The Solirunbike orienteering race is a private initiative supported by members of Luxembourg’s business community and organised by the non-profit Handicaps Solidaires Luxembourg (HSL).
The initiative’s underlying goal is to promote sports and solidarity on two levels. First, among all athletes, regardless of disabilities, as they bike or run towards the finish line in duos or trios. Solidarity is also demonstrated on an international and organisational scale by means of donations to select parties both at home and abroad.
Since its inception in 2018, the grand duchy-based event has successfully raised over €200,000 in donations for the Swiss foundation Hymne aux Enfants in Burkina Faso, with additional support provided to the Back to Sport association, which supports sports activities for people with a disability or in rehabilitation in Luxembourg.
The West African landlocked country ranks 184th out of 191 in the UNDP’s human development index and has been a development partner country for Luxembourg’s bilateral development cooperation since 1996. Since 1995, the Hymne aux Enfants foundation has been active in Burkina Faso, providing access to healthcare for vulnerable children with chronic health and living conditions exacerbated by poverty, particularly those suffering from illnesses such as noma or cancer.
Kam Madibèlè is the foundation's reference pediatrician and president of the Solidarity Chain for Health and Education (CSSE), a doctor’s association in Burkina Faso comprised of approximately 160 volunteer doctors and nurses who advocate for preventive health and provide medical support to children in hospitals and health screenings in schools.
Philippe Seyll (right), head of Clearstream Fund Services and chairperson of the board of directors of Clearstream Fund Centre AG, shakes hands with paediatrician Kam Madibèlè (left) during his visit to Luxembourg in the last quarter of 2022. Abigail Okorodus
Local impact and projects executed
Over the last five years, HSL has donated between €15,000 and €25,000 annually to the foundation to support its local activities. These funds were primarily used to pay for the logistical and infrastructural development of the foundation, as well as CSSE-provided school-based health services.
Donations specifically supported the construction of a six-classroom school in 2021 for children aged 6 to 12, with 115 students enrolled in its second year of operation and an eventual enrolment of around 300 children anticipated.
Other projects made possible by the funds include the development and fencing of the 4-hectare site to secure the property, as well as the installation of a school fence.
A boarding school with a capacity of 28 children was also built to serve children who are awaiting medical intervention and live in remote areas or do not have other options for accommodation while receiving treatment. The presence of a boarding school on the same premises allows students who come for medical care to continue learning to the extent possible.
Approximately ten patients and 40 boarders have benefited from the boarding school, which is currently housing four children with Noma and two children with other pathologies. Boarders are encouraged to leave the facilities after recovery to give room for a new batch of patients. “Our goal is to assist these children in reintegrating into society,” says Madibèlè. One of the four teachers in the school previously benefited from the foundation’s noma treatment with some other employees being formers residents of the boarding school.
“The boarding school is [also] open to other NGOs with children who come for care and who do not have a place to stay. These children with non-contagious diseases can benefit from the presence of the school to continue their studies while receiving treatment,” explains Madibèlè.
A borehole was also drilled to provide clean drinking water for the students and boarders, as well as to support gardening activities and to serve approximately 1,000 surrounding households.
“The borehole construction allows for the creation of a vegetable garden. This garden will be able to supplement the diets of boarders, provide gardening lessons to students, and generate additional revenue for the centre. Furthermore, the residents of the surrounding area are provided with water in times of need, particularly during water shortages,” states Madibèlè.
The solidarity that began in Luxembourg has spread to Burkina Faso and its people.”
Funds have also been used to support the CSSE doctor’s association medical visits to the school. “Support for school medical examinations has made it possible to consult some 20,000 children in schools. One quarter of them had earwax plugs that reduced their ability to hear by 40 decibels. These plugs were removed. Systematic deworming is done to the children, as well as the detection of visual impairment. Strep throat with its potential progression to rheumatic heart disease was detected and treated. A significant number of ringworms of the scalp were diagnosed and treated. Awareness raising on dental hygiene is systematically done and effectively fights against noma. Vaccination campaigns have been organised in several schools against hepatitis B, meningitis, typhoid fever and influenza, thanks in part to the cooling system made possible by the support received,” clarifies Madibèlè.
The financial support received should lead to the foundation’s autonomy in Burkina Faso, says Madibèlè, who hopes that someday, the school will be able to generate enough revenue to support the foundation’s operations, citing existing local actions that supplement international interventions such as government contributions, local volunteers, and the annual parental school fee contributions equivalent to around €60 each year per child.
Solirunbike fifth edition announced
The next Solirunbike event will be held on 8 June at the Coque esplanade in Kirchberg. “I would like to thank the organisers of the Solirunbike event for considering the children of Burkina Faso. The solidarity that began in Luxembourg has spread to Burkina Faso and its people. Donations from Solirunbike have aided in the construction of the school, whose operations are guaranteed by the foundation, which also benefits from the school’s revenues.”
The foundation currently aims to develop its activities further by building a medical complex consisting of a dispensary, a vaccination centre, a maternity ward, an operating theatre and a palliative care centre.
“Our motivation is to show that with little we can revamp the current data,” says Madibèlè.
Previous partners and sponsors of Solirunbike in Luxembourg include Clearstream, Banque de Luxembourg, PwC Luxembourg, Inowai, BIL, Farad Group and more.
