Riders for Health Experience Africa
Motorcyclists will have the chance to take part in a life-changing new adventure in Lesotho as well as raising money to save lives in Africa with Riders for Health.
Download the Experience Africa brochure, by clicking here.
Click here to find out how MCN editor, Marc Potter, got on in Lesotho in his aricle 'Riding on the roof of Africa' which appeared in MCN on 16 December 2009.
Riders for Health Experience Africa is a unique motorcycle journey through Lesotho. This beautiful mountain kingdom in Southern Africa offers stunning mountain scenery, endless trails and some of the world’s most spectacular off-road motorcycling. But this is not just a holiday. It is a chance to make a difference. Participants will be raising money to support the work of Riders for Health and they will witness firsthand the organisation’s inspiring humanitarian work in Lesotho.
Behind its breathtaking beauty, Lesotho has a tragic story. This small country has one of the highest rates of HIV anywhere in the world. The mountainous landscape means that many villages cannot be reached by four wheeled vehicles, and walking a clinic can take many hours. This is why the work of Riders for Health is so vital. Without it many communities can receive no health care at all.
During the ride participants will see how Riders for Health is working with outreach health workers and using reliable motorcycles to reach even the most isolated villages with health care. Adventurers will visit clinics, ride with health workers and spend time in communities, seeing how thousands of lives have been transformed by motor-cycles. They will see how their support is bringing about real change in Africa.
In Lesotho Riders for Health works in partnership with the ministry of health and other health focussed organisations. Visits to see the work of Riders for Health will be under the guidance of Mahali Hlasa, Riders’ Programme Director in Lesotho, who is a senior public health worker and accomplished motorcyclist.
Thirteen times grand-prix winner and co-founder of Riders for Health, Randy Mamola, has just returned from Lesotho after riding the Riders for Health Experience Africa route for the first time: ‘I have just had the most incredible ten days riding in the wonderful country of Lesotho. It is amazing to see that the machine that gives us all so much pleasure – the motorcycle – is having 
such a huge impact on people’s lives in Africa. The Riders for Health Experience Africa ride is sure to be a life changing experience.’
There will only be a limited number of places on the first Riders for Health Experience Africa. Details of the ride will be released soon. To make sure you are the first to know, email experienceafrica@riders.org.
The total cost of the trip will be approximately £5,000 of which approximately 40% will be used to further Riders for Health’s work in Africa. The remaining funds will be used to cover the costs of the event. Participants can raise the cost of the trip through sponsorship and Riders for Health will support them with all of their fundraising efforts.