Ride of Smiles.
For Dr. Hans-Henning "Baba" Bützow, every kilometre counts. During his motorcycle travels, the physician has frequently encountered people who are living in poverty, yet willing to share everything with him. Touched by the hospitality and welcoming smiles of these people, Baba set a goal for himself: On the Ride of Smiles Tour, he will ride 80,000 kilometres on an R 1200 GS Adventure and raise 50,000 euros for charity. At the end of the tour, the children in need will have a reason to smile again.
Dr. Hans-Henning "Baba" Bützow
A boy named Joel.
Solitude? No thank you.
Solitude? No thank you.
During his Ride of Smiles Tour, Baba did not seek solitude or try to discover unknown parts of the world. On the contrary: In a quest for new encounters, he deliberately chose routes that would bring him into contact with a lot of people. "I want to meet people and write about them on my blog. The aim of the Ride of Smiles is to raise money for precisely these people, especially children".
The fundraising goal of 50,000 euros may not seem like a lot of money. Many of the people Baba encounters have never had money in their life. They need it for food and medicine. And especially for the hope and chance of a better future. For them, every euro is a lot of money.
Help from many sides.
Help from many sides.
Donations to the Ride of Smiles Tour are not used to fund the tour itself. Baba is paying for the trip out of his own pocket. He also donated the first 7,000 euros toward the fundraising goal. That means he only needed to raise 43,000 euros once he started the tour. Baba has received generous assistance from friends and colleagues, who are impressed by the example he is setting through his commitment.
BMW Motorrad also wanted to contribute to his extraordinary campaign and provided Baba with an R 1200 GS Adventure, including all the necessary equipment. The bike is well known for its ability to tackle special challenges and be ready for surprises. So the bike was an easy choice as a travel companion for Baba. The donation also included 7,000 kilometres of rider training in Spain.
Four charities will each receive a share of the total funds raised: Doctors Without Borders, Christian Blind Mission and United For Africa as well as Bayerischer Rundfunk’s ‘Sternstunden’ charity. They are all well established and have the resources to distribute the aid so that it will benefit recipients. The 'Sternstunden' charity is from Baba's home state of Bavaria and is dedicated to helping sick, disabled and needy children.
