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Silverbacks Racing - Rwandan Athlete Fund

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My name is Amy Byrne, and I make up one-sixth of the Silverbacks Racing team , founded by the indomitable forensic-expert-turned-gorilla-whisperer Tami Loehrs. Tami created our team - currently composed of three US and three Rwandan athletes - as a (dare we say) guerilla marketing plan, to facilitate the launch of two businesses she recently founded in the small, proud country of Rwanda, Africa. Community and conservation have been the pulse of the operation at Silverbacks Coffee and Silverbacks Travel since their inception, and it's Tami's mission to inject profits right back toward the local people, the land they live on, and the gorillas they safeguard.

When I was first asked to join the Silverbacks team, I was still relatively new to the triathlon world, and very much still feeling the sting of the start-up costs involved with this expensive sport. At the suggestion of some friends and the behest of my pride, I started a fundraiser, and the sudden traction (and rapid success) of that GoFundMe is something that still shocks me to this day. After a 24-hour whirlwind turnaround, I hit my goal and the trip was possible, and what I then became a part of in Rwanda was nothing short of magical. Watching Tami’s philanthropic dream materialize was a priceless experience, and one that I was personally forever changed by. It's not lost on me, however, that I would never have had the chance to embark upon this trip if it had not been for the generosity of Tami and the indescribably kind individuals that make up my community, my chosen family, at home in the US. Blessed is very much an understatement, and I am eternally grateful.

Before we left for Africa, our US and Rwandan athletic trios knew absolutely nothing about one another - Tami's Rwandan business partner, Emmanuel “Human Google” Rulinda, found the local team through his own extensive network of connections. Upon meeting them, it struck me that these three young men were both disarmingly polite and intimidatingly athletic, but as we trained, talked, and befriended one another over the next few days, I came to realize that our Rwandan teammates - Fiston Uwimana, Alex Muhire, and Yves Tuyisenge - are significantly more remarkable than a race time and a medal can tell you.

As we spent more time together, it was crystal clear that all three of them are thoroughly wonderful on a personal level. The humility, kindness and patience they demonstrated was a striking antidote to the vanity and ego the US triathlon world had previously impressed upon me. They are world-class athletes with hearts of gold, and as much of an honor as it was to watch them perform as teammates, it's a greater honor to count them as friends.

As athletes, their capabilities are exceptional. They train at high altitude, on a terrain that justly landed Rwanda the nickname "the land of a thousand hills," and this training - combined with natural talent and stellar work ethic - is, put simply, a combination that would bring them international attention if they had the means to seek it.

As reality would have it, though, these men have a top-tier training environment at their feet, but financially they operate on a shoestring. None of them own their own bikes, or any of the supposed "essential" equipment that US triathletes armor themselves with - all the way down to race fuel. All three of them completed one of the world's toughest Ironman 70.3 courses in around 6 hours, and they operated on water alone. That fact in and of itself is virtually unfathomable to anyone who has trained “to tri” in a first-world country.

I have full faith that the three of them would shine on international platforms, if given the chance to do so. And such a chance is easily granted, if we can raise the funds to provide them the same gear and nutrition that US athletes enjoy, cover their race fees, and pay for the foundational costs of international racing (flights, accommodation, kit rental, etc). To equip one of them with an appropriate kit to form their training base would cost roughly $5000, and then to put together a voyage to a US Ironman 70.3 would be an additional 4K. These stellar young athletes have all the physical potential to become a force in the Ironman world, but the unsavory reality is that they won't get there unless there are funds available for them to do so.

At the end of the day, triathlon will never be more than a hobby for me, and I am more than comfortable knowing this - but for Alex, Fiston, and Yves, it could well be a means to a lucrative future as professional athletes, and in perfect truth I've never met a trio more deserving of that chance.

In turn, this channels all the more opportunity to strengthen the heart of the operation: Silverbacks Coffee and Silverbacks Travel. As our athletic team grows, so too does our brand. And as our brand grows, the more we are able to give back to the people and land where it all began. 

Anything you can give means the world to all of us, and from the bottom of my own heart - thank you, so very much.


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For business donations larger than $1000, we would love to work with you in partnership and add your logos to our kits/merchandise to thank you for your support. For more information, please contact me directly through the GoFundMe app!
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Donations 

  • Alicia H Fields
    • $50
    • 1 yr
  • Carl Atkins
    • $100
    • 1 yr
  • Tracy A Getman
    • $100
    • 2 yrs
  • Shawn Torstveit
    • $100
    • 2 yrs
  • Kelly Streeter
    • $50
    • 2 yrs
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Organizer

Amy Byrne
Organizer
Phoenix, AZ

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