New motorcycles arrive in East Flores

Great news!

3 new Honda "Revo Fit" scooters have just arrived in East Flores as part of an on-going programme to replace the original fleet of Yamahas.

Two of the new bikes in this consignment have been donated by AUSAID and the third by the Tiger 800 Forum. A further two new Hondas, also funded by the Tiger 800 Forum, are in transit from Jakata.

When added to the 3 new bikes supplied earlier this year, it means that 8 out of 10 operational bikes will have been replaced by the beginning of 2014.

Replacement of the ageing fleet of Yamahas in East Flores has been a priority for the project for some time and this critical objective is now almost complete thanks to the generosity and support from PT Astra, Indonesia, the Triumph Tiger 800 Forum and AUSAID. We are incredibly grateful to have received such great support from our donors in 2013 which has now given the project a new lease of life for several years to come.

It is also worth mentioning that this is the first time that the project's fleet of bikes has been replaced since it began over 11 years ago! We believe that the longevity of the original fleet is solid proof that the Motorcycle Outreach business model of pro-active fleet maintenance works.  It is the core ingredient of the "Transport Resource Management " philosophy and, as the evidence now shows, it is a critical factor to ensure the sustainability of healthcare delivery in remote areas of developing countries over the longer term.

Precious Cargo Project gathers momentum

Did you know......there are approximately 100 volunteers involved in the Precious Cargo project split roughly 2/3rds student midwives, 1/3 Blood Bikers spread around the UK.



We have a team of 6 Regional Coordinators (RCs) supporting our local volunteers and they hold regular video conferences to monitor progress and resolve issues . The scroll's tour of the UK will last for 2 months (October and November ) and will visit 32 hospitals /maternity units in England, Scotland and Wales, fly to the Isle of Lewis and back, attend 2 conferences (including the RCM annual conference in Telford) and grace one Palace during that time. The tour will conclude at the RCM HQ in London at the end of November 2013.

During its first 2 weeks, approximately £2000 has been raised or pledged and over 1700 signatures have been added to the 20 meter long scroll. (its predecessor collected 900 signatures over 5 years so we are doing well!).

Guinness World Records has created a new category for "most signatures on a scroll" based on the Precious Cargo intiative!  To add to the fun, there is even a song being recorded about the project  - its due for release during Halloween.

The UK tour is a pilot for a more ambitious plan. If the initial campaign is successful, the scroll will embark upon a global journey, starting in Europe in 2014. One target venue is the triennial conference of the International Confederation of Midwives in Prague. With 108 member countries attending the conference, there will be no better stage for the project to promote its global campaign.

In the meantime, there is plenty to do here and we need your help. Whilst the project is certainly lots of fun , its main purpose is to raise money . We are assured of a setting a new world record , but our main objective is to raise funds to help Motorcycle Outreach save lives. Hence, why we need as many donations as possible. Please help us if you can. Visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PreciousCargo  and make a donation today.

Thank you.

Ron Common , Project Coordinator

email: ron@motorcycleoutreach.org

Health for All awarded for Serving the Last Mile

Bali, Sept 27th : Health for All has received an award for Serving the Last Mile as part of the AusAid Indonesian Social Innovator Awards.

The award was made in Annika Linden Centre in Bali and recognised the innovation of the Motorcycle Ambulance program developed in East Flores and for providing access to health information. This adds to previous awards from SATU Indonesia Award, MDGS Award and BAKTI.

The awards filtered a list of 418 innovations to 26, then further filtered to 10 semifinalists and finally to the five award winners

[caption id="attachment_904" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Director of HFA, Mansetus Kalimantan (third from left) receiving the award with five other finalists[/caption]

Launch of Precious Cargo Scroll

After 6 months of planning, the Precious Cargo project was officially launched on Saturday 28th September 2013 from Hampton Court Palace, and what a fantastic day it was. A group of supporters and volunteers,  including our celebrity guest, and long term supporter, Eric Richard (Sgt Cryer from the Bill) gathered to give the scroll a great send off for its tour of the UK.

Journalist and photographer, Paul Blezard kindly led the photo shoot to capture the moment in the amazing setting of the Palace courtyard. John Stepney, Chair of the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes, was our rider for the first leg from Hampton Court Palace to Darent Hospital, Dartford.

During the next 2 months, the scroll will travel the length  of the UK calling in at 30 hospitals, from Brighton to Stornoway, collecting signatures and donations as it travels. A schedule of visits is listed on the project website www.precious-cargo.org

The final stop will be at the Royal College of Midwives, London, close to where the journey started.  Depending on the outcome of the UK tour, the scroll will then embark upon a global journey to continue to raise awareness and funds in support of the Motorcycle Outreach mission.

We would like thank Kate Minchin, Events Organiser at Hampton Court Palace for making it possible for us the use the Palace grounds for the launch , and to Eric , Paul and John for giving their time freely to support the launch event. We would also like to thank all the student midwife volunteers who have worked so hard over the last few months to make Precious Cargo become a reality.

If you would like to support the project, please visit the Home page of www.precious-cargo.org where you can make an on line donation. Thank you.



 

Setting a new Guinness Record : Launch of ‘Precious Cargo’ project with UK student midwives

As part of a joint effort to participate in the UN’s Millennium Development Goal for a reduction in overall worldwide maternal death rates, the healthcare logistics charity Motorcycle Outreach has created a ground-breaking project called
‘Precious Cargo’. The project will be launched at Hampton Court Palace, London, on Saturday 28th September 2013. The project has been developed in partnership with StudentMidwives.Net, the Nationwide Association of Bloodbikes, together with RCM student and practicing midwives and other healthcare workers around the country.

The objective of ‘Precious Cargo’ is to send a scroll on a global journey visiting those involved with midwifery starting with a tour of UK hospitals and maternity units collecting signatures (and donations) as it travels. As a boost to the project, Guinness World Records has created a new category for “Most Signatures on a Scroll” based on the Precious Cargo initiative and the project will be the first to set the world record.

Around the world, 800 women die every day from childbirth-related complications - many of which are avoidable - andthose in rural areas are most at risk (WHO 2013). During childbirth, timing can be critical and for rural areas thegeography of the landscape can mean that there are significant challenges for professionals to get to those in need.

Motorcycle Outreach works with Health Ministries and local projects in developing countries to provide properly managed and maintained motorcycles for use by healthcare workers. This enables mobile teams to provide health care
to people living in remote villages where road access is poor. The purpose of the Precious Cargo project is to raise funds
to enable Motorcycle Outreach to be able to continue to support its existing project and expand its operations to other parts of the world.

The idea is based on a previous fund-raising project run by the Women’s International Motorcycling Association that raised £35,000 for the street kids of India.

Regional members of the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes in England and Scotland will be supporting the project by providing a “courier service” for the scroll (the precious cargo) between hospitals. The student midwives/midwives will facilitate the signing of the scroll during its 48 hour visit at each location.

The scroll’s journey starts from Hampton Court Palace, London, on Saturday 28th September 2013. From there, it will do a tour of approximately 40 hospitals across the country until the end of November. The UK tour will be a “pilot”Motorcycle Outreach: C/O Po Box 97, Camborne, Cornwall, TR14 4BP. www.motorcycleoutreach.org
info@motorcycleoutreach.org 07785 543924 / 07979 757484
project and if successful, the scroll will embark on an international tour that is expected to begin in the New Year. This will include a visit to the International Confederation of Midwives triennial conference in Prague in 2014 to promote
the project to the ICM’s 108 member countries.

The project is supported by the RCM, the UK Association of Milk Banks (UKAMB), Association of Radical Midwives (ARM), White Ribbon Alliance and by prominent figures in the midwifery profession including Sheena Byrom OBE, a leading independent midwife, and Frances Day Stirk, President of the ICM.

The website for the project can be found at www.precious-cargo.org . People who sign the scroll will be invited to make a donation either locally during the visit or online to Virgin Money Giving, reached via the Precious Cargo website. For more information, contact the project coordinator, Ron Common at ron@motorcycleoutreach.org

Launch of "Precious Cargo" project with student midwives

As part of a joint effort to participate in the UN’s Millennium Development Goal of a reduction in overall worldwide maternal death rates, Motorcycle Outreach is partnering with StudentMidwives.Net together with midwives and other healthcare workers around the country to create a ground-breaking project called "Precious Cargo".

Precious Cargo project

 The plan is to send a scroll (one of the oldest forms of communication) on a global journey, visiting those involved with midwifery (one of the oldest professions) starting with a tour of UK hospitals and maternity units collecting signatures (and donations) as it travels.

Sheena Byrom OBE, one of UK's leading midwives, is supporting the campaign.

Example of a signed scroll (courtesy of S Ravensdale, Street Kids of India campaign)



Regional members of the National Association of Blood Bikes will be supporting the campaign by providing their trusted courier service for the scroll (the precious cargo) between the hospitals. The student midwives/midwives will facilitate the signing of the scroll during it's 24 hour visit at each location.

The scroll’s journey will start from Hampton Court Palace, London, on Saturday 28th September 2013. From there, it will do a tour of up to 50 hospitals until the end of November. A provisonal route will be published towards the end of August. The UK tour will be a "pilot" for the worldwide journey, that will begin after the UK leg has been completed, and will continue throughout 2014.

The website for the project can be found at www.precious-cargo.org .  People who sign the scroll will be invited to make a donation via Virgin Money Giving or the Precious Cargo website. For more information, contact Ron Common at  ron@motorcycleoutreach.org

Motorcycle Outreach at Horizons Unlimited 2013, Donington Park

[caption id="attachment_791" align="alignleft" width="300"] Simon's bike[/caption]

Motorcycle Outreach was, once again, represented at the Horizons Unlimited event , held for the first time at Donington Park (29th May –1st June 2013). The change of venue from Ripley to the larger Donington site proved to be a success (with a few lessons learned along the way) and it was interesting to see the event broadened to include all forms of adventure travel ie 4 x 4 s and bicycles in addition to motorcycles.

There were more trade shows for people to see as well as the usual array of fascinating presentations and events. Even the weather came good in the end.

With a new marquee, promotion banners and flyers produced just in time for the event, plus the usual attraction of Simon Milward’s overlander bike, the team (Ron, Craig, Barbara plus Ellen and Keith) managed to do some fantastic networking and make some valuable new contacts. As usual , Simon’s bike attracted lots of attention with some of its design features causing a few scratched heads. (No-one has yet worked out the purpose of the steering damper welded to the rear rack!)

[caption id="attachment_788" align="alignright" width="300"] the new stand[/caption]

The purpose of the event for us this year was to raise awareness and we’d like to thank Sam Manicom and Ian Harper , the HU event organisers, for their continued support for our charity by providing us with a free pitch , Andy at Magnum Offset Litho Ltd, for his graphic design support on our new promotion materials, Sam Manicom, Tiffany Coates and Paddy Tyson for their supportive testimonials, and Keith and Ellen for their help on the stand.

Thank you also to all those who visited our stand and please do keep in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

 

Ron Common appointed to Trustee Board

[caption id="attachment_783" align="alignright" width="300"] Ron Common[/caption]

“Motorcycle Outreach is pleased to announce that Ron Common, previously a Supply Chain Director at train builder, Bombardier Transportation Ltd , has been appointed to the charity’s Trustee Board. Ron is a life-long motorcycle enthusiast and brings with him over 25 years of supply chain and project management experience in the field of vehicle maintenance.

Ron said “ I am very excited to be joining Motorcycle Outreach as a trustee and continuing my active involvement with this mission that I feel so passionately about. Motorcycle Outreach has a proven, simple and cost effective solution to the problem of getting healthcare reliably delivered to people living in remote areas of developing countries. On the international stage, the United Nations is calling for more to be done to improve maternal care and reduce child mortality (MDG 4 & 5) in the developing nations. I am sure that I can use my business skills to help Motorcycle Outreach play its part in responding to that call”.

PT Astra donates Motorcycles to Health for All

PT. Astra International Ltd, a leading trading company in Indonesia, has provided three motorcycles to Health for All (YKS) for use by healthcare workers in the Flores Timor area. Safety equipment such as jackets and helmets have also been included.

This donation builds on the SATU Indonesia award presented to Health for All (YKS) in 2010 in recognition of the work being done in providing healthcare delivery in the rural area of Flores Timor.

[caption id="attachment_756" align="alignnone" width="614"] Eman (HfA Assistant Coordinator) and Mans (HfA Field Coordinator) with the new motorcycles and equipment[/caption]

“We are very grateful for this significant support. This latest assistance recognises the appreciation that the management of Astra International has for the innovative approach being taken by Health for All and the continual innovation required of young people in general for the development of the nation.” explained Willy Balawala on behalf of Health for All during the acceptance ceremony.

Willy Balawala went on to express his hope for further cooperation and shared progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals for public health in Indonesia and the East Flores region in particular.

Mansetus (HfA Field Coordinator) added that as Health for All has been in operation for over a decade the original fleet of motorcycles is now due for renewal. Health for All is open for cooperation with other organisations to help address this issue.

The motorcycles will be deployed as part of the Health for all (YKS) Zero breakdown motorcycle service which extends the reach and effectiveness of government healthcare workers.

Flores Indonesia 1st March 2013

ENDS

Tiger 800 Motorcycle Forum Makes Significant Donation to Motorcycle Outreach Charity

130 Tiger 800 riders from 20 countries around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Brazil, USA, Canada, UK & Europe have raised over £1500 for Motorcycle Outreach in just 12 weeks.

The group, all members of the Tiger 800 Forum, ran a photo competition of owners’ bikes in different parts of the world throughout last summer. The best photos (of over 200 submitted) were selected to produce a 2013 calendar and 200 copies were sold and distributed to members all over the world between November and January.

With over 26,000 hits on the forum the project proved to be highly popular among the international Triumph community. It also demonstrates that with just a little effort, motorcycle groups can create a sense of community across international boundaries , raise money for good causes and generate a positive public image for motorcycling.

[caption id="attachment_746" align="alignnone" width="680"] Pictured: MoR Directors Barbara Alam and Craig Carey Clinch. Ron Common from the Tiger 800 Forum and Sam Manicom the well-known adventure motorcycle traveller.[/caption]

A representative from the group formally presented the cheque to Craig Carey-Clinch, Director of Motorcycle Outreach on the Triumph stand at the MCN & Carole Nash bike show on Friday, 15th February 2013.

Sam Manicom, the well-known adventure motorcyclist and long-time supporter of Motorcycle Outreach, attended the presentation.

Motorcycle Outreach works with Health Ministries and local projects in developing countries to provide properly managed and maintained motorcycles for use by healthcare workers. This enables mobile teams to provide health care to people living in remote villages where road access is poor.

The money raised will be used to buy a new motorcycle for the charity's project in Indonesia where the mobile health care team supports over 50,000 people living in remote villages on the island of Flores.

Craig Carey-Clinch said: “Motorcycle Outreach is delighted with the donation from the Tiger 800 Forum. Among our other activities this year, we are hoping to replace the motorcycles that are used by heath care workers in Flores, Indonesia and the donation will really help towards this. The existing bikes have been in use for over ten years, which shows the value of managing vehicles used in aid projects properly. We are also extremely grateful to Triumph Motorcycles who hosted the presentation on their show stand.”

Dambusters 2013 to raise funds for Motorcycle Outreach

More info at www.dambusters2013.org.uk

2013 Plans

We are currently revising our strategy and plans for 2013, so that we can create more impact through broadening the number of projects in developing countries that MoR supports. Watch this space for further news!

Give as you Live

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