The Countries

Liberia and Sierra Leone are two of the poorest countries in the world. According to the World Bank Liberia is the 4th country with the lowest GDP per capita ($813) and Sierra Leone the 10th ($1,473) . They are also among the countries with lowest Human Development Index. They were the countries affected most by the 2013 - 2016 Ebola outbreak with 10,666 cases and 4,806 deaths in Liberia and 14,122 cases and 3,955 deaths in Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone

Population: 7,075,641

Area: 71,740 km2
Independence:  27 April 1961
Life Expectancy: 57.8 years

Sierra Leone became independent from the United Kingdom on 27 April 1961, led by Sir Milton Margai, who became the country's first Prime minister. The current constitution of Sierra Leone was adopted in 1991, though it has been amended several times.
From 1991 to 2002, the Sierra Leone Civil War was fought and devastated the country. The proxy war left more than 50,000 people dead, much of the country's infrastructure destroyed and over two million Sierra Leoneans displaced as refugees in neighbouring countries.
After the civil war the Ebola outbreak has affected the economic recovery.

Liberia

Population: 4,503,00

Area: 111,369 km2
Independence: 26 July 1947

The Republic of Liberia began as a settlement of the American Colonization Society (ACS), who believed black people would face better chances for freedom in Africa than in the United States. The country declared its independence on July 26, 1847. The black settlers carried their culture and tradition with them to Liberia. The Liberian constitution and flag were modeled after those of the U.S.
Liberia is the first African republic to proclaim its independence, on July 26, 1847 and is Africa's first and oldest modern republic. Liberia retained its independence during the Scramble for Africa. 
Five years of military rule by the People's Redemption Council and five years of civilian rule by the National Democratic Party of Liberia were followed by the First and Second Liberian Civil Wars. These resulted in the deaths of 250,000 people (about 8% of the population), the displacement of many more and shrunk Liberia's economy by 90%.
A peace agreement in 2003 led to democratic elections in 2005, in which Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected President. Recovery proceeds but about 85% of the population live below the international poverty line. Liberia's economic and political stability was threatened in the 2010s by an Ebola virus epidemic.

The Journey

We will be in West Africa from January 21 to January 28. 7 days of cycling and visiting Street Child

Day 0 - January 21 Freetown, Sierra Leone

Flights from Heathrow to Brussels and from Brussels to Freetown. If possible time to visit projects in Freetow, where a landslide killed more that 500 people in August 2017.

Day 1 - January 22 Bo, Sierra Leone

Arrival in Bo, Sierra Leone, visit Street Child projects and meet some of the children your fundraising will be supporting.

Day 2 - January 23 Bo to Potoru

First day of cycling. Leave Bo in the morning and ride through local villages and beautiful countryside towards Sulima

Day 3 - January 24 Potoru to Sulima

Second day of cycling. After staying in a local community, we continue our journey crossing the stunning Sierra Leone landscape.
"A real highlight was entering the village to an unbelievable reception at the end of the first day of cycling. The locals made us feel so welcome and were incredibly hospitable, particularly considering how little they have. I remember at the end of that day everyone was really tired because it had been quite a long stretch, but no one complained or moaned about anything, we just sat down and enjoyed a well earned beer together in the evening." Adam Doggett

Day 4 - January 25 Sulima to Sinje, Liberia

Third day of cycling. Leave Sulima in the morning and head towards the border between Sierra Leone and Liberia. Cross the border in the afternoon. Overnight stay in a local community.

Day 5 - January 26 Sinje to Robertsport

Final day of cycling. After a night in a local village, continue your journey towards the beautiful Robertsport beach. You will visit our new Flagship Academies on the way there.

Day 6 - January 27 Robertsport and Monrovia

Travel from the stunning Robertsport beach to Monrovia by car. Visit Street Child projects in Monrovia.

 Day 7 - January 28 Monrovia and back

After a night in Monrovia, travel to the airport and fly home in the evening.

Street Child

Street Child is a UK charity, established in 2008, that aims to create educational opportunity for some of the most vulnerable children in Africa and Asia. Starting in Sierra Leone, then the poorest country in the world, we have supported over 60000 urban and rural children to access a quality education.

Whether working with children on the streets, those in rural communities that simply have no schools, or in crisis areas where children’s ability to learn has been adversely affected,  Street Child is  committed to transforming lives through increased access to education with a core focus on sustainability. Their ultimate goal is to bring education to the world’s most vulnerable children. So far they have helped more than 60,000 out-of-school children progress through education, built 300 rural schools and trained nearly 1,000 teachers. They also have given out over 15,000 small business grants ensuring parents can send their children to school and keep them there long- term.

Welcome!

We are a Portuguese couple living in Cambridge.

50% of us love to cycle and the other 50% loves children. 100% loves to help other people ant that is the main reason for cycling West Africa.

We will visit Street Child projects and help where we can. This is also an opportunity to raise awareness for the problems in Sierra Leone and Liberia, two countries that are not in the news in our two countries (Portugal and the UK).

 Every pound you give to Street Child through this page will be DOUBLED! This means that if we reach our £3.000 goal £6.000 will be given to Street Child.

This value will be enough to:
 - allow 50 children to go to school for a year.
- provide a business grant to 10 families so they can keep their children at school
- pay 10 rural teachers salary for a year
- refurbish and resource 2 local schools