Rally Driver Speaks Out on Race To Erase Poverty from the Planet During East African Safari Classic Rally

NEW YORK and NAIROBI, Kenya, November 18 /PRNewswire/ --
- WHAT: INTERVIEW AVAILABILITIES RACE4CHANGE & EAST AFRICAN SAFARI CLASSIC
Race4Change (www.race4change.org) is a highly charged campaign to rev up the race to end poverty on the planet through microfinance. Our mission is to drive a movement amongst road, rally, sports enthusiasts, and socially responsible people and organizations to move masses of people to make change happen. We are racing towards a revolution that will unleash economic and creative innovation in the lives of millions of people powered by the engine of microfinance. It is a vital poverty fighting tool that can improve peoples' health, education, and the environment and move the world from conflict and need to peace and prosperity. Small microloans are creating great change. Micro-entrepreneurs are empowered socially, economically and filled with dignity. They repay their loans with interest, which allows microfinance to re-lend and reach even more people.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091109/DC07551LOGO)
Race4Change donates all of the money it receives to two of the world's most important poverty fighting machines, the Microcredit Summit Campaign (www.microcreditsummit.org) and the Kenyan Microfinance program Jamii Bora. (www.jamiibora.org).
Steven Funk, racecar driver, car #20 Race4Change has been endorsed by Travis Pastrana, motorsports racing champion who stands behind this cause and the efforts of Race4Change in their fight against poverty. "It's great that Pastrana has given his support to such an important cause and our efforts during the race, the East African Safari Classic - one of the toughest rallies in the world in an effort to raise money and public attention for microcredit in the race to end poverty on the planet," said Funk.
Surinder Thatthi, Events Director, of the East African Safari Rally and Vice President of the FIA believes, "It's a great thing that they are doing and we definitely support Race4Change whole heartedly in their fight against poverty."
WHO: SPEAKERS WHO ARE AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS INCLUDE-
IN KENYA:
Dr. Steven Funk, racecar driver of car #20, Race4Change (www.race4change.org) in the East African Safari Classic, is a successful private equity investor. He built three operating businesses over a 20 year period, each becoming one of the largest in their sectors. Steven is a founder of the Dignity Fund, chair of the Director's Advisory Group of the Microcredit Summit Campaign, and a microfinance expert.
Surinder Thatthi, has been a navigator with four African rally championship wins and numerous safari rally finishes with prominent drivers amongst them being Mike Kirkland in 1990/91. He is also Vice President of the FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile) and Events Director East African Safari Rally. In 2003 he was the rally manager and in 2005 the clerk of course for the classic safari rally.
Ingrid Munro is founder of the Kenyan Microfinance Institution, Jamii Bora, and a Microfinance ECO-Pioneer. With no more than a dozen volunteer staff members, Munro launched Jamii Bora in 1999 in the slums of Nairobi to help the poor lead productive lives. Munro's program is not like traditional microcredit programs. From the beginning she was focused on helping the poorest people climb the ladder out of poverty. Munro gave loans to beggars, thieves and HIV positive people. Her program brings micro-water, micro-education, micro-housing and micro-insurance programs to the poorest people in Kenya. She built the first African Microfinance ECO-Village 36 km outside of Nairobi called Kaputiei. Jamii Bora brings microloans to more than 250,000 people. Today people travel from all over the world to learn more about the innovative Jamii Bora microfinance model.
IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
Sam Daley-Harris is Director of the Microcredit Summit Campaign and President of RESULTS, a citizens lobby working to end poverty. In 1986 he launched the first campaign to encourage the United States Congress to fund international microcredit programs as a means to end poverty. He was encouraged by the Grameen Bank. In 2007, the Microcredit Summit Campaign surpassed its goal of reaching 100 million of the world's poorest families with life-saving access to micro loans. Then they raised the bar, declaring a new goal of reaching 175 million of the world's poorest families with microcredit by 2015. They further declared that they would measure the move out of poverty of the 100 million families already reached with microcredit.
WHEN: WEDNESDAY, November 18 - TUESDAY November 24, 2009
WHERE: IN PERSON IN KENYA, AND OVER THE PHONE INTERVIEWS
For more information please contact: Denise Hughes at +1-917-549-2621 or Denise@creative-connectors.com
WHY: 24,000 children die every day from poverty. (UNICEF). Race4Change is racing to save the lives of those children. 100% of the money raised will benefit the Kenyan Microfinance Institution, Jamii Bora Trust, one of the fastest growing microfinance programs in Kenya and the upcoming Africa-Middle East Region Microcredit Summit to be held April 7-10, 2010 in Kenya.
www.Race4Change.org
Denise Hughes, +1-917-549-2621, Denise@creative-connectors.com, for Race4Change