About Us

We ride across Sri Lanka as a symbol of healing, restoration and hope for this war-shattered island.

History

Ride4Ceylon began in 2017 as RidersforCharity, a sponsored charity cycle ride through Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), fondly known as the ’the pearl of the Indian Ocean’. The brainchild of a group of Old Boys of St Thomas’ College in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the charity aims to rebuild lives and communities devastated by three decades of civil war. Passionate to make a contribution to Sri Lanka’s future, the Old Boys with friends worldwide, chose to redevelop and expand the historic Green Memorial Hospital, Manipay, in the war-gutted Jaffna. And so the idea of a 435km charity cycle ride from Colombo to Jaffna was born.

Located in the far north of the island, the Green Memorial Hospital, Manipay, had long served the local community. Yet thirty years of civil war had destroyed infrastructure, community and lives, leaving shattered pieces of a once-thriving region. The chance to rebuild the hospital and expand its services offered a compelling cause: to meet a real need and revive a community rent physically and emotionally by war. We opted for a bicycle ride as a visible and practical means to raise awareness, funds and momentum for the hospital. The inaugural ride of 6 riders took place in February 2017, followed by the February 2018 ride of 25 riders, comprising Old Boys with friends from overseas. Together, the 2017 and 2018 rides helped collect over £70, 000 for the hospital.

* The 2017 ride supported neuro rehabilitation services and the renovation of nurses’ living quarters.

* In 2018, donations included support for alcohol rehabilitation and £10, 000 of cash and goods towards the construction of a new Gabriella Rasiah Paediatric and Cardiology ward, in memory of rider David Rasiah’s daughter, who died tragically at the age of 17 in July 2017.

* The 2019 ride proved to be very successful & exceeded our target & expectations. This year’s ride raised £65k as well as £35k worth of sporting equipment from the Lord Taverners & Sydney Football Club. This equipment was distributed island wide. The Sydney cycling club City Tatts also sent 8 riders to participate this year. We managed to obtain a much needed new ambulance for the hospital. The majority of the funds raised in 2019 will be used to renovate the paediatric wing.

The 2020 ride had 45 cyclists from 6 countries, bringing in £102,000 which is being utilised to develop the Paediatric ward.
The 2021 ride will take place from 3rd to 6th March, and is expected to involve over 60 riders from around the world, joining from countries such as Australia, Canada, UK, USA, India and Romania. The focus is on raising funds to redevelop the Hospital’s historic Mission House into a ground-breaking cancer care and research facility, Hope Beyond Cancer (HBC). Led by a Committee of Nishan Wickramaratna, Michael Arnold, Jega Periasamy, Sriomal De Silva Nishantha Abeywardena, Upekshi Perera, Kumar Kalyanakumar and David Rasiah, and supported by trustees Dr. Jay Arnold and Arni Arnold, the team will run annual cycle rides from late February to early March and are always keen to hear from supporters, volunteers and riders. We’d welcome your support, whatever your interest or contribution and wherever you are. If you’d like to be involved either as a rider, donator or campaigner – or simply to find out more – do get in touch via . Why not come along for the ride and help to return Sri Lanka to paradise.