DUSHANBE, August 27, 2009, Asia-Plus — A 16,000 kilometer bike ride from Oslo to Beijing has been interrupted in Gorno Badakhshan as bike of one cyclists has been stolen in the village of Sokhcharv in the Shugnan district, some 32 kilometers of Khorog, according to the office of the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia (EFCA) in Dushanbe.
As it had been reported earlier, the Eurasia Foundation Network most active donors, Ricard Salevik and Jean Frederic Gauvin, began the bike ride from Oslo to Beijing in March this year. 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 are assisting 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 village.
“Unknown persons stole the bike of Ricard Salevik in the village of Sokhcharv on the night of August 23-24,” said the source, “They did not take other things of the cyclist, among which were documents, notebook computer, photo camera and billfold. The GBAO law enforcement authorities and local residents are taking efforts to find the bike.”
“The Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia expresses gratitude to the law enforcement authorities for investigation conducted by them and hopes for successful completion of the investigation,” noted the source. “If the bike is not found, Ricard Salevik will have to return home and Jean Frederic Gauvin will continue the ride to Beijing alone.” The cost of the stolen bike is more than € 2,000.
The cyclists have crossed 13 European and Asian countries to this day and have been faced with theft for the first time. Ricard Salevik and Jean Frederic Gauvin have already raised more than 17,000 U.S. 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.
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.
