Use of Funds 2025

 

As the fundraising grows and the use of funds becomes more diverse we will create an annual mini report on the use of funds as below.

Our primary cause is 1moreChild. Once we hit the annual fundraising target required by 1moreChild we donate the surplus to Lyra in Africa.

Background

1moreChild

1moreChild increased the number of children they looked after steadily from 2012-2018 when the rides started producing significant funds. In the earlier years of Ride25 our expectation was that the number of participants would reduce the further way from the UK we cycled – particularly post Leg 7 to Istanbul. This fitted in with Harry & Hen’s ambitions for 1MC when they came back to the UK and stopped taking on any more children. The money raised has basically matched the funds required by 1MC. Travel bans during COVID disrupted things with no legs possible between 2020 and 2022. As a result, all the reserves were depleted and 1moreChild cut costs significantly. Some monies were still donated by supporters / sponsors to keep 1MC going.

The cost base has risen since COVID despite the number of children going down principally due to rampant food inflation and a higher population of secondary school children where costs are higher. The amount raised has exceeded the funds required so the Balance Sheet has been repaired with reserves of circa 5 months expenditure (£80-100k). The 1MC budget will decrease each year from now on as they are not taking on any more children and each year many leave school. 1MC forecasts that their budget will half over the next 5 years and be zero within 10 years.

 

Lyra in Africa

Lyra, based in Iringa in Tanzania is very similar to 1moreChild in many ways and was set up to enable girls to complete their schooling. I have known the founder Maria Spink for several years, and I went to Tanzania with Maria this summer with my middle daughter, Lola and a God daughter to really experience what Lyra does.

Lyra was initially set-up to build “Girls’s Hostels” in the grounds of Government secondary schools in Tanzania. A high percentage of rural girls drop out of secondary school partially because of walking anything from 10-20KM each way to school. Some fall pregnant after accepting lifts on motorbikes etc. The Lyra solution is to build a hostel that houses circa 100-140 girls so that they can stay at school and complete their studies. The annual drop-out rate of these children has reduced significantly from 15% to 2% per annum. The teenage pregnancy rate has dropped to zero from 6-10 pregnancies per annum per school. So far, Lyra have built 15 hostels housing about 2,000 girls at any one time.

The hostels are only built if they local authority commits 30% of the build costs and the community agrees to offer significant resources (circa 4% of the cost) in terms of building material / manpower / harvest etc. Once they are built the structures and running costs are handed over to the district and community so there is minimal ongoing overhead running the hostels. The rest of the construction cost is funded by donors at a one-off cost of circa £70k per hostel.

Lyra also funds places in these hostels (food costs etc) for the most disadvantaged at a cost of 290USD per annum per child.

Lyra also runs Youth Entrepreneur Schemes for out of school children and has also built IT facilities in all partner schools.

Why Lyra?

• Tackles a similar problem to 1moreChild – enabling disadvantage kids to go to school
• Enterprise scheme that fits our profile and ultimately our riders can help mentor the entrepreneurs that have ambition to create bigger businesses
• No Western costs – all Trustees / Fundraisers are volunteers
• A small amount of £ goes along way and very efficiently spent
• Great thoughtful leadership from Maria

Source of Funds 2025

2025 was the best year for fundraising in our history with a total of £308,000 raised for our charity causes. The future fundraising looks strong for the years ahead:

• The numbers on the Pioneers Leg 15 is at an all time high of 125.
• The numbers on the Founders Leg 5 also has a record number of sign-ups at 90 with great momentum, more sponsors and a price rise for Leg 5.
• Growing auction in terms of lots, bidders and bids.

 

 

Use of Funds 2025

The funds for 2025 were split between 1moreChild (£158,000) and Lyra in Africa (£150,000). Here is a summary of how the funds are being used:

1moreChild (£158,000)

As well as funding day to day activities of 1moreChild and the costs associated with educating / housing 150 children we have also added back some of the basic items that have been removed since COVID – e.g. extra food, camps, football costs, clothes etc.

Here are some specific success stories across a range of different areas:

 

University Places – 12 pupils have just received A Level results and 10 have qualified for university which is extraordinary. Three of those are girls. We are desperately looking for sponsors to be able to send them to university. We are particularly hoping to send the girls as they will drift back to Masese and end up pregnant and working in the market if they don’t obtain a qualification high enough to secure a job.

 

 

Medical – in the past 12 months alone 1moreChild has funded a number of medical emergencies saving the lives of three children through emergency medical treatment and regaining the hearing for two children.

 

 

 

Udon Francis who is studying law in Kampala. He is absolutely thriving. Francis’ journey from surviving on the streets of Jinja to pursuing a law degree at Kampala International University is truly inspiring. His determination to fight against injustices like land grabbing is admirable, and it’s clear that he’s driven by a passion to make a difference.Loving the course and the challenges involved. He has been doing a lot of practical work involving debates and law court placement. Whilst on a placement in Jinja he was very helpful to one of our old boys who had been accused of stealing phones!

 

 

Akol Mary is a qualified football referee.

 

 

 

 

 

Lokuta Mary is studying hotel management and catering. She has been with us since the beginning and is an excellent character. She is sponsored by the R25 Ladies and would otherwise have ended up back in Masese.

 

 

 

 

 

Lyra in Africa (£150,000)

 

The funds will be used across these four initiatives:

Youth Entrepreneur Scheme – In 2017 Lyra started a Youth Enterprise Scheme that both intensively trains and provides a Savings & Loan Scheme to give participants everything they need to start a business and become at the very least self-sufficient. It now has over 1,300 entrepreneurs running a wide variety of businesses from mushroom farms, chickens, food supplements, +++ This well thought out scheme has been wildly successful and has resulted in 80% of participants at least doubling their income and providing employment for at least one other person. The Scheme is now being adopted by other organisations in Tanzania.

£50,000 will be used to train a new contingent of 100 young people in Iringa. The Iringa 12 month training scheme that started on 1st March 26. An additional scheme will be run for 30 post school young people for 1moreChilds in Uganda.

Ride25 Hostel – Lyra will build a new hostel (Similar to this photo) in a new community that will house 140 girls throughout the school year.  The donation of £74,000 will provide the majority of the funds for contruction with the balance committed by the local community. The land is provided by the school and on completion the costs of running the hostel will be taken on by the school.

 “Ride25 Cycle to School” Pilot  where we buy 30 bikes for children in the rural communities (not those up the mountains!) to enable them to cycle to school. A possible alternative solution to building some hostels. Details and budget to be ironed out particularly around bike theft and maintenance but probably an opportunity for some youths in the Entrepreneur Scheme.

Wildlife Conservation – we are also planning to pilot an eduction program partnering with STEP with schools that neighbour the game reserves to help humans work alongside the animals. Once the budget for the Cycle to School scheme is confirmed this will dictate how widespread this program will be.

Can I visit Lyra?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our visit to Tanzania in July 2025 was a pilot with a handful of parents and children / nieces / nephews visiting the schools, sleeping and eating in the villages and doing the long walk to school every day. It was a rich experience that my daughter will never forget. The perfect age for the youngsters is probably 15 to 30. We finished visiting the charity’s initiatives with an amazing safari in a lesser-known Wildlife Park in the middle of Tanzania. Very few tourists but incredible wildlife. It could even be combined with a beach trip to Zanzibar afterewards.

See INSERT LINK to all the details of a trip on October – there are a few people committed already including John Readman and his 18 year old daughter Lottie.

Let me know if you are interested in finding out more or email Maria.

Rob