Two Rally drivers - Steven Funk and Jean-Louis Juchault have entered this years East Africa Safari Rally to raise funds and awareness for the Africa-Middle East Regional Microcredit Summit 2010 and Jamii Bora. Read the Press release out - from the Press conference held Monday, 16-Nov-2009 at the Serena Hotel.
RACING FOR CHANGE TO END POVERTY.
Monday, November 16, 2009............Internationally renowned financiers-turned-racecar drivers Steven Funk, a Canadian, and Jean -Louis Juchault from France have entered the East African Classic Safari Rally 2009 under the auspices of Race4Change.
Driving a powerful 1975 Peugeot 504 coupe V6 rally car, the two are participating in the one of the most grueling rallies in the world for the first time to raise funds for local microfinance projects and raise awareness on the fight against poverty.
Both drivers have long experience driving in race rallies as non-professionals. Jean Louis has competed in the Dakar Rally, a road race in West Africa while Steven has raced on track driven motorcycles off track for years.
"We are reviving up the engines in the race to end poverty! Race 4 Change will race in the most grueling, roughest road rally in the world, the East African Safari Classic rally in an effort to raise money for Microfinance the world's most powerful poverty fighting tool," Steven Funk, co-driver and one of the founders of Race 4 Change said.
Race4change, is a Non Governmental Organization initiated by the two former financiers, whose vision is to raise awareness on microcredit and raise funds in support of two of the leading poverty fighting organizations in the world, Jamii Bora Trust, a local leading microfinance institution and the Microcredit Summit Campaign, a global campaign to reach the world's poorest families, especially women, with credit and other financial services.
"We are racing to end poverty, racing to save lives and to raise money to help speed up the race against poverty. We encourage people to go to www.race4change.org and donate whatever they can and join us in the race to crush poverty on this planet," added Funk.
More and more people are realizing that microfinance can be an extra ordinary tool to empower the very poor. Race 4 Change is spreading that message ‘It is Possible to End poverty.' Further their participation in the East African Classic Safari rally, race aims at creating awareness about the Africa-Middle East Regional Microcredit Summit to be held in April, 2010, in Nairobi.
The Microcredit Summit Campaign is the world's most successful poverty fighting engine. It is a global campaign to reach the world's poorest families, especially women, with credit and other financial services.
Statistics from UNICEF indicate 25,000 children die every day from poverty. Race 4 Change is racing to save the lives of those children, by donating money to help save their lives. Many Microfinance institutions from across Africa, Asia and Latin America will benefit from awareness created by Race 4 Change.
Jamii Bora, one such microfinance institution has seen its clients build the First African Microfinance ECO-Town, Kaputiei. Clients are consequently moving from slums where they have lived in squalor and filth into clean, two and four bedroomed homes with running water, solar power, schools for their children and a safe place to build a better life for themselves and their families.
ENDS
