CYCLING

Hitting sex slavery for a six

By TEAR Fund New Zealand

Kiwi batting legend and Black Caps selector Bruce Edgar is helping to hit human trafficking out of the park by raising money when he rides for TEAR Fund in the Tour of New Zealand on Saturday of April 11.

The Tour of New Zealand is a cycle race that starts simultaneously at the tip of the North Island at Cape Reinga, and the bottom of the South in Bluff on Saturday April 11, and finishes on Friday April 17 in Wellington.

Mr. Edgar and the rest of the TEAR Fund team hope to raise $20,000 to contribute to TEAR Fund’s work in the anti-trafficking sector.

“You hear about drugs and the bad impact they have but not so much about human trafficking, which preys on innocent young woman. It is a bigger industry for the criminal underworld because you can sell a drug once and it’s gone but these poor girls are being used over and over again. They’re certainly not the values I have,” says Mr Edgar.

Wanting to stay in shape for the competition, Mr Edgar took his bike with him when touring with the Cricket World Cup around New Zealand and Australia. In between supporting the boys he was preparing for the week-long event where he will ride 700km in seven days. 

“You’ve got to take it run by run, and pedal by pedal. You’ve got to get through the physical pain and have mental toughness. Break your innings into blocks of ten and break the course down into blocks of ten. I’m not sure which parts will be hurting but I know they definitely will be.”

Also riding for TEAR Fund is professional cyclist Josh Aldridge, senior Remuera fireman David Tokios, and runner Naresh Kumar who last year ran the length of New Zealand in sandals to raise money for TEAR Fund’s anti-trafficking work.

Dave Jamieson, Greg Stack, Michael Simpson, Clinton Sanford and Hamish McCallum, Beth Harper, Faye Paul, Bella O’Donnell, Jatin Patel, Neil Hamilton, Melissa Diprose and Murray Sheard make up the rest of the contingent.


About Tear Fund: Tear Fund is one of New Zealand’s Leading Christian Aid and Development Organisations. We’ve been working in close partnership with local Christian non-government organizations and churches in Asia, Africa, Central and South America for the last 35 years. We actively change the lives of the poor and oppressed through disaster relief, community development and child sponsorship. Assistance and care is always provided without bias or prejudice in terms of race, religion, caste, class, political beliefs or gender. www.tearfund.org.nz