News
Prince William launches a charity bike ride across Africa in aid of the Tusk Trust
30th March 2008
Prince William gave a royal send-off today to a cycle expedition that hopes to raise thousands of pounds for animal conservation in Africa.
The Cycle of Life riders hope to travel more than 5,000 miles across Africa to raise £500,000 for the Tusk Trust.
Prince William is Patron of the Trust, a UK-based wildlife conservation charity that aims to use the funds to alleviate rural poverty in Africa without threatening environmental sustainability.
The expedition team rode into Colour Court in St James's Palace's to be greeted by William and Charlie Mayhew MBE, Chief Executive of the Tusk Trust
The three main riders, led by Barty Pleydell-Bouverie, will be joined by a local African rider during all the main stages of the journey which will take them across seven countries.
The fundraisers will travel to a number of projects being supported by the Tusk Trust as they travel through Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and finally Kenya.
Barty told the Prince: "What we are really trying to do is make an impact within these conservation areas where a lot of work has been done to protect the local environment.
"People living in these areas have their lives intertwined with the future of the wildlife and we will be raising money to support these communities to help them through various initiatives."
The team of riders will also feature two homeless young men being helped by the charity Centrepoint, which also has The Prince as its Patron, and a key worker Zak Brophy.
The link up between Tusk Trust and Centrepoint was made possible because of the Princes’ Charities Forum, which was established two years ago to discover how the charities that Prince William and Prince Harry are patron of can work together, where appropriate, to discover mutual benefits.
Prince William spoke to all of the riders, including Damian Jansen, 19, who is being helped by Centrepoint's Derwentside service near Newcastle.
He said to Damian: "I hope it's challenging but fun and I hope it's everything you want it to be."
The 19-year-old will only be taking part in the first leg of the journey which will cover about 1,000 miles. Damian said after meeting the Prince: "Basically this journey will enrich my life and will give me some fantastic memories.
"It will probably show me how people do without all the important things I take for granted, which will be an eye-opener."
The team will fly out to Africa on 11th April and, after a period of acclimatisation, hope to begin their cycle trek five days later.
They hope to travel around 60 miles a day and expect to cover the 5,000 mile route in about four months.
Prince William became Patron of Tusk Trust in December 2005. Tusk Trust, founded in 1990 and based in Dorset, supports 40 conservation projects in 16 countries across Africa.
Prince William became Patron of Centrepoint, the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity, in September 2005.
Click here to visit the Cycle of Life website.
Click here to visit the Tusk Trust website.
Click here to visit the Centrepoint website.