THE CYCLIST

- Magda Olczak -

By Standing Voice

May 23^rd, 2017

My mission: to raise awareness around the challenges faced by people with albinism in Africa.

I was first exposed to the issue after watching the documentary 'Ghost People': an exploration around the plight of people with albinism in Africa. The documentary profiled Kabula, a girl with albinism Standing Voice has worked with, who had been forced into a protectorate centre for her own safety.

I was both sickened and saddened to see what was happening to such vulnerable people, so decided to stand up and make my voice heard.

"I was shocked that in the 21st century people are being hunted for their body parts."

A few months later, I was taking a self-expression and leadership course through the Landmark Forum, during which participants had to develop and complete a project. I knew this was my opportunity to create a change for people with albinism. I've always been an active person, and I've always loved helping others less fortunate than myself, so this would be the perfect opportunity to combine my two passions.

I started reaching out to different NGOs, and Jamie from Standing Voice responded! I knew instantly that I wanted to collaborate with them. Together, we developed a plan to cycle down from London to Bournemouth over the course of 3 days. It was an ambitious route, and we established an ambitious fundraising goal too. Standing Voice were very helpful in setting up my JustGiving page, a platform I hadn’t even heard of before.

"The majority of people I spoke to while fundraising hadn’t heard about the issue! About 99% said they’d never heard about people with albinism struggling in East Africa."

When we finally made the trek to Bournemouth, it was an unforgettable experience. There were seven of us, and though I had a hard fall near our destination, we all made it. We were all exhausted, but so happy to have made a tangible difference to the lives of people with albinism in Tanzania.

It was a definite success in my eyes, and I can’t wait to collaborate with Standing Voice again. Beforehand, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing in terms of fundraising or organising a mission like this. Now, I feel confident that in the future, I could reach even higher fundraising goals.

It’s important that when considering fundraising, you pursue an activity you enjoy to motivate you along the way. I love pushing the limits of my comfort zone and being active. Next time, maybe I’ll do a triathlon!