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A World Without Orphans Bike Tour 2017

This summer, a group of former Ukrainian orphans and their parents are continuing their international bike tour with the hopes of spreading the growing vision of ‘a world without orphans.’ After riding across Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark over 5 consecutive summers, this year they bike through Germany, Switzerland and France.

The bike campaign is organized by partners in the World Without Orphans movement and is being led by Gennadiy Mokhnenko, pastor and director of Republic Pilgrim, which is the largest rehabilitation program for street youth in Ukraine. Gennadiy and his wife Lena are parents to 32 previously abandoned children.

The World Without Orphans bike tour seeks to advocate for orphans in need of families, encourage national adoption in the countries where they ride, and encourage the development of solutions to end orphanhood worldwide.

The World Without Orphans Bike Tour began in 2011 when a group of Ukrainian orphans from Mariupol started riding eastward to raise awareness about orphans. Their quest continued on for 4 summers, and led them to far-east Russia, covering a total of 15,000 kilometers. Tens of thousands have attended gatherings that are part of the tour, while hundreds of thousands have heard the message about adoption through local media campaigns. As the team continues on their ride they regularly hear news of families who are stepping forward to foster and adopt children as a direct result of the campaign.

While on the tour, the group will speak at public events, hold press conferences, and meet with foster and adoptive parents throughout Europe.

2017 Schedule

Germany
July 15th – Bochum 
July 16th – Kierspe
July 17th – Wetzlar 
July 18th – Frankfurt
July 19th – Heilbronn
July 20th –Urbach
July 21st – Urbach
July 22nd – Villingen-Schwenningen
July 23rd - Villingen-Schwenningen 
July 25th - Waldshut Tiengen

Switzerland 
July 26th – Arburg
July 27th – Bern
July 28th – Neuhatel

France
July 29th – Pontarlier
July 30th – Dole
July 31st – Tulon
August 1st – Montbard
August 2nd – Bassou
Aug 3rd – Sens
Aug 4th – Melun
Aug 5th – Paris
Aug 6th – time of rest in Paris
Aug 7 – Chartres
Aug 8th – Le Mans
Aug 9th – Angers
Aug 10th – Nantes 
Aug 11th – Saint Nazaire – the finish  

In the cities the team will:

  • Hold concerts in the city square and/or services in churches
  • Sing or play musical instruments
  • Perform acrobatic stunts (flips, walking on arms, freestyle football, etc.)
  • Share a sermon/message on adoption from Gennady Mokhnenko  

Republic Pilgrim is the largest rehabilitation center in Ukraine for former street kids. Since 2000, over 3,000 teens have gone through the program. 60% of the youth have been able to return to their biological families and many of the kids have been placed in adoptive and foster families.
To get more information and to help contact Oleg Borovlev:
Tel: +380 67 625 79 30
Email: fund.pilgrim@gmail.com
www.republicpilgrim.org/en

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