Soroptimists
Riders for Health are very excited about the support we are beginning to receive from Soroptimist Clubs from around the country. If your club wants to help make a real difference in Africa.
We believe that, in the 21st century, people living in rural Africa should not be isolated from the health care they need. Our programmes in the Gambia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Kenya are already helping over 10 million people to receive the kind of regular health care taken for granted in the developed world, but there is still much more to be done.
With Riders launching new programmes in Lesotho and Mozambique in 2008, there is even more reason for your club to get involved. Working together, Soroptimist lnternational and Riders can continue to promote the essential role of appropriate infrastructure and transport for development, helping millions more people in Africa to look forward to a healthy future.
Why support Riders?
Currently, 30,000 children under the age of five die every day across the developing world from preventable or treatable diseases including measles, diarrhoea and malaria, and more than half of women in sub-Saharan Africa give birth alone or with untrained assistance.
Often the single factor preventing the delivery of available health care is the lack of managed transportation. Put simply: When you keep health workers mobile, you keep people alive.
One such health worker is Manyo Gibba. Based in a village in rural Gambia, she is responsible for the health care of nearly 20,000 people in 14 villages – the furthest of which is 20km from her home. For the last four years, her job has been made easier by a simple motorcycle, maintained by Riders for Health.
“Before I had the motorcycle,” explains Manyo, “I had to walk or hire a donkey cart to visit my villages. Many of the communities would not see me for a month or more. But now I can visit them at any time of the day or night, and they see me at least once a week.”
By supporting Riders, your club can guarantee maximum impact towards its commitment to ensuring access to health care for women and girls. Riders can provide speakers free of charge, as well as promotional materials and support for fundraising events. We will also feature your fundraising efforts on these pages.
Get in touch
If you would like to receive more information about Riders for Health, or would like a speaker to visit your club, please contact Martyn Cook at mcook@riders.org or 01327 300047.
If you would like to support Riders by holding your own fundraising event, please contact Astrid Jenkinson at ajenkinson@riders.org or click here to download our easy fundraising guides.