What’s the best way to explore a country and get to know the people?  For me that answer has been for a long time riding my bicycle. Finding myself with time on my hands I decided to ride from Spain to Sierra Leone to raise funds for a German charity, founded and run by a good friend, the For Sierra Leone e.V. charity.  The charity was founded in 2013 to provide assistance in Sierra Leone, and operates since 2022 the FSL Secondary School in Waterloo. In addition to the school the FSL charity runs a Girl Empowerment program helping girls from poor families to succeed at school and university through mentoring and financial assistance.

The FSL Secondary School has gone from strength to strength and has reached capacity with 176 students and is looking to expand.  Funds raised are going to provide food for the students, teacher salaries, internet access and tuition.  I am proud to say that we have raised already close to 20,000 EUR, but the school is expanding and more funds are required to, amongst other needs,  build 3 additional class rooms, and install ceiling fans in class rooms.

Cycling is a unique long distance travel experience, exposed to the elements; the heat, wind, humidity, the traffic and powered by nothing more than my own two legs can be challenging,  but it also means that I get to experience everything much more intensely.  It is a constant roller coaster of emotions, hunger, thirst balanced with the many great encounters of people I met along the way.

Most days are reduced to the same questions every day

• How far do I want to go?
• Where do I get my food and water?
• Where do I sleep?

It is a simple life, that I learned to love.

Traveling by bike also gives me a much better insight into the daily life and challenges that people face.   Cycling through 1500 km of the Sahara desert in brutal midday heat gave me a much better understanding of the challenges this part of the world faces.  Desertification, lack of water, poor infrastructure, and very few opportunities for employment are just some of the big challenges people face in Western Sahara and Mauritania.

The route followed the coast of West Africa through Morocco, the disputed territory of West Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea – Bissau, Guinea – Conakry before finally arriving in Sierra Leone.

Though they are not amongst the 10 poorest nations in the world, all but Morocco are poor countries by any definition. People live on few dollars a day, unemployment is high, food security for most not a given, yet, I saw entrepreneurial spirit, often born out of necessity

Whether it is an espresso van along the highway, open 24 hours a day, vegetable stalls where vendors sell their home grown harvest, or  roadside food vendors.   People are working hard and looking for a way to improve their lives.

But still the world is slowly turning its back on these countries, which makes their path to relative wealth more difficult.  USAID’s cutbacks will hurt the poorest, the shift to increased defense spending in Europe means fewer funds are available for aid, which will only increase the pressure on European borders.

Traveling by bike gives me the opportunity to connect with people much more than when traveling by car.  I travel slowly, need to stop frequently for water or food and at each stop usually I was approached by kids, and frequently young men.  Europe still exerts a very strong pull for the young who asked me about getting jobs in Spain or Germany.  Much of what they were told would await them in Germany was far from the truth, but unless we engage more with these countries and help grow their economies to provide opportunities at home, the call of Europe will be too strong to resist for most, no matter what the risks, no matter how Europe secures her borders.

Sadly rubbish was a huge problem in all countries, more so in wealthy Morocco, and less so in Guinea Bissau, but the disregard for proper rubbish disposal is a common thread for all.   Large stretches of the roads in Morocco from Tangier to Agadir were covered in plastic waste, predominantly consumer plastic waste such as bottle, bags and packaging.

And at times I understood why.  There are no municipal rubbish dumps, no rubbish bins in small towns, no place where one could dispose the rubbish properly.  People are left with no choice to either burry their trash in their backyard or simply discard it wherever they are.

Traveling through Africa is also a constant reminder of the dark European history of colonialism.  Borders frequently are a strange line in the “sand”, not made up of natural frontiers, or grouping areas together with common languages or history. We travel through West Africa and speak French in most countries, only to suddenly switch to Portuguese in Guinea Bissau, or English in The Gambia and Sierra Leone.

Likely also the result of the colonial history West Africa has a long history of military coups and unfortunately I got to witness one first hand in Guinea Bissau.  I arrived in Bissau the day before the general election and I was fully aware that elections in Guinea Bissau rarely go as planned, the country has a long history of coups.  l was concerned about violence and demonstrations especially after what happened in Tanzania. I decided to leave Bissau very early on election day to get as much distance between myself and the capital before the election results would be announced.  While cycling from Bissau to Bambadinca in the East of the country I encountered many soldiers and police convoys, all in combat fatigues,  heading full speed towards the capital. The feeling of unease I felt was not unfounded and two days later, I had literally just crossed the border to Guinea Conakry, news about a military coup and closed borders reached me.

On Goree, a small island a short ferry ride from Dakar, I could see first-hand the cruelty of the slave trade,

The former colonial powers often retain a strong economic interest in the countries, in the former French colonies it is the French banks, telecom companies and other consumer brands that dominate the economy limiting opportunities for home grown brands.

Even the dominant currency in Central and West Africa (used by 14 countries) is a relic of the past.  The CFA and XFA were introduced by France to stabilize the local economies and were initially pegged to the Franc and later to the Euro, and the member states had to deposit large shares of their foreign currency reserves with the French treasury.

In many ways, they are reminded of their colonial history every single day.

A nearly 5000 km bike trip through Africa does not go as planned, and I did encounter my fair share of problems with my gear and a stolen phone in Senegal cast doubts at times if I would be able to continue, but with a dose of optimism,  the help of locals and friends in Europe, I was able to overcome all problems that I came across.

All of these issues paled in comparison to experiencing the landscape, as harsh and unforgiving it was at times, and the people I met along the way.

Few things beat a sunrise in the desert, when the cool morning quickly gives way to the desert heat, cycling at night under a blood moon that was so bright I barely needed headlights, crossing a river in Guinea with a small “pirogue” boat, getting your passport stamped in a small hut on the side of the road and the sense of achievement  one gets about completing a difficult day.

The highlight of these trips usually are the people. I met an American missionary called Kirk in Boke, Guinea  who has been living in a small village with his family outside of the city since 1991. I can’t imagine what he must have gone through in the 30+ years of living there.

On a large highway construction site in Guinea Conakry I met Kamel, a Tunisian highway engineer who without asking for anything treated me to a beer, showed me around town and even arrange dinner to be delivered to my hotel.  Often the less people have, the more hospitable they are.

I waved at and exchanged high fives with many smiling kids who coming running out of their homes to greet me, usually while shouting  “white man” in their respective local language.

A special encounter for me was with Moses on the ferry from Lungi to Freetown.  He and his friend were selling bananas to passengers and we started talking.  In exchange for me not buying bananas I gave him all my left-over cycling food and drinks. When I mentioned that this was all that I had, nothing left for me, hungry as he was he offered some of the food back to me!  Sadly he also told me that he is an orphan, living in the street and wanted me to find him an orphanage in Germany. Even for young boys, the lure of a better live in Europe is strong.

The undisputed highlight of the trip though was arriving at the FSL Secondary School in Waterloo.  It was a very emotional moment for me to arrive there. Not only was it a very warm welcome, but hearing them talk about how much it means to them that people from other parts of the world care about them and their future made me realize that we need to and can do so much more to help those in need.

The charity that started and operates the school is predominantly funded by private donations.

For more info on the charity please go to https://www.fuersierraleone.de/en Donations can be made directly to the charity at

Für Sierra Leone e. V.

Kreissparkasse München Starnberg

IBAN DE41 7025 0150 0027 5359 62

BIC BYLADEM1KMS

Or at  https://www.betterplace.org/de/organisations/57047-fuer-sierra-leone-e-v

Contact:  Jessica Linke, General Manager  (info@fuersierraleone.de)