2010 Projects

Zara Hannoun —  April 7, 2013 — Leave a comment

In 2010, Cycling4Gaza’s Pisa to Rome cycle raised £140,000 to implement three projects focused on early childhood development in Gaza. 27 cyclists covered 400km over 4 days, with each kilometre contributing to the progress of these educational projects supported by the Welfare Association:

  1. A School-Based Counselling Programme For Young Children In Gaza, Gaza Community Mental Health Programme –  £33,960
  2. Establishing an Outreach Home-based Early Intervention Programme for Deaf Children (0-5 years of age), Atfaluna – £31,535
  3. Support for Early Childhood Development, Kanafani Kindergartens- £71,765

 

Continue Reading…

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2009 Projects

Zara Hannoun —  March 25, 2013 — Leave a comment

Proactive

The best response to a crisis situation is a pro-active response. Cycling4Gaza was just that. C4G was founded in 2009 as a result of the attacks on Gaza. A group of young enthusiasts believed that the world had a right to know the truth and were inspired to break through their comfort zone in order to achieve this. C4G’s first cycle was a 3 day 300km challenge from London to Paris. The cycle not only raised over £85,000 for Medical Aid for Palestinians UK (MAP UK), but also generated significant momentum; raising awareness to the crisis in Gaza.
Continue Reading…

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My Journey

tamara —  November 28, 2012 — Leave a comment

This week, we hear from another one of our dear cyclists, Simon Lam (aka legs of steel). He tells us about what led him to sign up for the Turkey cycle challenge: starting with his trip to Palestine earlier this year.

‘If you head to the West Bank, you will see the massive Wall which is supposed to improve security…’

My journey did not start from Istanbul, it started with this conversation back in 2011. Continue Reading…

In Palestine
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Cycling for peace and humanity

tamara —  November 19, 2012 — Leave a comment

Join us this Saturday 24th November at 11.15am, 10 Downing Street, for a mass cycle through London in support of Gaza as the violence on its people continues to escalate. We will be cycling alongside an organised peaceful march from Downing Street to High Street Kensington.

Through cycling, we are trying to convey a message of peace and humanity to the world, to remind people that Palestinians in Gaza also deserve the right to a peaceful existence. We hope to see in our lifetime a peaceful Gaza, one that is not separated from the rest of Palestine, where people no longer have to fear death and destruction, can move freely, and are able to live a life of quality and dignity. Until then, we will keep cycling.

We invite you to join us in our efforts – wherever in the world you are. Get in touch with us on cycling4gaza@gmail.com if you also want to cycle for Gaza.

In Gaza Strip, Uncategorized
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MAP: training people to save lives in Gaza

tamara —  November 18, 2012 — Leave a comment

The Cycling4Gaza team wishes that MAP’s Primary Trauma Care project we are supporting this year would not need to exist in Gaza in the coming months and years. But Israel’s recurrent assaults mean that Palestinian doctors and civilians need to be equipped with the necessary skills to help prevent death and disability when people are severely injured. Since the beginning of Israel’s assault last week, over 450 Palestinians have been wounded.

You can:

Find out more about MAP’s Trauma Care Project.

Contribute to MAP-Cycling4Gaza’s three projects.

Contribute directly to MAP’s emergency response in Gaza.

Thank you for your support.

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Sanctioning of the Palestinian mind

tamara —  November 1, 2012 — Leave a comment

Adnan, one of our cyclists from 2011, shares with us a unique insight into Gaza in the past and present, capturing his childhood years as he grew up under occupation.

Read the published article on Electronic Intifada.

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September 2012.

This was my third visit to Gaza, after having visited many interrupted times throughout the past 23 years. I left Gaza at the age of 16 heading to Seattle, Washington, 2 years into the first intifada of 1987. Being a Gazan has always been a challenge, a challenge for its residents, natives, refugees and for its lovers too. Gaza has its magical spell, once you are there for an extended period of time, you can get emotionally absorbed by its coastal easygoing attitude and its softness on strangers, making it very easy to call it home, just like my dad did. And I happen to be a victim of the same spell.
Continue Reading…

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A universal story

tamara —  October 30, 2012 — Leave a comment

It finished with 40 people riding into Istanbul amid Bayram (Eid) traffic, chants, beeping horns and shouts of support. 33 of us had just tackled 300 kilometres of mountainous Turkish terrain, starting in Bandirma on the Marmaris sea, onto Çanakkale, Tekirdag, and finishing in Istanbul. This was by far the toughest of all four Cycling4Gaza challenges. Despite our tour guide John’s best attempts to make us believe that we would be cycling on relatively flat roads for the most part, we soon discovered that his definition of flat was any kind of hill that wasn’t a full-fledged mountain. We tackled hill after hill after hill, reaching an elevation of over 1,230 meters on the first day, gasping for breath at the top of some of the most beautiful landscapes we had seen.

Perhaps the most memorable night was the first one. Continue Reading…

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Cycling into Istanbul

tamara —  October 28, 2012 — Leave a comment

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Down but not out

tamara —  October 27, 2012 — Leave a comment

An extremely challenging two days so far. Hilly terrain, rough roads, and a strong midday sun mean we are more tired, scratched and bruised than perhaps any other cycle before. We have been consoled by some breathtaking views, the spirit of teammates spurring everyone along, but above all by reminding us of why we’re doing this. We came as separate individuals with very different reasons for being here but in such a short space of time we’ve been so inspired by each other that we’ve quickly become friends.
More from us later today as we finish the remaining 110km ino Istanbul.

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Getting ready to cycle

tamara —  October 25, 2012 — Leave a comment

5 a.m. wake-up call, breakfast, and loading into the the bus from Hotel Eken Prestige.

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Take off in Turkey

tamara —  October 25, 2012 — Leave a comment

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…

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London launch: Monday 22nd October

tamara —  October 21, 2012 — Leave a comment

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

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Outcomes: 2010 Gaza projects

tamara —  October 10, 2012 — 1 Comment

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…

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Paralympian supports Cycling4Gaza

tamara —  October 5, 2012 — 1 Comment

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.

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MAP at Ain El Helwe: Context

joumana —  August 7, 2012 — Leave a comment

Map of Ain El Helwe camp with Dr Ali pointing at location of MAP offices at the fringes of the camp.

Nahr el Bared is not a place like any other. Ain El Helwe is not a place like any other. They’re both Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, one in the North and one in the South. They rank highest in population count in the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, and they are physically and psychologically gated, allowing people with certain IDs to get in or out, with strict or not so strict checkpoints. But thinking you know it all by stepping into either of them is far from it. I’d gone at least 6 times into Ain El Helwe a year earlier, working closely with Amal Shihabi, one of two speakers of TEDxRamallah in Lebanon (you can watch her talk in Arabic here). I am also vaguely familiar with Nahr El Bared from a visit i’d made with the UNRWA a few years after the 2007 conflict. Continue Reading…

In Lebanon , ,
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