For more than two weeks, 35 participants (and donors) will be getting on their bikes to ride through the African countryside and visit Jimma Hospital. Coming from Jura, Switzerland, but also from abroad, they met for the first time on Saturday in Courtételle.

Cycling gear, bags, shoes, and even cutlery... Things are getting real for the participants of the 2019 tour of the Swiss Surgeons in Ethiopia Foundation, founded in 2009 by Dr. Jörg Peltzer, known as “Pele.”

“Even though there are still many details to organize, it feels like a school trip,” says committee member Olivier Willemin. “The aim of this day in the Jura is to allow people to meet before departure, but also to give them some final recommendations,” continues the entrepreneur from Delémont.

Less than a month to go before the big departure

A meticulously planned 14-day cycling trip. “There will be no comforts. We will mainly be sleeping in tents, without water or toilets,” explains Olivier Willemin. However, the amateur cyclists will be able to count on several people to ensure that the expedition runs smoothly. Two cooks will take care of the meals, vehicles will transport the equipment and, if necessary, come to the aid of the participants, and a team of bodyguards will be hired for the entire trip.

Twenty years of aid

It was in 1999 that “Pele” discovered Ethiopia. “I worked in a hospital where I was the only surgeon,” recalls the current chief surgeon at the Jura Hospital. For him, it was a turning point. “There is such misery that I wanted to do something,” he continues. So he got on his bike for his first tour. “Thanks to sponsors and donors, every kilometer I cycled enabled me to fund an operation,” he explains. Since then, several group tours have been organized. The 2019 edition will be the fourth.

Following his reconnaissance tour in March, ‘Pele’ gives his recommendations. "Some stages are expected to be very hot. It could be over 50 degrees Celsius. We will be meeting tribes. Conditions will sometimes be difficult, but the landscapes are spectacular," he notes, holding one of the official bikes prepared for the tour.

Participants will cycle between seven and eight hours a day for an average distance of 100 km. The tour will end with a visit to the Jimma hospital, which is supported by the foundation. Participants will each pay between 20,000 and 30,000 francs to take part in the project and purchase equipment.

Before returning to Switzerland, the cyclists will travel to the capital Addis Ababa to take part in the Great Ethiopian Run. With more than 45,000 participants, this 10 km race is described by some as “the biggest race in Africa.”

Amélie Rossé, September 2, 2019

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