Coffee Morning update

Today's coffee morning went really well. In total, we made about £200; not bad for a couple of hours work.

Back in June the Young church sent off a cheque to Riders for a sum equivalent to the cost of providing a motorbike to a health care worker. Given the original target for the project was to raise that sum in a year, the project has gone really well. Now, the additional money is forming the "spanner fund". With this we hope to fund a tool kit which contains all the tools a mechanic will need to keep the motorbikes running well. I think this is about £800 worth of kit, which also covers some of the costs of training the mechanic. As the mechanics are local, Riders is also providing local jobs and security.

As a result of the queue going off to Riders, the young church received a lovely letter from Riders. This had the stories from a health care worker and a mechanic. It's really amazing how these fairly simple things are making such a great difference.

The health care worker is the sole health service for an area around the size of Fife, where the roads are dirt tracks. Before the motorbike, she was barely able to visit 2 villages per month and could never get to a person at the outskirts of her district quickly if they needed urgent medical attention. Now she can visit her whole district in a month and can do more than treat the current needs, but also give health care advice, prevention being better than cure. All this because the motorbike gives her a reliable mode of transport.

The mechanic was locally trained by Riders and is now training other locals to be mechanics. She also trains the health care workers in the routine maintenance of the motorbikes, increasing their reliability. So, not only is Riders helping people get access to health care, it's also providing jobs and training to local people.

It's a bit like that saying. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a day. Give a man the means to catch the fish, feed him for life. That seems exactly what Riders is doing and it's great.

More Fundraising for Riders

The young church is having a coffee morning on Saturday 27th September as part of their fundraising for Riders for Health. There will be cake and candy aplenty.

Pop in if your in the area. It's at Linktown Church, Nicol Street, Kirkcaldy.

See you there.

Kirkcaldy Farmers' Market

Last week the young church held a stall at the local farmers' market, to promote the project and raise some money. It was a beautiful day (very hot in bike gear!), which meant the market was very busy; all the better for us.

There was a lot of interest, particularly among small children. They got to sit on either my or my OH's bike (or both), that got the parent talking and the message of Riders' work passed on. All in, on the day we raised just under £180, which we were more than pleased with. The following link has a photo of the young church (with help from some older church!) and a write-up from Riders:

http://www.riders.org/n_details.aspx?nwId=161

The young church's project is going so well that they have already reached the original target of raising enough money to buy a motorbike for a health care worker - £1450. The project has until the end of the year to run, so the young church has decided to spend the rest of the year raising money for a Spanner Fund. Thus, they will have paid for the transport and maintenance of the bike. That's what Riders is all about.

The National Gathering - One Word - Fantastic

That's what everyone thought of the National Gathering. There was an amazing atmosphere, with everyone being very friendly and welcoming. I really have been to nothing like it.

This is the tent all set up. I wish we'd taken the photo when the event was open, as there were loads of people around. The bike did draw a lot of attention (the stereotypes of Christians and bikers don't usually mix, but perhaps they should). There were a few times when I was going around the other parts of the event I heard people asking their friends if they'd been to the tent with the motorbike (fame, at last).

So, the main aim of taking the bike had been achieved; the hook to get people interested and promote the work of the church and exchange ideas. We also showcased the work of Riders as outwith the motorcycling community, very few people have heard of them. Everyone was really interested and impressed with their work. Some people even donated money towards the young church project, which was very generous.

Church Without Walls

The Church in Scotland are holding a huge event over the May holiday weekend at Ingliston (next to Edinburgh airport). As part of this event, individual parish churches throughout the country are being able to showcase their work in a tented village.

My church has purchased one of these tents (which after the event will be packed up for use in emergency relief work). My OH and I have "volunteered" to be involved in the setting up of what goes in the tent. Naturally, we're going to promote the Young Church's project, Riders for Health. Prior to my acquisition of the Hornet, I was going to take my EN to the event, as it is similar to the bikes that Riders supply to health care workers. That plan's now scuppered, but never fear, the Pan European is going instead! We're going to park it outside the tent and bedeck it with information about Riders. I thought the organisers wouldn't be impressed, but we asked permission and they said yes. How cool is that! I will report how the event went after the weekend.

Riders for Health

Let me introduce you to a great charity. Riders for Health. They provide health care workers, in Africa , with reliable transport solutions. Mainly, these take the form of motorbikes. Given the "road network" (I use that phrase in the loosest possible sense - I've walked significantly better quality footpaths), these are the most effective modes of transports. The models that riders provide are specifically designed for the African market, so are cheap and easy to maintain.

That's the key to Riders' success - maintenance of the fleet. All the health care workers are trained to ride their bikes on the harshest of these roads; shown how to do daily checks and roadside repairs. They are also supplied with the appropriate safety clothing. On top of all of this, Riders also has workshop garages, where mechanics take care of the servicing and more major repairs of the fleet (I say fleet as, in some areas, they also provide 4x4s). The mechanics are locally trained, so it helps with the economy.

One of the best items Riders provides, I personally think, is something they've called an Uhuru. this is a motorbike and sidecar combination, but the sidecar is a stretcher, effectively making the Uhuru an ambulance. It gets better, though. The Uhuru can also be fitted with a water pump, operated off the back wheel, thus providing the area the it's visiting with safe, clean water. Joined up thinking, or what?

My church is currently fundraising for Riders, with the aim of donating at least 1 motorbike. It's amazing how taken with the whole idea of the scheme people are. I even know people who I would describe as not totally anti-bike, but certainly not pro-bike, who think Riders work is amazing. If you watched Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman in "Long Way Down", you would have seen just how great Riders' work is, and just how challenging the riding is.

Well, that's my plug - for an organisation I really admire. Click on the link at the side for more information.