Rafferty Bros. UltraCycling Race: Madrid to Bcn
What are we doing?
Mike and Ken are doing an “Unsupported Ultra-cycling” race from Madrid to Barcelona within 50 hours... in June
700km, 7000m of uphill climbing and it will be hot!
There will be no brotherly bonding as Ken intends to do it “a lot faster” and Mike intends to have some “quiet me time”
What’s the cause?
Better Lives Foundation (BLF) is a UK charity running a completely free rural hospital in Sierra Leone.
Mike has been going to Sierra Leone to do surgical camps since 2010 and Mike is a trustee of the charity.
BLF train and provide full scholarships to local Drs, nurses and healthcare professionals and our aim is to be a fully funded self-sufficient hospital.
98% of funds raised are spent DIRECTLY in Sierra Leone… (2% is our cost to ship medical supplies out there). We pay nothing to UK volunteers!
BLF are in the process of expanding our MATERNAL and neo-natal unit in the hospital and have our own eco-brick making machine and the hospital is 100% powered by solar panels.
Sierra Leones’s infant mortality rate is the highest worldwide at 80 deaths per 1,000 live births
Sierra Leone has been classed as being one of three countries globally with the highest maternal mortality rates at 1,360 mothers dying in every 100,000 live births.
In practical terms, this results in over one third of deaths in women between 15-49 years old attributed to maternal health-related factors, with much of the burden falling on teenage mothers.
BLF are aiming to provide free 24/7 access to maternity and neonatal care we are going to impact 6,000 births and care for 18,000 children.
Even small donations go a massive way in Sierra Leone and I’ve witnessed first-hand how tiny interventions can save lives.
Thanks
Mike & Ken
Organizer
Michael Rafferty
Organizer
England
Better Lives Foundation
Beneficiary