Camogie stars and ChildFund Ambassadors, from left to right: Sarah Dervan, Fionnula Carr, Mags D’Arcy and Aoife Murray ©INPHO/Billy Stickland
Dublin, 21st March, 2016
The Radisson Blu Hotel in Limerick will be abuzz on April 1st & 2nd when hundreds of delegates assemble for an important date in the annual sporting calendar; the Camogie Annual Congress. Also attending will be some of the biggest names in Camogie. ChildFund has four Child Ambassadors; Galway (All)star Sarah Dervan, Fionnuala Carr from Down, Mags D’Arcy from Wexford and Cork (All)star Aoife Murray. Aoife has kindly agreed to address the Congress and to explain why she has become involved in ChildFund’s work to help disadvantaged children Aoife and Mags will be also be manning an information and display stand over the course of the Congress to promote ChildFund’s partnership with the Camogie Association.and to explain why Dream Bike has captured their imagination, as hopefully it will capture yours too!
So what exactly is Dream Bike and how does it help girls?
©INPHO/Billy Stickland
The Dream Bike initiative seeks to equip girls in countries that ChildFund operate in, with the means to get to school safely and on time. This is something millions of children around the world take for granted but for children in developing countries, countless obstacles can be placed in their way that ultimately interfere or derail their educational path. For a start, many girls have to journey several miles a day just to get to school, sometimes anywhere up to ten miles on foot. This is a gruelling task for anybody let alone a child. It is neither safe nor sustainable. Along the way children can be exposed to a host of dangers from wild animals to child traffickers. Even without these child safety issues, its a massive task for these children just get to school regularly, much less be on time.
Bicycles donated to girls in India makes going to school a lot easier, and a lot more fun!
At home the biggest daily priority for many families in the developing world is sourcing fresh water. Sometimes children are forced to make long and backbreaking journeys to water wells or rivers to obtain drinking and washing water for the whole family. School becomes a secondary consideration and perhaps the idea of attending school regularly and obtaining a good education starts to feel like a mountain that is too high to climb. This is where your support comes in!
The idea behind Dream Bike is to provide girls in developing countries with a bicycle. To a girl who has to walk miles every day this can be massively liberating. It can literally help to put her own future in her own hands, giving her the means to get to far-afield destinations more quickly and regularly, hopefully avoiding many of the potential dangers on the way, such as wild animals.
It takes just €100 to provide a girl with a bicycle. This is not just a gift for leisure or for sport, for these girls it can make a profound difference to their lives, both in the short term by giving them the opportunity to stabilise their education, and in the long term, helping to put them of a pathway to a more promising future with better options and prospects. A good education is their best route out of poverty and disadvantage, it is a chance for them to define their own lives and to determine what they might be able to do with their lives in the future. Your donation therefore has the power to make a significant, immediate impact on the life of a disadvantaged girl.
Please visit our dedicated Dream Bike Campaign Page to find out the numerous ways in which you can donate. Help set the wheels in motion today for a girl who could really use your help…
ChildFund Ireland
