This September, riders across the nation will jump on their bicycles to join Tour de Goz Amer(ica), a #ride4refugees in support of Little Ripples, i-ACT’s preschool education program that trains and employs refugee women to improve the early development of Darfuri refugee children in eastern Chad. Every person who registers to ride will be directly supporting the training and employment of more female refugee teachers, reaching more children with foundations of learning, trauma recovery, and development, and planting seeds of peace and hope for the refugee community. On our fall trip to refugee camp Goz Amer, we will be launching our first three Little Ripples Ponds, an innovative, in-home preschool center solution for refugee camp situations.
Why a bike ride? In the refugee camps, bicycles are the golden ticket to helping carry firewood, food, and water from distribution points. They carry kids to school and offer a leg-up to a young person in search of a job. They are also a point of pride, as you can see from their carefully chosen decorations. Wheels represent a way forward on a path of peace, recovery, and joy.
Here are a few ways you and your community can join Tour de Goz Amer:
Set a personal goal for how many miles you want to ride in September, set up your personal fundraising page, and ask friends and family to pledge an amount per mile.
Organize to have a ride on a specific day with your network: riders and their friends can give $20 to support one Little Ripples preschooler for a entire month in school.
Post the Tour on social media. Here’s a sample tweet that can be modified for Facebook: Use ur wheels to #ride4refugees in Darfur. Register to ride in Sept for Tour de Goz Amer bit.ly/ride4refugees via @iactRipple
i-ACT sees Little Ripples and its meal program as part of the solution to a larger issue being faced by our friends living in the isolated camps in eastern Chad. Since 2011, monthly food rations have been drastically reduced, leaving some families without food for days at a time during the month. In support of i-ACT’s Restore2100 campaign asking humanitarian aid organizations to immediately restore monthly food distribution to 2100 calories per person, per day, communities in Wisconsin, Oregon, and California have decided to set their Tour de Goz Amer goal at $2,100 each. Who will be next to sign up?
As always, I’m available to answer questions and provide support! Register online or email me at ktj@iact.ngo. Together we can #ride4refugees to aid and empower refugees away from violence and towards peace through education.
Comments