Bike Tour

Welcome to Bike Tour 2012

Once again we find ourselves in the season of cycling for gender and equality! For those of you new to the ‘Tour du Faso’, here is what you have to look forward to: Peace Corps Volunteers biking around the country to raise funds for the PC Burkina Faso Gender and Development Committee! Take a glance at the Burkina Bike Tour Q & A (see below) for a complete history of this initiative.

This year we will commence the tour on August 29^th in Dedougou, capital of the Mouhoun! The tour will traverse the north, east, central, south, and southwest of the country, ending in Gaoua on September 25^th.

When we finish in Gaoua, the tour will have traveled over 1,300 kilometers of our fair country!

Last year we reached our goal and raised $6,000. As allies of gender equality, please stay in touch and help us surpass that amount this year. We will continue to update you during the upcoming summer months, as well as throughout the tour itself. Thanks in advance for your support!

Donate Now

To make your tax deductable donation to the 2012 Annual Bike Tour and do your part to help fight inequality and empower the peoples of Burkina Faso, click on the link below or copy and paste the url:

https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=686-CFD

In the COMMENTS section be sure to include “GAD Bike Tour” to make sure that your dollars are counted towards this years’ totals

Thanks for your support!

Bike Tour Committee

Burkina Bike Tour Q & A

Q: Where is Burkina Faso and why should I care?

A: Burkina Faso is a small, landlocked country about the size of Colorado located in the middle of West Africa. Rated by the EU as 174th out of 175 poorest countries in the world (based on GDP, education levels and health) it is currently home to over 150 Peace Corps volunteers. Aside from the obvious poverty, volunteers are working to irradiate the gender inequality in Burkina and empower young men and women to reach their goals and uplift their country.

Q: What is Bike Tour Burkina?

A: Bike Tour Burkina, or in French Sur les velos, pour Faso is an annual fundraiser put on by the Gender and Development Committee (GAD) in connection with Peace Corps Burkina Faso. Starting August 29th in Dédougou and ending September 25th in Gaoua, around 100 current volunteers, police officers, local officials and special groups and organizations (both Burkinabe and Ex-Patriots) from around the country are biking almost 2,000k (that's about the distance from New York to Orlando!) to raise money that will help fund volunteer projects throughout the nation.

Q: So you guys are you just biking around for a month? 

A: No way! Each stop we make along the way is hosted by a Peace Corps volunteer. In conjunction with raising money on their own, they have also agreed to set up some kind of workshop or training in their village. This means that along with a full day of biking, volunteers will be helping train men and women on things like hygiene, AIDS/HIV awareness, gender equality, income generating activities and other awesome projects needed by their communities.

Q: How will you guys raise money? What is your goal?

 A: We are asking friends, families, fellow bike enthusists and total stranges back home to donate to our cause. All 100% tax-deductible donations will be through the Peace Corps Country Fund and will go directly to funding volunteer projects. And in Burkina Faso--one of the poorest countries in the world--even a small donation can go a long way.

In the past two years Bike Tour Burkina has raised over $10,000US, and 100% of every one of those dollars has gone straight to the Burkinabe peoples. This year we are hoping to eclipse last year’s total of $6,000US, which will help fund nationwide camps and trainings, as well as village-focused smaller and specific projects.