We are DEVASTATED to learn that 2 major sponsors of the Afghan Women's National Cycling Team pulled funding, citing the Charlie Hebdo attacks.
As Shannon writes in an essay on Adventure Journal:
"[They] censored themselves and abandoned their social responsibility. Their company could have driven social change in a positive way, with a unique opportunity, as it once promised, but it didn’t. Rather, it let down a team of young women who are all too well-versed in disappointment and threats, and gave in to fear. The girls will get by, of course; a loss of funding hurts, but it pales compared to the threats they face every day."
Shannon, whose nonprofit, Mountain 2 Mountain, has been working to grow the team, spoke at Redbeard Bikes in the fall.
We are proud that Liv Cycling USA remains a sponsor.
If you believe, as we do, in the power of bicycles to change the world for the better, please share this post. And please reach out to Mountain 2 Mountain, if you are able to offer financial support.
Photo credit: Deni Bechard via Adventure Journal
--Kasia Nikhamina
