DUSHANBE, August 4, 2009, Asia-Plus — Eurasia Foundation Network most active donors, Ricard Salevik and Jean Frederic Gauvin, began a 16,000 kilometer bike ride from Oslo to Beijing in March this year.
According to the Dushanbe Office of the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia (EFCA), wanting more than just adventure, they are using this opportunity to raise funds for social development projects in the region and have selected to work with EFCA to support two youth income generation projects in Tajikistan.
The cyclists will assist with implementation of the projects aimed at providing vocational training on sewing and cooking to young women from the Vahdat district to help them start their own businesses and assisting with development of the bee-farming businesses in the Sokhcharv jamoat, GBAO’s Shugnan district.
“As of today, the cyclists have crossed Europe, Turkey, Armenia, Iran, Turkmenistan to Uzbekistan and are expected to enter Tajikistan on August 8,” said the source, “The cyclists will reach Dushanbe by August 10 and then they will go to Vahdat and Gorno Badakhshan.”
According to the EFCA Dushanbe Office, Salevik and Gauvin have already raised 17,000 US dollars for the mentioned projects. “The main contribution has been made by France’s la Fibre. Besides, other sponsors and citizens of the countries the cyclists have crossed have also made donations.” Ricard Salevik and Frederic Gauvin have also opened their website — www.silkroadbybike.com, and those interested could make donations through their website.
The Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia (EFCA) was created in 2005 to better meet the needs of Eurasia Foundation’s local partners in Central Asia and to devolve management responsibilities to local staff. Based in Almaty, Bishkek, Dushanbe and Osh, EFCA staff manage a broad portfolio of programs, developing local organizations via technical assistance and grants. Eurasia Foundation (EF) and EFCA have invested more than $40 million in Central Asia to support local initiatives in community development, private enterprise, education and public administration.
As a part of EFCA, the Tajikistan office works locally to support private enterprise, engage citizens in civil society, improve links between higher education institutions and local businesses and promote responsive local government. EFCA also works to provide access to independent media throughout remote areas of the country through a Regional Correspondents’ Network. Additionally, EFCA runs cross-border programs to boost cooperation between NGOs in Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Because border issues must be solved jointly, EFCA supports a project on border cooperation between Tajikistan and Afghanistan to foster the development of small- and mid-sized business in southern Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan.
