The Riders and Climbers

Axel Hallbauer

Who are we, and what makes us the right candidates for this fundraising campaign? Let us give you a short introduction of ourselves.

I am a German citizen with an MBA from a German University (majoring in Marketing), who loves to travel and get to know different societies and cultures in our world. In 2002 I got the chance to start working for my father’s business in Canada – a company providing Sales Solutions to the Yellow Pages industry, and I happily accepted. I got to love Edmonton, which is why I am still here today. In my role as a Regional Manager for the Americas region I am currently traveling quite a lot which I enjoy.

Even as a student I spent a lot of time traveling and/or working in many different countries around Europe (like Ireland, Spain) as well as in Egypt, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, India, Thailand, etc.

Besides traveling I enjoy sports and outdoor activities. It is my pleasure to introduce people to the things I enjoy doing, which is why I voluntarily lead trips for the Alpine Club of Canada, assisted in training local swim and triathlon teams in Germany and led beginner groups scuba diving in a local diving school.

Before going to University I worked for 15 months full time for the Red Cross in Germany, helping elderly as well as handicapped people in their day-to-day life. I found this kind of work very rewarding as I saw that I had a positive impact in other people’s lives.

Over the last years I felt a growing desire to share my talents and resources for the benefit of peop le in countries and cultures that face far greater challenges (e.g. poverty, war, AIDS, etc.) than we as a privileged society do in the developed countries. This inner wish initiated my idea of coming up with a fundraising project. After receiving my motorcycle license and reading the article on the two motorcyclists crossing Africa and knowing about local charity groups, I got hooked to the idea of doing this adventure trip and combine it with a good cause – fundraise for "Hands across Africa".

Mike Maiani

Born and raised in Canada, I enjoy travel, value cultural perspectives and prize a good journey. My belief is that motivated individuals can make a profound difference in the everyday lives of others and believe in the volunteers behind Hands Across Africa.

I moved to Edmonton six years ago to complete my education, and have been very fortunate to have stayed ever since. This has been a wonderful city to call home and make relationships in.

I have always enjoyed travel and the cultural awareness one can gain from spending time in communities abroad. My early experiences fostered a desire to learn about different nations, cultures and meet people from various backgrounds. I have tried to expand my horizons across North and Central America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and parts of Northern Africa.

I think the inherent challenges of this project are its greatest strength. I hope to be able to involve other Edmontonians in this adventure and in turn help those who are already making a difference in the lives of others; Hands Across Africa.

Some of the other climbers

Let us introduce you our climbers who have the "guts" to join us on our journey and meet us in Tanzania to climb Mt. Kili (and raise 2000 CAD for our charity:-)). If you want to join this exclusive clan just register for our climber info package (top right). Thanks.