Raises $20,000
Brenton Stacey
Public relations officer
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia
An Avondale staff member’s 1000-kilometre bicycle ride from Brisbane to Cooranbong has raised $20,000 for a student mission club.
“It went like a dream:” Kevin Judge on his 1000-kilometres bicycle ride from Brisbane to Cooranbong. Credit: Lagani Gairo.
Director of student services Kevin Judge arrived on the Lake Macquarie campus, April 12, less than five days after leaving Everton Hills in Queensland. He experienced heat—the temperature almost reached 30 degrees at Surfers Paradise—and a headwind from Grafton to Nabiac but no punctures. “It went like a dream,” says Kevin reflecting on his seven hours in the saddle each day. “Physically, it’s tough—[Kevin admits feeling fatigued]—but that’s to be expected.”
The money will help One Mission Africa raise $30,000 for health education in Zambia and Botswana. The student club will distribute HIV/AIDS test kits, establish mobile medical clinics and present health promotion lessons and evangelistic programs in Lusaka and Gaborone, the capitals of both countries, during semester recess.
“Many of my relatives and friends have died [from HIV/AIDS],” says co-leader and PhD student Harvey Henderson, who is from Malawi. “Seeing these young adults from Avondale who want to make a difference gives me hope less lives will be lost.”