Great Aussie Rickshaw Ride 18th August

The beautiful Southern Highlands of NSW was the setting for the ride
today. The riders were all enthusiastic. They actually covered over
32kms but in doing so climbed nearly 300meters as the ride travelled
from Mittagong to Goulburn. Late in the previous day, the rickshaw
being used for the ride suffered a problem with a broken handle bar
near the spindle. The first task of the day was to have it welded at a
local business. Ross knew what needed to be done and supervised the
repair. The repair though not destined to win prizes for undetectable
metal welding will do for our purposes.
The riders consisted of two groups. Katherine had worked in Bangladesh
for 8 months. She was accompanied by Matthew and Vinnie. The other
group consisted of Katherine and Paul and young son Ben who was really
keen to participate.
While the riders and support team were moving down, or to be more
correct with the overall increase in altitude, up the road, the other
members of the support team were having a great time at Berrima Public
School. Tim, the Principal and the rest of the teachers along with the
children were very welcoming. The school was established in 1869
according to the plaque on the oldest building. The children were
great, watching and learning from the dvd's. One girl asked why there
seemed to be no men in the classes run by Symbiosis in Bangladesh.
Khaleque told her that most of the men's classes were held at night
and were not able to be video-ed. This was a very good question and
showed that the children were watching intently. One of the teachers
commented on the quality of the dvd's. She commented that the content
was not too complex for the children, keeping them engaged the whole
time. This comment is typical of the comments from all the schools
that we have visited. Mark Nebauer (writer)and Peter Bergmeier
(cameraman and editor) are the makers. Their work deserves a wider
audience. Derani, another of the teachers at the school, said that the
children will not forget the experience of the visit of the rickshaw
to their school when they became aware of people in the world who have
far less than they do. At the end of the visit, the school
spontaneously gave a donation of gold coins.