—A 6-man team is cycling for change

by Leighton Cusack and Alex Manion

THE RIDE FOR RWANDA (TRFR)
is a fund/awareness raiser that we and four other guys put together. The main purpose of TRFR is to raise money and awareness for a non-profit organization, PROJECT RWANDA. This summer we are riding our bicycles 3,700 miles from Anacortes, Washington to New York, New York, USA.

Rwanda is a small mountainous country in East Central Africa. In the 1990s there was a genocide, which not only destroyed the country’s government, but also ruined the economy. Now that the genocide is over, and the country has returned to peace, the Rwandan government and economy are being reconstructed.

RECONSTRUCTION IS GREAT, but they need help. Since Rwanda is such a tiny country, they do not have a ton of natural resources; however, they do have one extremely important export, and that is coffee. Rwandan coffee is very high quality and in high demand. Coffee farmers in Rwanda have an average of about two hundred coffee trees apiece.

PROJECT RWANDA’S FOCUS was to design and construct a special bike called the coffee bike. Coffee bikes are designed specifically to transport coffee from Rwandan coffee farms to the marketplace.

WHY BIKES? Vehicles are far too expensive; no one can afford to keep up with gas prices and maintenance costs.

Another problem is the infrastructure. With very few paved roads in the mountains (which is where the majority of the farms are located), it is difficult for farmers to move their product. PROJECT RWANDA manufactures the coffee bikes and sells them to coffee farmers with micro loans, which are fairly priced, low cost loans to be paid off over a long period of time. Micro loans are intended to help the farmers gain financial independence.

With the production and distribution of the coffee bikes, a trip from the farm to the market takes only two to four hours; it used to take eight to ten. Coffee bikes have become not only a symbol of economic growth, but also a representation of hope.

TRFR's original goal was to raise $40,000, but in four months of spreading the word, we have now raised almost $50,000. And we haven't begun the ride yet!! We believe God is pleased with our efforts and is working with us and through us to achieve our goals. The ride has become something much bigger than we ever anticipated.

No special bikes are owned by the team, but four of our six bikes were donated for us to use on the ride. As a team, we were encouraged by the support. It is a 6-man team, no girls have volunteered to ride. We are on PROJECT RWANDA’s Website, but are not Team Rwanda. We aren’t the most experienced or professional bike riders but we had the dream and have been pursuing it wholeheartedly with a whatever it takes attitude. Not only that, the six of us are directly affecting another country’s economy for the good of the people—it’s a story we’ll be able to tell our children.

Contact us: www.therideforrwanda.org – or – www.trfr.org

About the riders:

--LEIGHTON CUSACK is a Grand Rapids MI native currently completing his Freshman year at Azusa Pacific University (APU) in Los Angeles, CA. A middle child of seven brothers and sisters, Leighton has learned to enjoy everything from riding competitively to bike trips with his friends carrying no food or money. Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

--ALEX MANION is currently a Senior at Northpointe Christian High School. He plans to attend Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois in the Fall of 2008. Alex is the youngest of three children. His father Jeff Manion is the senior teaching pastor at Ada Bible Church. Alex is heavily involved with worship bands and missions projects at Ada Bible Church.

--LUKE TUBERGAN was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan with a family of six. He currently resides in Holland, MI where he is finishing his first year at Hope College. The Ride For Rwanda has been in his dreams both day and night, and he anticipates the adventure ahead.

--GREG CHRISTIAN is from Southern California and currently resides in "A to Z USA" (aka Azusa, CA). He attends APU working toward a degree in Graphics Design. When he gets the chance, he likes to spend his time outside. The beach is his favorite choice for recreation, but he has recently discovered the challenges that the mountains can provide for him.

--C.J. ECKMAN's introduction to cycling was a two-day tour from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles wearing his $45 bike from the flea market. Since then his life has been devoted to school and planning for The Ride for Rwanda. He is a business major at Azusa Pacific University and calls San Ramon (San Diego County), CA his hometown.

--JASON BURKHOLDER was born and raised in La Crescenta, California, where he graduated from Crescenta Valley High School in 2005. He went on to Study music and design at Cal Poly Pomona for two years, before making the switch to a graphic design major at APU in the fall of 2007.

THINK ABOUT IT…YOU MAY DISCOVER A NEW AND FUN WAY TO SERVE THE LORD!

Want to teach your kids to develop a caring perspective about the world?

--Make helping the TRFR team a home missions event—take pictures and email them to your family, friends, and the team. Could be a great way to witness to your extended family.

What are YOU going to do? How willing are you to get involved?

--Why not get your neighbors involved? They might enjoy helping you by doing a BBQ for the team in someone’s back yard.

Any churches or youth groups along TRFR’s route willing to get involved?

--Offer the team a warm shower, good food, and a place to stay for one night (wasn’t that what Joseph and Mary were looking for one evening about 2,000 years ago?)

Easy steps to get involved:

--FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS are routed through the PROJECT RWANDA Website (www.projectrwanda.org). Please check the BOX online that asks if your donation was sparked by “The Ride for Rwanda”—this helps the team track monies raised on the Internet. Thank you.
--HELP TRFR TEAM RIDERS MAP THEIR TRIP! They need homes to spend the night in along their route. If you are interested, check out their route and itinerary on their Website: www.therideforrwanda.org and click tabs “RIDE DETAILS” and “Our Route” – See if your city is listed and contact them.
--TELL OTHERS ABOUT IT! Do you know someone living in the areas along the Team’s route? Maybe the church you attended in another state? Forward this article to them so they can be blessed by getting involved.