About the Fundraiser

For the many who are just hearing about the Cycle for Africa fundraiser, on the 14th of November I am cycling to Canberra from Melbourne and back. Along the way I am hoping to raise public awareness about poverty and dollars for the Kazembe Baby Orphanage in Zambia.

The major sponsor for the fundraiser is the Salvation Army, who will also administer every cent raised.

The very first question people ask me is, 'WHY the Cycle For Africa fundraiser?' Well, leading up to the fundraiser I found myself confronted with many stories and images of poverty in Africa: 'the people are desperately hungry', 'babies are crying' and 'acute malnutrition' is a daily experience (The Age, 27/9/2008).

As I looked at the mothers cradling their children's fragile bodies I felt overwhelmed by their apparent sense of hopelessness; I was moved by 'the face of innocence deserving of a future.’

Recently I visited a school in the western suburbs. Unlike the faces of poverty, I saw children enjoying their fortune. I saw mothers with an air of confidence in knowing their children were safe and hopeful of a future.

I don't believe the feelings mothers (or fathers) have for their children in a fortunate country like ours are any different for parents in the poorer world.

Sadly, many parents suffering from poverty look into their child's eyes and are simply reminded that their child's future is their past. Soon, hopelessness becomes your closest companion.

In the poorest half of the world 30,000 children die of hunger and preventable diseases everyday. Does it shock you that 1 child dies every 3 seconds?

The solution does not lie with any one particular belief system but in the fact that our shared humanity cries out for justice and should compel us to act.

James 1:27 says, 'Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world'

Today, you can say 'why not me?’ You can till the soil of need and plant seeds of hope and wipe away those tears of hopelessness.

Today you can help feed, educate and house a generation devastated by the AIDS pandemic and empower tomorrow's future for the children in Africa.

Kazembe Baby Orphanage:

In Zambia the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been giving birth to a generation of orphans. While the figures are difficult to determine (due to a large rural community), the numbers are between 800,000 and 1000,000.

Relatives who take nieces, nephews, cousins and grandchildren into their already large households care for many orphans. Many of the surviving carers are elderly grandparents or aunts and uncles.

As these guardians pass on, even greater numbers of children will be left without support. This puts a huge strain on families in a country with only 4% of its citizens in gainful employment.
Because of the strain felt by these extended families, many orphaned children will not have the opportunity to go to school, much less receive the type of education that would allow them to become productive members of society.

Centres are needed to care for these growing number of children. Help is needed from outside sources to assist governments already stretched to the limit.

In response, the Morrow Family is currently establishing the Kazembe Baby Orphanage in Zambia. The orphanage will provide a home for 90 orphans (including their carers), and a warm, loving and safe environment where their developmental needs is met.

The Kazembe Baby Orphanage will be a place of hope and possibilities among a people devastated by HIV/AIDS. Building for a better future rests with establishing a strong foundation today.

All money raised by the cycling4africa fundraiser will provide:

• Toilet and shower block.
• Chicken coop (with the chickens being a source of food and income).
• Furniture, educational toys and games.