SIX hardy Limerick men are among a group of 10 gearing up for the Tour De Ethiopia later this month when they will take to the highways and byways of East Africa in support of Self Help Africa.
The local team taking part in the event, which will be Self Help Africa’s first cycle/run for supporters to Africa, includes Dave Noble, Jim Jackman, Declan Cunningham, Mike McNamara, Ciaran Cierans and Shay Downey.
Self Help Africa is an international development agency that works at grassroots level tackling hunger and poverty in Africa by focusing their efforts on farming and food production.
The Tour De Ethiopia includes a 400km cycle over four days in very hilly terrain at a high altitude and the Great Ethiopian Run in Addis Ababa on November 24. This run is Africa’s largest road race and attracts upwards of 30,000 runners to the city each year.
Dave Noble, an employee of MPCC Credit Union in Dooradoyle, said the trip is a very special and relevant one for him. Self Help Africa is a chosen charity of the ILCU (Irish League of Credit Unions) Foundation which provides them with an annual contribution towards their self-help projects in Ethiopia.
“In Ethiopia, Self Help Africa works on a number of projects including a rural savings and credit co-operative movement, similar to Irish Credit Unions.
“To date, it has provided small loans to more than 32,000 people, most of whom are women. As a Credit Union employee, it will be very interesting to see how and where the monies donated by Irish Credit Unions are used to improve the lives of ordinary Ethiopian people,” said Mr Noble.
“I am especially looking forward to meeting ordinary Ethiopians to get a better understanding of their daily lives,” he added.
During the trip, the six will get to meet rural communities and see the rural development projects that Self Help Africa has implemented.
Mr Noble and his teammates have been training hard, putting in long hours on the saddle and pounding the roads in advance of their trip to Ethiopia.
“Some people have already said to me that I must be mad and they are probably right. We have set up a Facebook page for anyone to check out how we are getting on at www.facebook.com/TourDeEthiopia2013 and we also have a donations page set up on www.mycharity.ie/event/tde2013/ for anyone who might like to donate to Self Help Africa,” he said.
