News & Events

Bike for Life Brings the Sun to Panay Islands

Local coordinators, bikers groups and supporters of Bike for Life were concerned that the bike caravan will not be able to push through, given the heavy monsoon rains that have been bombarding Kalibo, Aklan, Roxas and Iloilo City for the past two weeks... However, much to their surprise and jubilation, whenever and wherever the team rides, the sun shines.

In Caticlan, (where the team landed after a horrendous four hour roro ride from Roxas, Mindoro) and in Kalibo , the rains were pounding hard the night and early morning before the ride. However, as the team started to prepare to ride, the rains started to dissipate into a drizzle.

In Iloilo City, where classes had been suspended earlier in the day due to heavy rains and flooding in critical areas, the Bike for Life’s ride through the city was again marked with no rain at all. Once the bikers reached the refuge of St Paul’s University Stadium, the rains poured once again.

Indeed the heavens are blessing these courageous team of bikers and supporters who are travelling through 1500 kilometers from Manila all the way to Davao in 15 days. The 35 strong team is led by James Auste, a brain cancer survivor himself and Executive Director of Cancer Warriors Foundation. Biking with him is another cancer survivor, eight fathers and two uncles of kids with cancer (who are non bikers and are cycling on borrowed bikes) and big hearted volunteers whose lives have been touched by cancer.

This is the third Bike for Life with the message Journey of Courage and Hope. It aims to help build awareness on the reality of childhood cancer and the fact that kids can survive cancer, with early detection proper diagnosis, appropriate treatment and care. It also wants to help build strong partnerships and an invincible alliance – between local government units, healthcare professionals, patients, business/industry and media – to fight childhood cancer and its greatest allies, which are fear, ignorance and complacency.

Bike for Life 3 is also Cancer Warriors Foundation’s way of celebrating International Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. and honouring the valiant kids with cancer who are courageously fighting for their lives as well as remembering those who have lost their lives in the battle. Through this long journey, they want to remind everyone that every three hours, one child is dying from cancer not because of cancer but because they are too poor to afford the cost of medicines and treatment. Bike for Life is an invitation for everyone to STOP the DYING and HELP KIDS FIGHT CANCER.