Humanitarian bike ride almost fell through

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DUSHANBE — A bike ride from Oslo to Beijing by two European cyclists to help young people in Tajikistan implement projects to generate sustainable incomes in the future almost fell through when one of the bicycles disappeared on the night of August 24 in Sukhcharv, a Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous district.

An employee of the Eurasia–Central Asia Fund in Tajikistan, Ravshan Abdulloyev, said one of the projects financed by the cyclists was being implemented there. However, other possessions belonging to Richard Salevic of Sweden, including personal documents, a notebook computer and camera that were left unattended were not taken.

Regional police chief Abdullo Navdzhuvanov said the bicycle was found three days later in the possession of a 10-year-old village boy, who saw it unattended and rode off with it. Had it not been found, Salevic would have had to fly home, abandoning his French partner, Jean Frederic Gavin, to continue to Beijing alone, possibly ended the endeavour then and there.

The two will now ride on to Beijing, covering a total of 16,000km. They have already crossed 13 European and Asian countries and have raised more than US$17,000 for their projects. They donated the funds to the Eurasia–Central Asia Fund (ECAF), which will use the money to finance sewing and cooking classes for women from poor families with many children in the Vakhdat region near Dushanbe. A beekeeping project aiming to provide men with an alternative source of income will be implemented in Sokhcharv.

ECAF was set up in 2005 to mobilise public and private resources to help Tajiks play an active role in building their future, by strengthening local communities and increasing the economic well being of individuals. Salevic and Gavin have found a unique way to contribute to the fund.