Cycling4Gaza is an initiative founded by a group of determined and passionate young people in the wake of the 2009 war on Gaza. Its mission is to raise awareness about the on-going blockade on the Gaza Strip and to raise critical funds for carefully selected non-profit organisations that work to support Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees through education and healthcare. Cycling4Gaza provides a unique method to connect with Palestine through annual cycling challenges and various community awareness events and activities.

For detailed information on fundraising history and for visual accounts of each of the challenges, click here.

History

Cycling4Gaza’s 1,800 km journey over 5 years has raised £650,000 for 18 projects in Gaza. Each of these projects has addressed healthcare and education within vulnerable Palestinian communities, including maternal and children’s health, mental and physical disability, psychological care and children’s education. Since 2009, Cycling4Gaza has positively impacted the lives of 8,000 children and 5,000 family members and individuals in the community.

• In 2009 we covered 320 km from London to Paris in 3 days, reaching the Eiffel Tower on the 4th July. We raised over $150,000 (£90,000) for MAP’s emergency maternal and neo-natal healthcare projects in Gaza.
   
• 2010 saw us making our way across Italy in 4 days, cycling between two of the most famous landmarks in Europe, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Colosseum in Rome. We raised over $230,000 (£140,000) for Welfare Association’s early childhood education projects in Gaza.
   
• In 2011 we cycled from the coastal city of Aqaba to the Dead Sea just south of the capital, Amman. We raised over $360,000 (£220,000) for The Welfare Association’s community rehabilitation projects in Gaza.
   
• In 2012 we cycled around the Sea of Marmara in Turkey. We took on the challenge of cycling over a very hilly 300 km around the Sea of Marmara towards Istanbul. We raised over $150,000 (£90,000) in support of MAP’s projects in Gaza and Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. These projects focused on maternal and child health as well as Primary Trauma Care.
   
• 2013 highlighted Cycling4Gaza’s fifth cycle covering over 400km from Hamburg to Berlin. This was the largest cycle yet; with 39 riders successfully raising over $250,000 (£150,000) for the REACH Gaza project, in partnership with the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. The REACH Gaza project aims to identify and treat every child in Gaza in need of medical care through supporting both local and international medical efforts.

For detailed information on fundraising achievements and up to date reviews on the projects we have supported as part of each of the challenges, click here.

REACH Gaza – The 2014 Project Second Year Running

REACH Gaza aims to improve and strengthen the currently underdeveloped health-care system in Gaza, particularly when it comes to providing surgery for children in need of medical care.  In addition to causing a chronic shortage of medical equipment and supplies in Gaza, the 6 year long siege on the Gaza Strip has prevented children and their families from travelling freely into the West Bank and abroad in order to receive the urgent care and treatment they need.

The REACH Gaza project will address each of these issues and work towards creating a more durable, efficient and sustainable healthcare system by carrying out the following tasks:

• Identifying every sick and injured child in the besieged Gaza Strip in need of specialised medical care through a team of ground staff who will form an intricate network of field offices throughout Gaza
• Creating a pioneering centralised database that will include each child’s medical condition and history
• Providing each child with the required treatment through sponsoring treatment locally, visiting international volunteer missions and sending children abroad for care.

$250,000 (£150,000) was raised in 2013 in support of the REACH Gaza project. 53% of these funds directly resulted in:

• The treatment of 630 children in Gaza
• Through the work of 18 volunteer international medical teams
• Caring for children in need of cardiac, orthopaedic and general medical treatment

The funds also allowed for the development of the first medical database in Gaza with 496 child cases registered.

The remaining funds from 2013 will be used to continue providing essential medical treatment to the children in Gaza, in addition to all the funds raised in 2014 from our 6^th cycling challenge taking place in the US from Philadelphia to Washington DC on the 19^th of September. With these two cycles we aim to support the REACH Gaza project up to the end of 2015; caring for over 1000 children in Gaza.

Website:
www.cycling4gaza.com
Email:
info@cycling4gaza.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/cycling4gaza
Twitter and Instagram:
@cycling4gaza

REACH Gaza – The 2014 Project Second Year Running

REACH Gaza aims to improve and strengthen the currently underdeveloped health-care system in Gaza, particularly when it comes to providing surgery for children in need of medical care.  In addition to causing a chronic shortage of medical equipment and supplies in Gaza, the 6 year long siege on the Gaza Strip has prevented children and their families from travelling freely into the West Bank and abroad in order to receive the urgent care and treatment they need.

The REACH Gaza project will address each of these issues and work towards creating a more durable, efficient and sustainable healthcare system by carrying out the following tasks:

• Identifying every sick and injured child in the besieged Gaza Strip in need of specialised medical care through a team of ground staff who will form an intricate network of field offices throughout Gaza
• Creating a pioneering centralised database that will include each child’s medical condition and history
• Providing each child with the required treatment through sponsoring treatment locally, visiting international volunteer missions and sending children abroad for care.

$250,000 (£150,000) was raised in 2013 in support of the REACH Gaza project. 53% of these funds directly resulted in:

• The treatment of 630 children in Gaza
• Through the work of 18 volunteer international medical teams
• Caring for children in need of cardiac, orthopaedic and general medical treatment

The funds also allowed for the development of the first medical database in Gaza with 496 child cases registered.

The remaining funds from 2013 will be used to continue providing essential medical treatment to the children in Gaza, in addition to all the funds raised in 2014 from our 6th cycling challenge taking place in the US from Philadelphia to Washington DC on the 19th of September. With these two cycles we aim to support the REACH Gaza project up to the end of 2015; caring for over 1000 children in Gaza.