Riding for Kenya!!

Thanks for visiting my fundraising web page. I have always wanted to help out in the world, and partnering up with World Vision has fueled my passion in giving back. Helping those who have less than me is a vision I have had since a young age. Since receiving the Gold Medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics, I now have the opportunity to pursue this dream and encourage others to find out how good it feels to give back. I had chosen to adopt the community of Kirindon in the African country of Kenya, and make a long term commitment to help the children and families who struggle each day against the effects of poverty. Kirindon, 250 miles west of Nairobi, is a rural, impoverished community that has been severely lacking in access to clean drinking water and proper sanitation. World Vision staff, with my help, embarked on a major initiative to reduce the prevalence of water borne diseases (intestinal and skin diseases) in the Kirindon community. Initially, the project direct beneficiaries were 20,000 people and 36,197 people as indirect beneficiaries. That has now been expanded to a much larger area. My family, friends and I have traveled to Kirindon to see this project in-person. I got to see the difference between having clean water to drink and having dirty, disease infested water that the kids were drinking previous to their rain water catchment system and bore holes (shallow wells). I cannot express how thankful these community members and children were to have clean water. Even though they thought we were aliens (cause some had never seen a white person) they showed their smiles and gratitude after touching our arms and hair to make sure we were real. The people of this town have touched my heart deeply, not only because they are the kindest, most generous and hard working friends I have ever met, but because even though they live in some of the toughest conditions, they still are happy. There is a lot of work that still needs to be done in this area from water sanitation, to more schools, to women rights to stop FGM (female genital mutilation) and forced early marriages, to food crises. We can help, we already have and will continue to do so. I’m committed to making a difference in Kenya. Together with your support, and World Vision’s effective community-based approach to development, we can help bring clean water and sanitation solutions to these amazing and beautiful people. This water and sanitation project will provide basic and practical assistance such as clean water wells, washing stations, latrines, and community training on proper water usage and hygiene. 

Won’t you join me in this important work?

“My goal from the beginning was that if I ever made it big, I would reach out as much as humanly possible. That’s the goal right now, to keep reaching out and touching other people and other places and helping create positive change.”

Hannah Teter