Last week, ShortsTV travelled to Germany to take part in the Big Ride for Africa, an annual fundraising event in aid of children’s charity, Lessons for Life.
The Lessons for Life Foundation funds education projects in some of the toughest parts of the world, believing that education has the power to change everything in a child’s life and transform their chances of achieving a better future. Marie Louise in the short film above is one of a number of children they have helped get back to school and her moving story perfectly illustrates how important this cause is and why we are proud to be a supporter of it.
This year, the Big Ride for Africa took place at Ehreshoven Castle near Cologne. 400+ people from companies affiliated with Lessons for Life’s corporate partner, Liberty Global, came together for a few days to camp in the grounds of the beautiful 14th century castle and take part in cycling and running challenges in the surrounding countryside.
ShortsTV had a team of five brave staff members who all decided to take part in the event’s inaugural half-marathon. Running 21 km’s is a challenge at the best of times but our trip also happened to coincide with the hottest June weather seen in Europe for decades! Add to that a few long and steep hills along the route and it all made for a particularly gruelling few hours. Luckily most of the route was in the shade, as it wound through stunning forests and past incredible views of the German countryside, and in the end the thought of pretzels and beer at the finish line was enough to get all five of our team across the finish line.
Back at the camp, we were joined by our friends at Cinema Piccolo, the smallest cinema in the world, who were on hand to entertain everyone with some great short movies in their rickshaw-turned-cinema.
We are overjoyed to have raised approximately 10,000 Euros for Lessons for Life in the process and thank everyone who has supported us so far.
Below are some photos of our adventure. If you would like to learn more about the work Lessons for Life is doing and find out how you can donate click here to visit their website.
Also published on Medium.