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The Fun Zimbabwe Ride 2009 was an event which took place during the first two weeks of April 2009 in Zimbabwe. It was a fund raising event for H.E.L.P. International, a children's charity with projects in Zimbabwe. ==History== This event, was the brain child of Richard Pantlin from Oxford, United Kingdom. In late 2008 Richard was looking to raise funds for charities doing work in Zimbabwe. He had already been fund raising for charities with projects in South Africa. His main method of fund raising was riding his bicycle in unusual locations. An Internet search revealed that H.E.L.P. International, a children's charity, had projects in Zimbabwe. On enquiry richard got in touch with Asher Mupasi, a Trustee of the Charity. By coincidence, Asher was setting up an annual fund raising bicycle race in Zimbabwe by locals to encourage locals to participate in raising funds for funding child welfare projects in their area. H.E.L.P. International would be staging a 50 mile race each year. The charity was fund raising to build a much needed children's home at Chatsworth, Zimbabwe. There were already a number of children cared for in selected homes in the community, but some were HIV positive and required special attention and a children's home would be the best way to cater for their needs. After some discussion, the two men agreed to stage fund raising bike ride within Zimbabwe itself. In early 2008, Zimbabwe was considered unusual in that there were acute shortages of almost every commordity in the country. The ride would be a challenge on many levels. A published reporton life expectancy in Zimbabwe suggested it was the lowest in the world at female life expectancy of 34 years and male life of 37 years.〔http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/41339.php〕 This suggested that both Richard and Asher should be already dead if they were living in Zimbabwe. The international press was, at this point, awash with condemnation of the Zimbabwe government and warning visitors not to visit the country. The project had other threats such as the utbreak of Cholera, the disappearances of political individuals, the strikes by health and other staff, the absence of what might be called law and order, etc. The general advice was "Do not venture into Zimbabwe" The announcement that the project was going ahead coincided with the arrival of the world recession and many would be contributors were affected, leaving the projected financially exposed. The organisers did not want to postpone seeing that the plight of the children was getting worse. April 2009 was set as the date for the ride. By Christmas 2008, people in the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Spain, South Africa, and Zimbabwe itself had expressed interest in the project. On 26 November 2008 Richard and Asher enlisted the support of four members of Parliament, all from different parties. They also held a meeting with the Deputy Ambassador at the Zimbabwe Embassy to ask for help with equipment regarding custom duty and delays since they would not have many days in Zimbabwe. On March 11, 2009, the Engineers at Stoke on Trent College released the ambulances ready for shipping to Zimbabwe. At this point the riders had no bikes and no idea where to get bikes. Although many enquiries had been made to bike companies, not one was willing to help. An enquiry to Raleigh of South Africa was the first to be received positively. They recommended one of their tested products specially designed for long distance. They would also serve well as ambulance bikes. It was confirmed that they could be source in Johannesburg. Mupasi and Pantlin then made plans to fly into South Africa instead of directly to Zimbabwe. To capture the ride on video, the following items were purchased. * Disgo camcorder which a very small camcorder that can be carried in the rider's pocket. * 8 2 gig SD-cards giving 16 hours of filming at medium resolution for the camera The following items were donated by wellwishers for the children: * Pencils * Pens * balloons * a microscope for the school most used by H.E.L.P. International. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Fun Zimbabwe Ride 2009」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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