Istanbul by Bike
I feel the possibility to carry out such a tour as a privilege. My physical, temporal and financial conditions are given - and my family is also with me. In addition, I have the good fortune to live in a country with a stable political system, social security, a functioning health system and the possibility to express myself freely and to travel. Looking back on the past two years clearly shows that this is neither a matter of course nor a given everywhere in the world.
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Various organizations have set themselves the goal of helping people who enjoy (much) fewer or none of my "privileges" and who find themselves in humanitarian emergencies. I think this is important and good. Therefore I would like to support one of these organizations.
In 2022 I met Andy Dennis and Tracey Hill from England on a cycling trip to Barcelona. Both were cycling on their mission "Ride the Rock" from Amsterdam to Gibraltar. A charity project over 2,000 miles by bike. Both support Doctors Without Borders (MSF) with their project. Andy has also done missions in projects for MSF in Africa in the past years to care for Ebola patients and to care for injured people in civil war areas. These two people impressed me deeply with their warmth and commitment and told me a lot about their missions and MSF. That's what made me decide to support MSF with my bike trip. More about Tracey and Andi can be found here:
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https://andy4msf.com/challenges/ride-to-the-rock-2022/
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As a humanitarian medical organization, Doctors Without Borders is committed to providing high-quality and efficient healthcare in countries where people's survival is at risk due to diseases, wars and disasters - such as that earthquake in Syria and Turkey. Doctors Without Borders focuses on providing medical aid to people in need, neutrally and regardless of political, social or religious beliefs.
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The basic principles of Doctors Without Borders:
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We are impartial.
Medical ethics determine our actions. Our aid is based solely on the degree of need of the people. We support our patients without regard to ethnic origin, gender, political or religious beliefs.
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We are independent.
When people urgently need our help, we decide to help - uninfluenced by political, military or other interests. We owe our independence to our private donors, who finance most of our work.
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We are neutral.
We do not take a position in conflicts and provide help to all sides if it is necessary and the situation allows it. We communicate our neutral position in the project country, thus creating acceptance and trust.
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More information about Doctors Without Borders can be found here: doctors without borders
The website linked via the button goes directly to the organization.
The donations made go directly and completely there.
If this has piqued your interest and you would like to support Doctors Without Borders with a donation, I would be very happy about it.
The donation target is 1€ per kilometer of my planned route.
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Both the donation goal and the distance are very ambitious for me - but that's what makes it so!
Many thanks to the donators - Stefan Thelen