MissionSouth motorcycle tour for charity.
Imagine you and your friends are heading out on a motorcycle trip from Europe to West Africa. And imagine you're not only fulfilling your own dream, you're also making one come true for disadvantaged children in Africa.
That's exactly what a club called MotorCircus from Berlin plans to do. These guys are already well known in the BMW Motorrad community for their MissionManx road trip film. The film documented their trip to the Isle of Man for the most legendary motorcycle racing festival on the planet: the Classic TT. MotorCircus combines the love of customising, building and riding old BMW boxers with another passion altogether: While racking up miles, they raise money for a medical aid project in Serrekunda that they've been committed to since 2008.
MotorCircus on a new mission.
Christoph Köhler
The riders and the route.
The riders and the route.
This time the MotorCircus boys aren't flying to The Gambia, they're riding the whole way by motorcycle. But they won't be all alone on their trip. They'll be accompanied by cameraman Thorsten Jarek on a BMW R 1200 GS and two actor friends – Ronald Zehrfeld and Hardy Krüger Jr. – both on a BMW R nineT Scrambler. Chris will ride his 1977 BMW R 100/7, named Brown Sugar, Lemmi will take his 1978 zebra-striped R 100 RS and Marco will ride an R 90/6 from 1974.
The trip will take them through southern Europe to Gibraltar, where they will cross over to the African continent. Once they've passed through Morocco and the impressive Atlas Mountains, they'll continue on through the Western Sahara, Mauritania and Senegal and finally The Gambia. They will learn a lot about the country, its people and their world view on their trip. The six-man team will be riding customised BMW vintage motorcycles. What they can expect on their trip to the smallest country in Africa? A true melting pot of different ethnic groups, an illiteracy rate of 60% and medical conditions that have largely been eradicated in Europe.
Charity starts at home.
Charity starts at home.
The goal of the MissionSouth project is to help children in Africa. To reach this goal, the plan is to raise at least enough money to fund the new "100 Kids+" project of the ASB clinic in the heart of Serrekunda, the largest city in The Gambia.
The ASB, or Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (the Workers' Samaritan Federation), is a non-governmental charity organisation. Each year, teams of doctors from Germany travel to the clinic to perform surgeries. These include reconstructive surgeries on children with cleft palates. Children with this birth defect are often demonised and forced to live outside the community. The long-term goal of the ASB clinic in The Gambia is for all children with cleft lips and palates to receive free treatment in their first 18 months of life.
Hardy Krüger Jr.
What you can do
The goal of MotorCircus' MissionSouth project is to raise money for the non-profit charity "Ärzte Helfen e. V." ('doctors helping') to help fund a small non-profit hospital. Each year, about 45,000 needy patients receive access to vital medical care that they would not otherwise receive. MissionSouth is scheduled to kick off in November 2016. We're still looking for sponsors for this important project. Your donation is in good hands with us. And just like the miles on your odometer: every last euro counts.
BMW Motorrad will support the MotorCircus project and share their stories from the road. We'll also be keeping fans of the club up to date on the progress of the MissionSouth documentary film planned for 2017. Until then you can follow the latest news about this African adventure on the MotorCircus website.
