THIRD RIDE: Yuchang Road, Taiwan
LO Ambassadors April Cheng, Rachic Sra and the Junyi High Grade 11 Bike Group
April Cheng is riding for Lotus Outreach for the second year in a row! Her ride on May 8th and 9th is the third consecutive annual bike ride event hosted by LO Taiwan and is a part of our 1,000 Coffee initiative at LO. This year’s ride is 96 km up Yuchang Road, a beautiful and challenging route in the mountains of southeast Taiwan. April will ride with teacher, Rachic Sra, and a team of 15 bikers from Junyi High in Taitung City, Taiwan. This is the first in a series of three bike rides that April and the Grade 11 Bike Group at Junyi plan to organize this year for LO beneficiaries in connection with 1,000 Coffee events. The next rides will be June 18-20th and July 1-10!
April is motivated by the wish to help girls her age have access to education in India and Cambodia. She described that “protecting girls’ right to education is a sustainable goal rather than a one-off action.” Her events seek ongoing monthly contributions through 1,000 Coffee to support girls year after year over the long term. The funds she raises in connection with her events are dedicated to a Scholarship Fund that contributes to access to education programs at Lotus Outreach.
We had the opportunity to talk to April about her inspiration and determination in organizing group bike rides and being a part of our 1,000 Coffee initiative.
This will be your second ride for LO. Can you share with us some details about your inspiration for this year’s rides and how it will be different or similar to last years?
Last year we raised a lot of money. But I don’t feel like helping is a one time thing. What they (beneficiaries) need is a sustainable gift, they don’t just go to school for a year, they go to school for the long-term. What can actually change their life is a long term, year after year education. It made me really happy to see how happy the girls were after we donated this last year. So I wanted to do it again.
You are an official ambassador for the new Lotus Outreach 1,000 Coffee event. What would you like people to know about 1,000 Coffee and why do you think it is meaningful?
The campaign this year is monthly donations. That’s really good because if you want this work to continue then you need money every year. And I was really happy to see how many countries are joining this year, everyone is going to ride together. And year by year more people can join us and anyone can feel welcome to join. If this (1,000 Coffee) goes well, I will be really happy.
What aspect of your own education have you valued most and wish for others to experience/ have access to?
Education helped me to see possibility. If you learn more things, and have a passion for learning, you want to explore more things and more knowledge. Then you imagine when you grow up and how you can use this knowledge to do things you want. So I see the possibility in my future and feel motivated. Passion in learning is the most important ability for me right now. I hope helping the girls get access to education is meaningful. It’s not just giving knowledge, it’s also teaching how to learn so that they can bring that with them through their lives.
What are your goals for this ride?
This ride is a really physically hard ride that I did once in Elementary school. My goal is just to finish the ride, and I will be really happy. Also last year we made about $30,000 USD, so I hope that this year we can raise more and that there are more people who are inspired to donate monthly.
We are so grateful to April, Rachic Sra, and the Junyi High Grade 11 Bike Group for all of their efforts in organizing this ride!
Stay tuned across LO platforms for updates from Taiwan on social media and to hear from all our Ambassador riders.
To learn more about 1,000 Coffee, visit www.1000coffee.org.
