On the road again…

The Bike Tour Committee plans the route through Ouagadougou

Le Tour de Burkina Commence

That’s right. Volunteers from Peace Corps Burkina Faso will be riding 1,740 km in September to again raise funds for the Gender and Development Committee.

For those that missed it last year, here’s a brief recap of what went down in 2010:
In order to raise funds for the Gender and Development (GAD) committee, PCV Marita Whalen (Léo 2009-2011) led a bike tour from the 4th to the 30th of September. In addition to kicking off celebrations of Peace Corps’ 50th anniversary, the tour increased awareness of PCBF activities and reinforced relationships within volunteers’ communities. Funds raised went to projects supporting women’s and girls’ health initiatives, girl-friendly school environments, youth camps, and world map projects. Thirty PCV riders throughout Burkina Faso received sponsorship from friends and family in the US, and in total they biked over 1,300 km, visited 19 volunteer sites, and collected almost US$5,000.

This year we aim to do even better.

Our main goals for the 2011 Tour are as follows:
 Raise funds for future GAD grants and activities
 Leverage the presence of the 2011 Tour at PCV sites as an awareness campaign opportunity
 Promote Peace Corps Burkina Faso’s presence in the country and celebrate the Peace Corps’ 50th anniversary

Le Tour De Burkina will traverse approximately 1,700 kilometers (that’s the distance from New York to Orlando) and pass by 32 volunteer sites. Also, we are hoping to top US$6,000 raised for your future GAD projects. And we would love for you to take part.

We’ll be updating this blog periodically as we prepare for the 2011 Tour, and in the meantime, enjoy some stories from volunteers about how funds were used in their communities. Even your small donations are making tangible changes in the lives of West African women and girls.