Nightrider 2012 - Wayne's Cycling World

Various of our Nightrider particpants have contributed to our blog - here is one from Wayne Meyer (www.justgiving.com/Wayne-Meyer) a participant who lives in Maidenhead - and who decided to cycle to the start in Crystal Palace.....

Tower Bridge from Potter's Fields

Saturday night I started the night ride and finished up early hours of Sunday morning.. Whilst I had initially thought I would ride around 180km, this in fact turned out to be 227km – this was completed in 8hrs 29min,  The ride into London was a calm 60km with near perfect weather, the 100km starting from Crystal Palace became a race where 4 us tore through London in around 3.5 hrs (having to dodge traffic and party go’ers) … the ride home was thinking about  the funds I raised (little over £1,500) and how they would be used to make a change…

Working for Microsoft - any donation Wayne gets on his fundraising page is automatically doubled by his employer.  So please reward his efforts.  He has shared with us his map of the route he covered - and the amount of hills he tackled ...

The route followed by Wayne - Maidenhead/Crystal Palace/Nightrider Route/Maidenhead

And the amount of hills he climbed

Also some statistics about his training !

Just some of the (absolutely useless) data captured in training up for this event since Jan 1^st 2012

-          3,100 km cycled

-          104 cycling events

-          117 hours in the saddle

-          18,830m elevation gain (Everest is 8,848m)

-          Average speed 25km/h

-          Average cadence 85rpm (almost 600,000 peddle revolutions)

-          83,155 calories burned (that is 170 Big Mac burgers)

Where does he get the energy?

Our Nightriders prepare

It’s now just over a week away.  A group of UDS supporters is among thousands of fundraisers now well into their training regimes for a big Saturday night out. ..and praying for good weather.

Nightrider will see 3,000 cyclists undertake one of the UK’s most exciting sporting charity challenges.  On the night of Saturday 9th-Sunday 10th June they will don their helmets and  hi-viz jackets to pedal a 100-kilometre route around London, taking in the famous sights,   the empty city streets, and some serious hills.

And among the riders is our local vicar – Reverend Peter Mackenzie (pictured).

This  will be the third annual Nightrider, and this year UDS has 29 participants, up from five the first year we took part.  UDS is just one of 250 charitable causes raising money on the night.

Reverend Mackenzie, vicar at West Ealing’s St. John’s Church,  has been training for months. Asked whether he’d ever done anything like this before, he said:  “First time for me.  I did quite a bit of cycling when I was younger, but not much for years.”

There are two start/finish points – one at Alexandra Palace in the north, the other down south at Crystal Palace. Staggered starts run from 11 pm to 01.35 am.  The route  follows two huge loops round north and south London, and takes in some 50 famous landmarks, including Tower Bridge,  St Paul’s Cathedral, Canary Wharf, the Houses of Parliament and the Albert Hall, as well as the West End and the City. It also presents some formidable climbs at Tulse Hill, Muswell Hill and Hampstead..and some exhilarating descents.  Most riders complete the route in 6 – 8 hours.

It’s a unique way to see London. And it goes right through the night.  Asked what he was looking forward to most, Reverend Mckenzie said: “ I’m tempted to say 'the downhill sections' but I am really looking forward to enjoying this magnificent city lit up at night and especially going over the iconic Tower Bridge.”

Last year, with 15 riders, we raised over £10,000 for our work in Uganda.  This year we’re aiming for £15,000.    Reverend Mackenzie knows the ride will be tough, especially the final hill at Crystal Palace, but says it’s all in a good cause:  “I am doing this to raise money and awareness for the wonderful work of Uganda Development Services in dramatically improving the lives of some seriously disadvantaged people.  It is about helping others to help themselves out of poverty. If my small efforts go some way to helping people gain the education and employment opportunities that we often take for granted, then it will all have been worth it.”

He won’t be taking the ten o’clock service at St John’s on the Sunday morning though – he’s asked a deputy to do that.

If you would like to sponsor Reverend Mackenzie, please go to his JustGiving page - http://www.justgiving.com/Peter-Mackenzie0 .

For more about Nightrider, visit http://www.nightrider.org.uk/.

Computer training for the deaf

A central part of UDS’ Development Centre in Kamuli is our internet café, where we offer training in computer skills to various groups in the local community. One of those groups is deaf people, whose isolation and social exclusion can be overcome by learning to use computers and access the internet. This aspect of our work has received a major boost in recent months with the launch of a pilot scheme to offer formal group courses in ICT.

The opportunity came about thanks to a grant last year from one of our donors, a UK-based legal firm. It also came about thanks to the vision and initiative or one of our beneficiaries in Kamuli.

Elias Tabu is chairperson of the Kamuli Association of the Deaf.  He undertook computer  training with UDS back in 2005, and quickly understood the huge benefits for deaf people of the knowledge he acquired – both in terms of social inclusion and of future employment and business prospects.   Elias had remained in close touch with UDS,  so when last year’s cash grant came though he was quick off the mark to help us set up a pilot scheme which in the first year has involved 22 members of the community.

Elias provided crucial help in identifying the types of training needed, the potential beneficiaries from the local deaf community, and in signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kamuli Association for the Deaf.
Then in December last year, our first two trainers – themselves deaf – undertook their training so they could in turn become trainers.

As a result the initial intake of six students, all still at school full time, began their training over the Christmas holiday period. They hope to resume their studies once the school year has ended.

A second class of eight young people embarked on their training in February of this year. They attend a local vocational centre for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, but as they are close by they have been able to continue attending regular IT classes at UDS, which will continue until June.

A third group of eight older trainees, in their 20s and 30s,  is also meeting regularly. Whereas the younger trainees focus on basic computer skills and basic programmes such as MS Word, the older group is looking at e-numeracy,  and the use of emails and chat programmes, particularly in relation to self-employment. 
 The benefits of the training scheme are clear. Elias Tabu says his own experience showed him that the avenues of communication made available by computer knowledge help the deaf fell much less isolated. Two of the trainees have already said they plan careers in the world of IT.

The challenges remain great. Frequent power outages are a constant source of disruption, and UDS needs to acquire more computers to accommodate a potentially growing number of trainees. But the plan is,  depending on funding, to continue the scheme into a second year and give more deaf people access to a world that was previously closed to them. 

Kamuli looks forward to Easter

In common with much of the rest of the world, Ugandans are preparing for Easter. 

But for at least one resident of Kamuli, the holiday has its downside too – the UDS Development Centre and its facilities will be closed for the long weekend!

More seriously for local farmers, the holiday is coming at a time of unseasonal drought.

Mugabi Michael Kiika, 37, works for a Ugandan bank implementing the government’s Rural Financial Services programme.  For him UDS’ internet services form an essential lifeline, especially for his post-graduate studies.  Although he regrets that the internet will be unavailable for a few days, he also welcomes Easter as a few days of reflection, shared with his loved ones.

 He writes:  

“This is a time I will have to spend with my family in Namunyingi, Kamuli,  sharing the reasons why Jesus Christ was sent to us, reading the Bible that will give me hope for life after death.

“However as an internet user, I miss my UDS services during the holiday as this is the time I also get to concentrate on to my post graduate studies  online. What a great miss!”

Throughout the community in Kamuli, he says, the  Easter holiday means sharing memories of the life of Jesus Christ through church services and music. But this year’s celebrations come amid a very harsh drought, compared to previous Easters which have coincided with the rains and better growing conditions for crops.  

Michael says he’ll find it very hard to get through the holiday without accessing the internet services, as the café will be closed.  

He notes that even when it is open, the  big challenge at the UDS internet café is the lack of a standby generator to cope with the frequent power cuts.

He signs off: “I salute all the staff at UDS Kamuli, please keep up the good teamwork spirit extended to us users of the internet.

“God bless you, wishing you happy Easter Holiday Celebrations.
“Mugabi Michael Kiika.”

Mothers' Day

Thursday, 15 March 2012

It’s the time of year again for those of us in the UK and Ireland to honour our mothers, on  this coming Sunday 18 March, Mothers’ Day.

This year,  how about thinking of a mother in Uganda as well as your own?  A donation of £10 could go towards a smokeless oven – it makes the home more healthy and saves labour.

It costs only £30 to train somebody to build a smokeless oven - the materials are free! Donate now to our smokeless oven project or read more about them in our previous blog.

In Uganda young people are thinking about their mothers too. Esther Nalungoda is a student who uses UDS’ computer facilities for her studies, and for internet access.  She is a long way from her mother, so plans to send her a message by text as soon as it turns midnight  the night before.

Prossy and Sandra both do computer training with UDS.  They say everyone should celebrate Mothers’  Day.  Men should celebrate by thanking  their mothers for giving birth to them. Prossy said it’s a day when she does everything for her mother,  like cooking a special meal for her, buying  her a present and thanking  her for bringing her into the world. It’s also a time to express her appreciation to her mother for all the love, care, education and everything she’s done for her.  For Sandra, it’s a day when she expresses her happiness at being a child to her parents,  especially to her mother.

So when you are thinking about your Mother, think about Ugandan mothers, and how you can make their lives healthier and easier with a smokeless oven.  Donate now

Saving time and improving health in Uganda with Smokeless Ovens

To celebrate International Women's Day,  Andrew Yiga - the UDS Programme  Director talks about the Smokeless Oven Programme in Kamuli, Eastern Uganda 

It is a hot afternoon, and I pay a courtesy call to one of our farmers; " hoodii (Any one home)…. nobody seems to respond until I get to the backyard where I hear a familiar voice as I get closer. 

I am welcomed into the kitchen where Betty Mombwe and her husband are chatting with comfort. This is so unusual for  Uganda ! She is excited to have a visitor from UDS. After a chat, she lifts the lid of the saucepan  to check on what she is cooking. A thick cloud of steam covers the kitchen for seconds, then she quickly realizes how surprised I am to find such a  smoke free  environment (yet she is cooking using firewood) as she explains how fantastic her smokeless stove is. 

"It has been a real change having this smokeless oven , as it is no longer just me and the children that are in the kitchen. When I am busy, my husband comes into the kitchen to chat about family and social issues.  When I go outside to wash the dishes, my husband will now look after the fire. Not so in the past, as Ugandan men fear being choked by smoke"; explains Betty. 

Betty using her smokeless oven

"I also spend less time collecting firewood as I only use two pieces of firewood to prepare a meal.  Because the oven is designed with two burners - I can boil drinking water at the same time as I cook our meal, using the same amount of wood. In the past I would collect wood 4 times a week, but since I've had the oven I only have to do it once a week.  I don't have to worry about warming food for any family member who missed the main meal either as food keeps warm for four hours.  Oh smokeless ovens -  what a wonder and great relief you are  to the women of Africa who have to rely on firewood to cook !

It only costs £30 to train somebody to build a smokeless oven - the materials are nature's gift!  Donate now to our smokeless oven project or read more about them at www.ugandadev.org.uk





 

Fancy a Challenge 2012............................ 144 days to go

The NEW YEAR.......Fancy a Challenge.......144 days to Go!!


Nightrider 2012   



Do you fancy a challenge?  How about joining the UDS team for Nightrider 2012?

The Event is being held on 9 / 10 June 2012

IT IS A ONE DAY CHARITY RIDE WITH A DIFFERENCE...IT’S AT NIGHT!

Nightrider™ - an exciting 100km moonlit ride past London’s iconic landmarks.

Tower Bridge, a deserted City of London, Canary Wharf, London Zoo, Piccadilly Circus, British Museum, London Eye, Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square and more...Click for full details ofThe Route and to see the FAQs

A UNIQUE LONDON CHARITY EVENT IN THE 2012 OLYMPIC YEAR.

See the sights of London as never before whilst you cycle the deserted streets.  On June 9th, a team from UDS will be completing the 100km challenge and raising funds for our work in Uganda.

We have a number of guaranteed places for this popular event - all we ask is that you raise a minimum of £350.  Read about last year, find out more about the event and sign up.


http://www.ugandadev.org.uk/help/fundraise/

 Any questions call 020 3286 3306.