We have completed our mammoth cycling trip! 50 riders, 450 km, from Uganda to Kenya.

We arrived in Kampala and set off from the shores of Lake Victoria and travelled through some fantastic landscapes and met some wonderful people...

...first morning...

....passing a school and getting a noisy reception!...

... a lunch Stop, very warm, 40 degrees!...

...crossing the Nile at Jinja....

...crossing the Kenyan border at Busia (what I imagine the Wild West was like!).....

...my daughter, meeting some of the local kids on the way...

....going through Kakamega rain forest....

...arriving in Kisumu and being joined by some of the orphaned street kids from the HOVIC project who were riding in with us on the backs of local bike taxis!

Now, the reason we were riding was to support the KOP projects which are improving local kids' lives, we went to visit them...

...getting ready for a group photo with the kids and staff at Rabour School. KOP are running their HealthStart program here and another local school, which gives the pupils one meal a day (very often their only meal!) and also linked to de worming, personal hygiene and teaching life skills like how to grow their own food. 

HealthStart is improving school attendance, educational attainment, health and life chances of these kids who will have a better chance of becoming productive adults who can help themselves and their community in the future.

Here are some of the lucky 180 kids in rural Kochogo queuing for their meal, scrubbed and clean, ready for our visit! KOP has been feeding orphans one meal a day and providing them with clean water. These kids are registered at this centre and KOP work with the local community to find the most vulnerable kids who need help.

A whole generation of adults has been decimated by HIV Aids in East Africa leaving big brothers and sisters to look after their younger siblings in grinding rural poverty.

Some kids try to escape to cities like Kisumu and often end up on the streets abused, drug addicted and very vulnerable. HOVIC works with the kids it can reach to get them off the streets and into school.

Ultimately very positive, our trip was both physically and mentally challenging. I would encourage all to go and see East Africa and these projects for themselves, it's a different world!

If you would like to help support these life-changing projects please donate - here