A father/daughter bike trip planned for this summer promises to be a bonding experience for the two cyclists as well as a way to raise funds to help Somalian women get an education.
Emily Falk, and her dad, Don, a meat manager at the Rimbey Co-op, will ride their bikes from Red Deer to Canmore July 23 and 24. Money raised through pledges will go to the Global Enrichment Foundation’s newest program, the RAJO Women’s Literacy School.
Mr. Falk is looking forward to the approximately 260-kilometre bike ride to Canmore.
“It will be good fun,” he said, adding the pair bike 40 to 60 kilometres every couple of nights to build up their endurance for the upcoming challenge.
Emily said she, too, is looking forward to biking with her dad. “I’m excited, it will be awesome, for sure.”
The bike trip will be fun, but raising funds and awareness for the women of Somali is not something she takes lightly.
“Every Somali woman, if given the chance, has the potential to make significant contributions to the development of Somalia. GEF educational initiatives support and encourage the development of female leadership skills. These women are truly passionate about creating positive and sustainable changes not only their own lives, but also the lives of their families, community and their country as a whole,” Emily said on the website, Hope for the Nations.
The RAJO school provides beginner, intermediate and advanced English language instruction to 75 Somali refugee women residing in Eastleigh, Nairobi and Kenya. “The word ‘rajo’ means hope in Somali, which is what the school provides to these women who have fled their homeland and have lost their family and community support.”
Weekday classes at the school offer basic computer skills training, open discussions regarding health and nutrition, parenting, conflict resolution and how to deal with the challenges Somali women face as refugees.
The classes provide participants with a chance to become literate in the English language, thereby increasing their knowledge and understanding of one of Kenya’s official languages.
Anyone who is interested in supporting RAJO may donate through Emily Falk’s page at www.hopeforthenations.com. Cheques payable to Hope for the Nations re-RAJO will also be accepted and can be mailed to Emily Falk at Box 1145, Rimbey, TOC 2JO.