Meet our newest Find Your Wings Foundation beneficiary, Cynthia Wilson. She will be biking across Zambia as part of to Bike Zambia 6: Ending HIV/AIDS and Empowering Women and Girls in Zambia. She is looking to raise $4,000 for the cause.
As a young girl, people asked me, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” My response was always, “I want to make a difference.” I am going on a bike ride across Zambia. I will ride my bike for over 300 miles. I will also be creating a multimedia story to give to the organization to help promote the ride in the future.
Chooda is a non-profit organization that organizes this trip around giving back. It is one thing to ride your bike across a country for the sake of doing it. It is another thing to go into a community and immerse yourself in the poverty, the illness, and the people to make a difference.
This ride collaborates with Buffalo Bicycles. Since 2012, Bike Zambia has supported the Bicycles for Educational Empowerment Program and STEPS OVC HIV/AIDS caregivers program by purchasingBuffalo Bicycles and donating them to local programs that help girls access education and women access to trade or business to support their families.
This mission is near to my heart. I believe empowering women with mobility opens doors for change in the world. A mode of transport can pull you out of poverty. In addition, education can free women from oppression or just give her more opportunity in the world. I will learn more about the bicycle and how powerful it can be to someone in rural Africa.
I am going to learn about myself. I am going to create a beautiful story of what it is like to be a recipient of the funds raised and I am going because I have been in many of the situations that these women face. I had access to transportation and education and mentors. I want to give back in a big way and I believe that this is how I can.
I have great work to do in the world and this is just the beginning.You can also donate directly to Cynthia's cause by visiting her fundraising page.