Gareth Morris at Hell's Gate National Park spotting a giraffe.

Stratford teacher soldiers on to raise £100,000 for African children

by Melissa York, Reporter Thursday, June 14, 2012
2:00 PM

Big-hearted Stratford teacher Gareth Morris has had a bumpy ride on his epic journey cycling to Africa.

Gareth, who used to teach Years One and Two at Gainsborough Primary School, is riding in a team of six over 12,000 miles They set off from Russell Square on August 7 2011 before journeying to Hastings to Europe, the Middle East and then Africa.

The team, who left their jobs to take part, hope to raise a total of £100,000 with the support of charities such as Street Action, Retrak, Street Child Africa and projects they will be visiting along the way.

They hope to complete the challenge next month.

After heavy rainfall overnight, Gareth slipped off his bike while cycling through mud on his way to Kampala.

He said: “As I tried to move from bandaging Scott’s knee, to pick up my bike - I found I couldn’t walk.

“Lifting my trouser leg revealed that my knee cap had swollen to twice it’s size in just 15 minutes!

“The locals were very kind and brought bags of ice for my knee (a semi cold soda held onto the injury wasn’t stopping the swelling) luckily AMREF saved the day.”

They came to pick up the English Patients with a landcruiser with all of their luggage.

Gareth added: “Depression set in on that journey, convinced that my cycling days were over, I gazed out of the window looking for anything that had wheels that I could use to complete this mammoth journey; motorbike, hand bike, and even an office desk chair!

“An x-ray revealed that there was no lasting damage so Cycle Africa could continue!”

To donate, visit cycleafrica.org and follow their journey on their blog www.cycleafrica.org/blog, their children’s blog http://dinoandlion.wordpress.com and via Twitter @cycleafrica.