What do cycling and flower food have to do with each other? Well, at first glance, not much. Yet both are intertwined in the life of Niels van Doorn, General Manager at Chrysal Africa. As an avid mountain biker he will cycle the Rwandan Epic to raise money for the Tania School, a school that Chrysal has supported for many years.
Tania School
"Chrysal Africa started over 10 years ago in Kenya and one of the former CEOs got involved with Tania School. This is a school for orphans and children with disabilities at the foothills of Ngong Hills in Kenya. We have been sponsoring this school for some time, and we have even built part of the school," Niels says. "The situations are sometimes very dire. Children at the school are orphaned and have disabilities that prevent them from being brought up at home. There is a taboo on intellectual disability in many communities so children are often hidden from the outside world. This school can give the children a somewhat normal life with appropriate education."
Rwandan Epic
"Besides contributing to Tania School and going there every year with a large group from the office, this year we wanted to make it something bigger. Due to new regulations, some levels can no longer be taught with the current buildings. Since such a project is bigger than we can normally contribute, I came up with the idea to combine my hobby with work and go on a sponsorship ride to raise money to build proper classrooms. Taking a week off as well as putting down the cost of participation was not obvious, but explainable for the good cause!" Niels says with a laugh. All the money raised by the sponsors will go to Tania School. Is he looking forward to the bike ride? "Well, not every moment of the day, but the fact that people are sponsoring me motivates me immensely."
Sea freight of roses
Six years ago, Niels left for Kenya with his girlfriend to work for Chrysal Africa. "Besides supplying flower food, which we are known for, we also supply grower products and have been doing sea freight of roses since 2021. I have been working a lot on that. Currently, sea freight is at a standstill because of the situation with the Houthis on the Red Sea. This is annoying for us (as there is no trade), but even more for the Kenyan growers who had signed many contracts for this year with sea freight savings in mind. Moreover, the cost of air freight will continue to rise sharply this season. We are looking for alternatives, but the best thing would be if the Red Sea reopens." Niels concludes, "On my bike I have a lot of time to think about alternatives to the standard sea freight route!"
You can follow Niels' bike ride here, more information about sponsoring the bike ride for Tania School can be found here.