As a passionate cyclist, our Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr Jörg Peltzer, collected donations in Switzerland for every kilometre ridden on his bike in Ethiopia in the early days of his humanitarian work to finance his project and thus made the first 1,300 operations in Jimma possible.
In 2012, the GO STAR team organised a bike tour through Ethiopia for the first time. 25 enthusiastic bikers of all ages and from different professions took part and covered around 1,300 kilometres by bike in 13 days. An unforgettable experience out of the comfort zone for everyone.
After 2012 and 2016, the third bike tour took place in November 2019. And another Bike Challenge will be organised in 2024.
The bike adventure "Humanitarian Bike Tour in Ethiopia" started on 31 October 2019. On Monday, 18 November 2019, the entire tour group, including all the bikers and the kitchen crew, returned home safe and sound.
In between, there were 18 days that showed the participants the extremes of the African continent and the uniqueness of this bike tour: great experiences - friendships made - adventures - exciting encounters with and in a foreign culture - sporting performance - entertainment - culinary experiences - sweat and hardship outside of the personal comfort zone!
But the most important thing first: the 2019 bike tour was carried out without any accidents or incidents... not to be taken for granted when you consider that a team of around 60 people, including security, riders and support staff, were travelling through Africa.
A big thank you to the many helpers, especially the main organisers Jörg (Pele) Peltzer and Olivier Willemin. With an immense amount of preparation and planning that took around two years, they created the best conditions for a unique experience.
It was an impressive, unique experience for all participants in a foreign environment and culture. On the bike, you can feel the closeness to the people and smell the diverse African flavours. In the endless expanse, there are always people on foot alone, in groups or as shepherds of herds of sheep, goats or cows. It was impressive to see the crowds of people in villages lining the road and marvelling at the bikers whizzing past with curious glances. One participant said, "I sometimes felt like I was part of a Tour de France race on the Alpe d'Huez, the Queen of the Alps stage".
We spent the night in spontaneously erected tent camps with campfires or in hotels with African standards. The 3 meals were prepared on site almost exclusively according to local recipes by our own cookery team. Delicious and very varied!
In addition to the scenic and social insights into Ethiopia, the sporting performance was not neglected, although the requirements were slightly different when divided into 3 groups.
We would like to thank everyone for taking part in this unique experience and for their willingness to make an extraordinary sporting contribution to our humanitarian project. The money raised from this bike tour will be used exclusively to finance our humanitarian work in Jimma.
The bike tour was an adventure that money can't buy. Pele's obvious love for the country and its people - Olivier's organisational talent made the big difference to all other bike adventures. We got a unique insight into the beautiful nature and landscape and met people from different tribes.
Travelling through Africa on a bike with people from different backgrounds and biographies with a common goal developed such a positive and impressive energy during these 14 days.
Arriving together at the hospital in Jimma at the end of the bike tour was a moving and emotional moment. We all realised how important and unique Pele's GO STAR project is for millions of people in south-west Ethiopia.
Michael Weller
The trip to Ethiopia and the bike tour were a huge experience for me. "Movement is Life" took on even more personal meaning for me on the trip. And I am very grateful for the unforgettable impressions and insights into an unfamiliar everyday life and the shared experiences with a super great group.
Bettina Schelker
I ate 33 sports bars, savoured traditional Ethiopian flatbread (injera) 13 times and drank loads of recovery shakes! An incredible sporting experience with nutritional challenges. But the green, hilly landscape, the severe poverty and the conditions in the Trauma Hospital in Jimma also had a significant impact on me during the trip! I learnt to appreciate what I have!
Elena Fiechter
After a long period of preparation, I was very excited to see what awaited me in Ethiopia. Riding my bike over 1,000 kilometres across Ethiopia for a good cause was an absolute, unique privilege.
I was particularly impressed by the extreme contrasts of paradisiacal natural landscapes on the one hand and oppressive poverty and unimaginable hygienic conditions on the other.
Despite everything, I have the impression that these people are happy, they support each other in the community. I am grateful that I was able to take part in this project and since then I have seen many things through a different lens.
Christoph Dietrich
2024 will be a highlight for our foundation. We are planning our fifth bike adventure with 50 bikers in November, travelling 1,300 km across south-west Ethiopia. For the first time, there will be an e-bike group in addition to the three sporty groups. We will cycle through unique landscapes, share great experiences with the local population and arrive in Jimma at the end of the journey to visit the GO STAR hospital and celebrate our anniversary.
Are you interested in getting up close and personal with the GO STAR project? Do you want to invest a lot of time and money in this adventure? With a donation of CHF 20,000 and a great deal of commitment, you can be part of it! We look forward to hearing from you.
Outward flight: 31 October 2024
Start of bike tour: Friday, 1 November 2024
Return flight: Monday, 18 November 2024
Highlight at the end of the tour: Great Ethiopian Run on Sunday, 17 November 2024
GO STAR | Swiss surgeons in Ehtiopia
c/o Luzerner Kantonsspital
Spitalstrasse 16
CH-6000 Luzern
Postal account 60-334455-9
IBAN CH62 0900 0000 6033 4455 9
