5 a.m. wake-up call, breakfast, and loading into the the bus from Hotel Eken Prestige.
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We are writing to you from Istanbul, on the eve of our fourth cycling challenge since the founding of Cycling4Gaza in 2009. That year what spurred us on to create the initiative was the military offensive that devastated the Gaza Strip and left the region in a humanitarian crisis. What spurs us on today is a reality that has existed for Palestinians in Gaza since before the war. The Gaza Strip stands at its fifth year under an Israeli blockade deemed illegal by the UN. Continue Reading…
Cycling4Gaza’s London chapter will mark the launch of the 2012 Turkey cycle tomorrow with an event at The Mosaic Rooms. Starting at 6.30pm, the launch event will include a talk from our charity partner Medical Aid for Palestinians, live music, a raffle and auction, and homemade Palestinian food.
Buy your tickets online or at the door.
We look forward to seeing you there, just 3 days before our 350km cycle across Turkey begins!
The Cycling4Gaza UK team
Cyclist Zara Hannoun writes about the projects Cycling4Gaza supported in 2010, and how children’s lives in Gaza have been improved as a result of those projects implemented by our 2010 charity partner, the Welfare Association, starting with an individual case study of Sara from Gaza.
“Sara was registered to Atfaluna’s Early Intervention Program for Deaf Children when she was only 18 months old. The first time her mother brought her to the centre, she said, “My daughter is deaf… she does not hear me, I don’t know how to communicate with her. I don’t go out anywhere with her because I don’t know what to tell my neighbours if they ask me what is wrong with her”. Continue Reading…
We are delighted to announce that we have received a wonderful message of support from Sarah Storey, the UK’s most decorated female Paralympian:
“All the best to the riders embarking on the 2012 Cycling4Gaza challenge who are raising such vital funds for the projects funded by Medical Aid for Palestinians. Charity fundraising brings out the best in humankind and it is always impressive to see the challenges people set themselves in order to raise the money needed for their chosen cause.”
This is a great motivation for us all and we will be remembering those words as we pedal along our 350 km challenge in 20 days’ time.
Do you want to sign up for our Turkey cycle challenge in October?
Download the registration pack here here for full details on the trip, our charity partner, and how to secure a place.
Deadline to sign up is the 20th of August.
Our October 2012 Turkey cycle challenge is now open for registration. Places are limited so make sure you get in touch ASAP. Visit our charity partner MAP’s website for more details, or e-mail them directly on events@map-uk.org.
Deadline to register: 20th August.
In its fourth year running, Cycling4Gaza will support Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), the first charity we partnered with during our founding year in 2009. MAP is a British charity that has been working to deliver medical care to the most vulnerable Palestinian communities for over 25 years.
Today, the 5-year Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip continues to have a severe impact on Gaza’s education, reconstruction, water, electricity, and healthcare, which remains in a state of emergency (MAP UK). Continue Reading…
The Pen I carry to write this inaugural blog seems incredibly weighty.
The pen of course being composed of my fingers tapping away on the keyboard, the weightiness of the blog coming from my experiences of last year’s Cycling4Gaza event and the inspiring educational projects being supported through this initiative.
Motivation, inspiration and belief are powerful feelings that can instantaneously instigate a change. At some point during our cycle, every one of us experienced each, if not all of the above.. Our day started with the excitement of knowing this would be our final run to the finish, allowing us to find the motivation to gather all our remaining energy and complete the journey. But our minds were clouded by the daunting thoughts of the difficult 5km uphill stretch, followed by a number of oscillating ups and downs all the way to the end. We spend most of our lives with our sights set on the top, but when cycling the sheer anticipation of seeing a downhill turn triggered pure elation, well in my case anyway, quite ironic. Continue Reading…
26 bicycles wheeled over Jordanian asphalt for 350km for three days, some of it smooth, most of it graveled, and some cracked. but the 52 wheels made it. the pilots of those bikes found deep fulfillment not only in overcoming a physical challenge but mostly, in having done so for a cause close to one’s heart, Palestine. For urban people counting on cars and public transport, moving one’s legs in loops for 8 hours in a row is no small challenge. There’s also a great deal of freedom in doing so, especially on downhills. Joy, pure joy overshadowing physical pain. 3 days of cycling, close to 9 times the length of Gaza, or 3.4 times round the edges of Gaza (40km Mediterranean Sea, 11km Egypt, 51km Israel). To cycle 3+ times around Gaza would have meant a first round to get to see Gaza at first glance, a second round to capture what was missed the first time, and a third to come to know it, if only on an urban level. But by doing so, we would have crossed 51kms of no-go-zone where we would have been moving targets for Israel (up to 1km of land from the Israeli border inward is a no-go-zone that is deemed a security area by Israel, eating up 17% of the Gaza Strip). So our perimeter would need to move inward into Gaza, probably pushing the 3.4 times round Gaza to 4 times or so. So the fourth round would be the point of familiarity, where we would find the urge to cycle into the heart of the land, cycling from city to refugee camp and so on. But doing that would require care, as 13 cyclists from the 26 are female, and cycling for women in Gaza has its taboos. This new realization, that women riding bikes in Gaza is like women driving cars in Saudi, makes one reevaluate the choice of sport to raise awareness about Gaza. Or, it actually calls for a realization that this is both a campaign to bring people to think about Gaza but also, a campaign to raise awareness about cycling as a legitimate sport, and a mode of transportation for women as it is for men, and children. But is it a mode of transportation for anyone in Gaza? There are no real signs of that online, and the hope is, that by the time Cycling4Gaza 2012 comes, we will have gotten closer to understanding the meaning of a bike in the Gaza context, so we feel that our cycle is shared with those within that 102km boundary.
Joumana Al Jabri
My horrid blackberry alarm rings at around 4:45, and I feel that I haven’t gotten a wink of sleep. Our cycling group spent most of the previous night stretching and sharing stories by the cozy fireplace at the Feynan Ecolodge; yet still I’m incredibly sore. I pack up in the dark, put my cycling gear on and wobble downstairs for a mighty breakfast. We have around 127 km to cycle today – almost just as much as the previous day. Our final destination today is Mujib. Continue Reading…
After coming into Amman from London, Scotland, the UAE and Lebanon, and catching up with our fellow Jordanian cyclists, the 26 of us congregated in Aqaba by the Red Sea, only 500 metres from Elat, late on Wednesday night, pumped and raring to go. It was early bedtime for us, as the morning saw us up, out of the hotel and on our bikes at 6.45am. We were on a race to arrive in Feynan, our final destination for the day, before sunset. With over 135km to cover before 4.30pm, this was no easy feat. 10 minutes into the cycle, we encountered our first fall. Thankfully no one was hurt and the cyclists got right back on their bikes straight away. Continue Reading…
Last May 2011, I was out with the family when my younger sister, Shaima, asked me if I’d like to take part in a cycling challenge to help raise money and awareness for the children of Gaza. My immediate answer was “Yes!” In the next few minutes, I looked at her again and asked: “Tell me more about this, how does it work?!”
Fast forward to August, I was part of a group of 10 UAE-based cyclists who were buzzing with energy. We trained together, we hosted dinners, we ran a Palestinian movie night, we sold our unwanted items at the flea markets, and we got people training for boxing- All for Gaza! We were unstoppable! We spoke relentlessly about the projects we’re supporting and we trained for our upcoming 350 Kms from Olympia to Athens in October 2011. Continue Reading…
Cycling from Olympia to Athens is no small feat. The basic skills required to accomplish such a journey include good physical shape, strong mental willpower and the ability to ride a bicycle. Forty four of us could do just that. However, Natasha, my sister, seemed to have missed out on what was supposed to be a significant part of her childhood. She had yet to learn how to ride a bike, which subsequently became our mission. Learning how to ride a bicycle encompasses two basic concepts; balance and fear, both of which play major roles throughout our lives. Drawing these parallels between life and our daily activities signify the importance of each of our actions and their subsequent effect, intrinsically and externally. This was our hope; that the efforts of 45 people around the world could help change the lives of 1,800 children in Gaza. Continue Reading…