceremony at Centennial Square. You will recognize us by our colourful team jerseys in lime green.

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. 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 grassroots 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 and treatment adherence and much more.