Riders help flooding relief in the Gambia
During September and October the Gambia suffered some of the worst flooding in the country's recent history. Over 26,000 people were estimated to have been affected and difficulties were reported across the country.
During the disaster health teams were able to use ambulances and trekking vehicles managed by Riders for Health to respond to the flooding. Regional Health Teams mobilised by Riders were able to travel to communities, assess the extent of the destruction and determine the needs of the affected families.
One of the most important tasks is to ensure that there is no outbreak of disease. Our deputy programme director in the Gambia, Che Jallow, said ‘The heavy rains have now almost stopped, but the damage caused is still with us. The health centres are being vigilant with regards to possible disease outbreaks, especially cholera and other diarrhoeal diseases. There might also be an increase in cases of malaria, due to standing water creating more breeding places for mosquitoes. However, activities such as outreach clinics and patient referrals to hospitals are continuing thanks to the vehicles and motorcycles managed by our technicians’.
Andrea Coleman, Riders CEO, said: ‘As partners and friends of the Gambia we share the huge concern for all those who have lost their homes, their livestock and, tragically, their loved ones. We are working closely with our team on the ground to monitor the situation but we are pleased that our vehicles are being used to support the relief efforts, transporting health care and other relief supplies to affected areas and evacuating families to temporary shelters’.
To find out more about our programme in the Gambia click here. If you would like to support our work in Africa, please click here to make a donation today.
Lakshmi Karan joins Riders for Health
Riders for Health have announced that Lakshmi Karan has joined the organisation in the role of global strategy director.
Riders’ CEO, Andrea Coleman, welcomed Lakshmi, saying, ‘As the former Director or Impact Assessment, Learning and Utilization at the Skoll Foundation, Lakshmi was responsible for a number of grant relationships with social enterprises, including Riders for Health. Having worked alongside us for three years, Lakshmi understands the impact of Riders’ work mobilising health workers with transport so that vital services are always delivered to rural communities in Africa’.
Lakshmi Karan said: ‘Riders exemplifies how a systemic, efficient and sustainable model can achieve equity in access to health care. I deeply value their focus on strengthening local capacity to scale operations and increase impact. Riders has accomplished much in the past few years and I believe it is poised to significantly bridge the gap between the haves and the have nots - as it relates to health care access. I hope to assist the organisation through its next growth phase and position it for continued success. I am very much looking forward to being a part of the Riders team!’
Riders aims to be at the forefront of global health initiatives and Lakshmi will develop relationships with US-based investors and policy makers to advocate the importance of transport infrastructure in health systems. This will help Riders to meet its goal of improving access to reliable health care for 25 million people by 2013.
Signed Rossi Yamaha R1 to be auctioned for Riders
World famous auction house Bonhams has announced the release of its catalogue for the upcoming "Classic California" auction on November 13th at the Petersen Museum in downtown Los Angeles. 
The auction will include a truly one-of-a-kind motorcycle offered in collaboration with the most successful motorcycle racer of his era, Valentino Rossi. All the money raised by the sale of this unique lot will support the work of Riders for Health.
The catalogue can be viewed online at: www.bonhams.com/usa/auction/18419/. The highly upgraded and customized 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 1000cc can be found in the catalogue as Lot 439, to read the description of the lot, click here.
The bike is the civilian version of the MotoGP machine ridden by nine-times World Champion, Rossi, who was on hand to personally sign the bike at the MotoGP at Laguna Seca.
Sporting Rossi’s personal “Five Continents” AGV helmet design, this amazing and very specialized motorcycle was the brainchild of Daytona 200 winner, former racing champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Don Emde.
Parties interested in bidding on this extraordinary machine – in person or remotely – may register to bid and order a sales catalogue at www.bonhams.com/petersen. To learn more about the team behind this project, visit www.friendsofriders.org.
Riders in the New York Times
As we reported in our special edition of Riders News, Riders for Health was chosen as the subject of the first in a new series of articles on the New York Times website about practical solutions to difficult problems.
The article’s authors David Bornstein and Tina Rosenberg have now written a follow up article addressing some of the readers' comments as well as looking at why programmes that specifically look at sustainability and maintenance, like Riders, often get overlooked.
You can read the New York Times’ second article by clicking here, or if you haven’t had chance to read the original article, click here.
You can help spread awareness of Riders' work by simply posting a link to the article on your Facebook page, Tweeting about it, or even just emailing this newsletter to a friend. While you are at it, why not join Riders' new Facebook fan page by clicking here?
Make a difference this Christmas
Do you want to send something meaningful to your family and friends? Give a unique gift and support Riders’ life-saving work in Africa at the same time by sending one of our gift donations. You can also order your Christmas cards from Riders now and help us to reach many more men, women and children in Africa with reliable health care.
Just £10 will provide enough fuel for a health worker for two weeks so that they can cover hundreds of kilometres delivering vital health care to their communities. Road traffic accidents are one of the biggest causes of premature death in Africa. Make sure that our heath workers are safe on the roads by donating £30 for the cost of a helmet.
Each gift comes with a card illustrating how your purchase is helping to save lives. You will also receive a Riders Christmas card to send to the recipient.
To order your gift donation today, click here.
A pack of six mixed Christmas cards costs £2.50 and every penny of this goes directly to support our work in Africa.
To order your Christmas cards today, click here.
Run the Brighton Marathon for Riders for Health!
After Riders’ success at the Brighton Marathon in 2010 we have secured spaces in the 2011 event! If you want the chance to be a part of this fantastic event please contact Elizabeth from the fundraising team at edunn@riders.org, but get in touch soon as we only have five spaces remaining!
The Brighton Marathon is now into its second year and it is already the second largest marathon in the UK. The marathon takes place on Sunday 10th April 2011 and takes in this wonderful Regency sea-side town, as well as fantastic coastal views.
To see how our runners got on in the 2010 Brighton Marathon, why not watch our video from the event?
Riders for Health will support you every step of the way as you get ready for the marathon, by providing ideas and support so that you can reach your personal fundraising target and a dedicated member of our fundraising team to help you along the way.
And of course we will be there to cheer you on in Brighton! So if you want to get involved, email Elizabeth today on edunn@riders.org or click here to find out more.
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