From Italy helping children around the world on motorcycle

[romafras]

[KL__07]

Thanks for sharing. This is a journey of a life time.

[KEF]

excellent pictures.....awesome journey

[DDT Rider]

Are you in Japan now, or is the post a historic report? Are you the fellow who met with some riders in Tokyo a few weeks ago?

[romafras]

Originally Posted by DDT Rider

Are you in Japan now, or is the post a historic report? Are you the fellow who met with some riders in Tokyo a few weeks ago?

I am in Canada right now heading south to Panama. I am afraid I am not the guy you are referring to. Cheers.

[Guacamoto]

Fantastic ride and beautiful pics!

[romafras]

Traveling the world on our motorcycles, we have the possibility to see many beautiful things but unfortunately it is inevitable to encounter along the way some real tragedy.



Our itinerary took us on the east coast of Japan in the provinces of Miyagi and Fukushima where the 11th of March, 2011 a huge Tsunami devastated the area. After more than a year later, it is obvious to our eyes how ferocious this tsunami was. The heart and sorrow of the local people is still very tangible. We ride the roads of the disaster in absolute disbelief and so Matteo, Thierry, and myself pass the rest of the entire day in silence.

Our respect and admiration for the Japanese population is high, especially after we witness the great desire they show in rebuilding and restarting, united in a great sense of dignity and honor.

We travelled to see the Peace Museum In Hiroshima to directly witness the damages caused by the Atomic bomb. It is unnecessary to describe our mood after our visit to the museum.

























Surprisingly we were touched positively about the story of Sadako Sasaki who was exposed to radiation from the atomic bomb at the age of two. Ten years later Sadako developed Leukemia that ultimately ended her life. During her illness, Sadako, decided to build 1000 paper cranes. The cranes in Japan have a meaning of happiness and longevity. Unfortunately she died before she was able to finish her project that was completed by her classmates. Sadako’s untimely death compelled her classmates to begin a call for the construction of a monument for all children who died due to the atomic bomb. Built with contributions from more than 3200 schools in Japan and donors in nine countries, the Children Peace Monument was unveiled on May 5, 1958.

[SgtMike]

If you are coming through Seattle it would be great to meet if possible. Will be following your journey, be safe!

[romafras]

Originally Posted by SgtMike

If you are coming through Seattle it would be great to meet if possible. Will be following your journey, be safe!

Thank you very much for the invite. I am in Victoria BC right now and will start heading south soon. Will let you know.

[Honkey Cat]

Great pics.

[RideThereNow]

It looks like you are both having a wonderful time traveling in these interesting parts of the world. I've been to several of the areas and have both good and bad memories associated with things I've seen.

The plight of children is tragic, according to Unicef:

UNICEF and global partners define an orphan as a child who has lost one or both parents. By this definition there were over 132 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean in 2005. This large figure represents not only children who have lost both parents, but also those who have lost a father but have a surviving mother or have lost their mother but have a surviving father.

Of the more than 132 million children classified as orphans, only 13 million have lost both parents. Evidence clearly shows that the vast majority of orphans are living with a surviving parent grandparent, or other family member. 95 per cent of all orphans are over the age of five.

THE CRITICAL THING FOR THESE AID ORGANIZATIONS IS THAT PEOPLE SIGN UP TO GIVE ROUTINELY, even if it's a small amount, that allows them to budget and plan what they can do and where the most good will be accomplished

THE SAME HOLDS TRUE FOR AMICI DEI BAMBINI, THEY NEED REGULAR AND CONSISTANT GIVING TO MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE

To join a sponsorship programme, one needs to sign a commitment you may find enclosed to the Distance Support projects and send it by:

- MAIL to: Amici dei Bambini - Casella Postale 77 - 20077 Melegnano (MI)

- FAX - number 003902 98.23.26.11

- E-mail - aibi@aibi.it

Within 15 days from reception Amici dei Bambini will take care of the matching and will send to the sponsor the following items:
- for child sponsorships, a photograph and an introductory file on his / her family;
- for sponsorships of an educational / health institution, an introductory file with photographs of the children hosted.
- A photocopy of the sponsorship contract signed by Amici dei Bambini's legal representative with the accompanying matching documents.
The first payment will be made only after receiving such documents.

For as long as the need lasts or for the duration of the project in which the child is inserted.
Yet, at any moment, a sponsor may withdraw from the Distance Support sponsorship, by giving three-months notice, to enable Amici dei Bambini to find a different sponsor.

[romafras]

Originally Posted by RideThereNow

It looks like you are both having a wonderful time traveling in these interesting parts of the world. I've been to several of the areas and have both good and bad memories associated with things I've seen.

The plight of children is tragic, according to Unicef:

UNICEF and global partners define an orphan as a child who has lost one or both parents. By this definition there were over 132 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean in 2005. This large figure represents not only children who have lost both parents, but also those who have lost a father but have a surviving mother or have lost their mother but have a surviving father.

Of the more than 132 million children classified as orphans, only 13 million have lost both parents. Evidence clearly shows that the vast majority of orphans are living with a surviving parent grandparent, or other family member. 95 per cent of all orphans are over the age of five.

THE CRITICAL THING FOR THESE AID ORGANIZATIONS IS THAT PEOPLE SIGN UP TO GIVE ROUTINELY, even if it's a small amount, that allows them to budget and plan what they can do and where the most good will be accomplished

THE SAME HOLDS TRUE FOR AMICI DEI BAMBINI, THEY NEED REGULAR AND CONSISTANT GIVING TO MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE

To join a sponsorship programme, one needs to sign a commitment you may find enclosed to the Distance Support projects and send it by:

- MAIL to: Amici dei Bambini - Casella Postale 77 - 20077 Melegnano (MI)

- FAX - number 003902 98.23.26.11

- E-mail - aibi@aibi.it

Within 15 days from reception Amici dei Bambini will take care of the matching and will send to the sponsor the following items:
- for child sponsorships, a photograph and an introductory file on his / her family;
- for sponsorships of an educational / health institution, an introductory file with photographs of the children hosted.
- A photocopy of the sponsorship contract signed by Amici dei Bambini's legal representative with the accompanying matching documents.
The first payment will be made only after receiving such documents.

For as long as the need lasts or for the duration of the project in which the child is inserted.
Yet, at any moment, a sponsor may withdraw from the Distance Support sponsorship, by giving three-months notice, to enable Amici dei Bambini to find a different sponsor.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this. We really appreciate it.

[romafras]

After exactly one month of traveling we arrive in Tokyo. The end of the Asian Continent. In our memories, we leave behind extraordinary roads and different cultures and extraordinary people. Arriving to Tokyo has been a goal since the beginning of the journey a year ago. It is a mix of feelings between a great sense of achievement and sadness because we are leaving our motorcycles in storage. They are being shipped to Canada for the new North American adventure.



We were both very surprised to receive a beautiful welcome to Tokyo from Honda Headquarter. This is thanks to Matteo that is riding a truly magnificent bike. An old 1989 HONDA Dominator. We were invited to the Honda headquarter where MR. Takashi Horikoshi and Mrs. Marina Nagai were waiting for our arrival. They generously gave us a small gift and presented “Asimo”, a human robot made by Honda that with proper programming can do almost everything a real human can do.





The next day we have scheduled a meeting to take care of the shipping of our bikes. We meet with Mr. Ido at isicar where we start all the procedure to export our motorcycles. Matteo’s Honda will be shipped to Canada and my KTM back to Italy. We would like to thank all the staff at isicar for making the procedure simple and reliable.





After leaving our motorcycles, the only thing left to do is to wait for our flights back home and rejoin with our families that we both terribly miss . Matteo and myself, after traveling truly in the middle of nowhere feel a bit like fish out of the water in a city like Tokyo. A city full of concrete, lights and shopping. A great city but not really for us. Now we are ready for the American Continent that will take us to our new “Good Cause” in Colombia.

[romafras]

The RR will be updated as we go. Currently riding from Canada to Panama.

[chrish4ku]

Nice - it would be cool to get a sense of your route from CAN - LATAM.