Cycle 5 to Survive - Big Community Event in Korah!

Tomorrow is the big day! P.L. and Kristen Meindertsma of Cycle 5 to Survive are kicking off the first of 5 rides—the Continental Divide, a 4300 KM long route from Canmore, Alberta to Antelope, New Mexico! Everyone here in Korah, Ethiopia (and so many around the world) are so excited for you and cheering you on! And what better way to do that than throwing the first bike race ever in Korah!

After hearing more about what Cycle 5 to Survive (C5TS)  is doing to raise funds to support HFK's Youth Empowerment Centre over the next 5 years, our Ethiopian staff team went above and beyond to put on a huge community event in honor of C5TS and their upcoming ride. They invited several other local charities and organizations to participate, rented bikes for participants, and even planned for mascots, music, dancing, and awards!

This kind of event has never happened in Korah before—having the main city street closed is completely unprecedented! And one doesn’t usually see many bikes in Korah either as people don’t have the money to buy them and many of the side streets would be too difficult to navigate by bike. So, you can imagine the attention this received from the larger community!

We want to give a huge shoutout to the organizations that partnered with our staff to help pull off this incredible event: Young Life Ethiopia who helped us set up and Markem Youth Team (local church youth group) who  led all the music and dancing. Out of the Ashes, Inc and Samaritan Internation, both local charities who rented bikes and joined the ride, Basilios School Soccer Team who came to cheer everyone on and the Ethiopian Youth Sports Academy who surprised us by sending their professional youth cycling team to lead the way!

P.L. and Kristen, we feel so honored that you have chosen us to be a part of this epic journey. What you are doing will change the lives of so many people. We will be praying for your safety and strength as you set off tomorrow!