My bike ride for Village India An update on my progress so far. When the ravaging second wave of Corona Virus hit India’s metropolitan cities the TV cameras showed us people waiting in the streets outside government and private hospitals, in private cars, in ambulances, and on trollies.   All waiting for someone to die so that a bed would be available for themselves, a sick mother or father. We saw queues of people with empty oxygen cylinders waiting to get them filled. These were people who could afford to pay, or took loans from relatives. People who had cars or could hire private ambulances. Hospitals ran out of oxygen. Desperate people resorted to stealing cylinders and hijacking oxygen lorries. Trains brought oxygen tanker lorries to Delhi and Mumbai from industrial works thousands of miles away. As the infection rates dipped the cameras went away, instead of turning their attention to the fate of the vast rural hinterland with a fragile and ill- equipped rural health ...

 An Update from June 1st 2021   June 1 st 2021 Dear friends and sponsors   Thankfully the weather is better now so yesterday I did a marathon three-and-three -quarter hour ride yesterday. Last week my total miles were 133 but I had two days without riding because I needed to catch up on housework and shopping, as my brother was coming to visit me. My total for the first three weeks is 412.31 miles.(661km).My bike needs a new gear cable so Friday will be a short riding day and I hope I don't break down in the meantime as the gears keep slipping.  My brother lives in Devon and we don't have the opportunity to meet often, with my visits to India and his to France,  It was nice that we were able to have a family get together under the rule of 6. Rajni prepared a written report which I will attach to this email. Since he wrote we have continued with the mask making and the education about how Covid spreads, what to do etc...

  This was my original appeal and I have sent two updates of my progress. Monday 10th May 2021 Hello my friends, relatives and previous supporters! I hope this email finds you well, escaped from the virus, vaccinated and looking forward to better times and the summer weather. Most of you will know me from my voluntary work in India, since 1997 with leprosy patients and after 2005 with HIV infected children. In 2018 I was asked to see if I could make the lives brighter for the residents of a home for senior citizens. My exploits with the residents can be found on a blog they contribute to at ​ www.awaasnews.blogspot.com When I heard about the situation in Italy, as I left India on March 2 nd, I asked that the residents in Awaas be locked down. Sadly, the virus did get into the home; six were infected and two died. However, they are now more careful with isolating and not leaving the grounds. Some have been vaccinated. ...