January 11, 2008 (Livingstone, Zambia) – It was so good to be wet and we had fun in the rain. We started the race from the Local Cowboy Village School, this is a pre-school that Cliff Sitwala built. Cliff, the “local cowboy”, operates Cowboy Cliff Biking Tours out of Livingstone. Most of his profits go to the school and for the education of the kids – a perfect example how one person using tourism can make huge positive impact in his community. Cliff’s devotion to youth and his bikes inspired me to approach him with the idea of an outdoor community centre and the way we started was with a 12-hour relay bike race. Cliff sponsored all the bikes for the race, he loves it – anything for the kids. Free Flowing Rivers Society is a Canadian born project, a global effort to develop outdoor sport races and community centers that promotes our enviroment, and a positive social change. We have an event coming up in June in Vancouver, BC. Help us spread the positive vibes. – Rodolfo Rada, Director of Free Flowing Rivers Environmental Society.

Developing Cycling Programs in Zambia

After two weeks of overwhelming biking around the town of Livingstone the first bike relay race in Zambia is over. The coolest thing about this race was that all the promoting, planning, and the racing were emission free, a first for Free Flowing Rivers. I went from driving a V8 engine van in the 2006 Vancouver rafting race, then moved to a bio diesel for the 2007 Mexican rafting race, and now as clean as it can get for the 2008 biking race in Africa.

On Saturday, January 5, the Dambwa Township in the west of Livingstone saw a light of hope through cycling. We gathered over 50 teenagers and 30 kids to participate in the relay. For 11 hours, the youths showed their commitment to the sport. Neither the tropical rain, the mud, nor the huge puddles could stop them from enjoying this amazing day.

The event was planned to start at 7:00am, but at that time the rain was coming down harder that I have ever seen it in my life, in a truly Zambian style. The sound of the drops on the tin roof was deafening. After turning the streets into creeks, the storm gave us a short break in order to start the race.

Breakfast was simple, bread with butter and jam, tea and some bananas to boost up participants’ energy levels. Sorting out the teams wasn’t easy, especially when most of the kids don’t speak English and I don’t speak Nyanja, the most common local dialect. We made eight teams of teenagers that raced against the elements and each other. Winning the first ever race of the compound is a great honor, and on top of that, the winning team gained the sweet prize of going on a helicopter flight over Victoria Falls and a rafting trip down the mighty rapids of the Zambezi river, donated by our sponsors.

We made two teams of younger kids that shared two bikes between 30+ kids. Some of the kids didn’t know how to ride, and so they would run along beside the bikes every time there was a change. Their circuit was smaller; it went around a couple of blocks in the school area.

Africa Time is a way of life here, just like the mañana attitude in Latin countries, which suited me just fine. The race eventually started at 8:30am. The race itself was a major accomplishment, but there is more. For the first time in Free Flowing Rivers’ history, we had the government’s involvement, and after seeing the enthusiasm of all the people there, they promised to include this future outdoor community center project in their next year’s budget. The Ministry of Youth and Sports Development official opened the race and the cyclists were off on their first leg towards Mosi Oa Tunya (Smoke that Thunders). This name refers to the spray that comes off the falls otherwise know as Victoria Falls after David Livingstone arrived here in 1855. This first section was the longest one – a 20km return trip, which took racers about an hour.

While the teams were waiting for their partners to get back, a lot of strategic planning was going on, regarding who was to take on the next section. People kept arriving, so we made two more teams. We also had Bundu Rafting bring a raft that we used as a jumping castle. This raft was one of the highlights of the day – they loved it. Most of these kids have never been in a raft, let alone jumping, dancing, pushing, doing back flips, and all that fun stuff you can do in a raft. Tt was definitely something new. I had planned on having the raft on site, but I had no idea what a big hit it would be.

At one point, it was raining so hard for about an hour. Cliff suggested that we take the raft to one of the roads that had turned into a stream during the rainy season, meaning now. I was bit concerned in the beginning, because we didn’t have paddles or life jackets, but people walk across this road all the time, which is often flooded with waist-deep water, so after some concern, my free flowing attitude kicked in, and within minutes, we were flowing down the road.

The raft was full of people jumping in and out, the edge of the road full too, of people watching this unusual red craft floating down the road. We rafted that 100-meter stretch about five times. In my six years of rafting, I have never seen so many people in a raft and so much excitement about jump on a fully loaded raft. It was unreal. I got some excellent footage out of that.

Lunch was great. It was free for everyone in attendance, and with $150 dollars, we bought all the food for about 90 people. We also had an endless supply of popcorn throughout the day. Cliff’s wife and other mothers volunteered their time to cook some traditional “nshima,” which is a mealy meal (corn dish with chicken and spinach). I love it – eat it almost everyday. Something that I really like about the culture here is the way of washing your hands. Here, someone comes with an empty bucket and a jar of water to help you wash your hands before you eat, then you eat with your hands.

Later on, something happened that we were not expecting. A few hours into the race, one team member called Wisdom hadn’t come back. About hour and half went by and he still hadn’t returned. We sent out a couple of scouts to look for him, but there was no sign of Wisdom. His team was obviously losing, but after two hours he came back, walking.

Everyone: what happened?

Wisdom: Ahhhhh big problem.

Everyone: What?!

Wisdom: Well, I was going down the road, and these kids moved to the left so, you know, I can go right, but the girl moves back to the right and I hit her.

Cliff: (jokingly) Is she dead?

Everyone: Laughs

Wisdom: No, she is okay.

Everyone: Then?

Wisdom: Well, a lot of people gathered around me and they took me to the police station and held me there while they figured out what to do. After about an hour, they told me I could go, because the girl was okay, but they impounded the bike and said that we need to pay a fine of 30,000 Kwachas ($8).

As the race came to an end, two teams were fighting for first place, Team 2 and Team 7. Everyone was really excited about the possibility of winning the helicopter ride,even more so than the rafting trip, and I don’t blame them. Team 7 won the race only by a single point – it was very close – and, unfortunately, the second-place team went home with nothing. Next time we will try to get more prizes.

Most of the teenagers were between 15 and 18 years old, a crucial age in life. They had never been in any kind of race or any competition before, but by the end of the day, they were wondering if we could organize this event twice a month – wouldn’t that be nice? We are trying to get this race going once a month, which would be seen as training for the annual main fundraising relay.

I don’t think once a month is enough, but we have to start somewhere. There is so much talent here and the people are so fit, that biking should just be one of the sports available to them. Here in Livingstone, there is so much to do – kayaking, rafting, rappelling – and the tourism industry its big enough to support this project. The positive social outcome will be great, not just for today’s youth, but for future generations too. Once we start we don’t stop.

This race had a huge positive impact on the community. With local support, we are working so this positive impact will last longer than just one day. This race is an effort to encourage youth to participate in environmentally friendly sports, and to show them that sports can positively affect their lives, a lives away from crime and drugs. This is one of the challenges we face today in many countries around the world. Communities can help by providing their support for events like this one, which shows their responsibility toward their well-being of their citizens.

Free Flowing Rivers wants to thanks every one involved in Livingstone’s first relay race. I want to thank the kids for their energy and enthusiasm, and that they make us dream big. Thanks to Cliff and his family that have hosted me for the last week. He inspires me to give more, and I sincerely wish that the Local Cowboy Village School will keep on growing. You will have our unconditional support wherever we can help.

I want to thank our sponsors: Saf Par Rafting, United Air Charters, Zig Zag Hostel, Fawlty Towers Hostel, Jollyboys Hostel, Africa Visions and Wonderbake for their support, and we hope to have you on board for upcoming races. A special thanks goes to Bundu Rafting for their quick response, their free flowing generosity, and the raft that made a lot of kids jump happily all day, making our day easier. Without all of you, this event would not have been possible – keep that in mind.

Organizing this event was incredible. I can’t wait to do another one here or somewhere else. It showed me that there is support out there and we should keep on free flowing.

Visit www.freeflowingrivers.com to learn more about the Free Flowing Rivers Environmental Society.

Let the energy of free flowing rivers flow your way.