Race for Africa Team Returns

---

Epic ride could raise £10,000 for local development charity

Antonia Okonma, star of ITV’s Bad Girls and a crowd of supporters, including African drummers, waved the Race for Africa team over the finish line on Friday 3rd June at 10.30 am at the Thames Barrier Park.

Race for Africa was an audacious challenge in which three intrepid cyclists rode 3,000 miles from London to Africa and back in just 30 days. The race will raise money for Excellent Development, a charity which provides WaterRelief to communities in Africa to sustainably transform their environment by building small-scale dams that provide locally available clean water.

The WaterRelief Race for Africa was launched from the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew by Antonia. She waved the team off at 10.30am on 4th May 2005.

The 3,000 round trip has taken Richard Barnes and his support riders Sam & Ben Towndrow through France and Spain to Morocco and back. Sam supported the outward leg and Ben the return, with Richard doing the whole ride.
Organisers hope the attempt will raise £10,000 for Excellent Development to enable the building of 10 small-scale dams which will provide a safe, clean water supply during the dry season for up to 15,000 people.

Women in semi-arid Africa walk up to 6 miles twice a day to collect water for their families. For an average village without a dam, that’s 3,000 miles of walking in just two days, whilst carrying 20 kg of water on their backs.

Executive Officer of Excellent Development, Simon Maddrell says, “Whilst the Thames Barrier Park provides a vital community and leisure focus, our nurseries also provide food, income and environmental stability in semi-arid Africa”

For further information about how to support the challenge call Simon Maddrell, Executive Officer on Office 020 8568 7118 or Mobile 07753 826 804. or isit the website www.excellentdevelopment.com or the micro-site at www.RaceforAfrica.com. You can also donate online at www.justgiving.com/water

Excellent Development is a Brentford based charity with 20 years experience that helps disadvantaged communities in Africa to sustainably transform their environment enabling farmers to improve water supplies, food production, health and incomes. They help small self-help community groups to plant trees and build small-scale dams, which promote both conservation and sustainable development.In co-operation with project partners in Africa, Excellent Development aims to build 100 sand dams, to plant 1 million trees and dig 100km of terracing by the year 2010.

June 3, 2005