Portrait of Dr Marta Binder

Dr Binder, do you know your current mileage?

It changes every day: just under 38,000 kilometres (editor's note: at the time of the interview in June 2023). But when I set off on my bike for the first time in August 2013 for "Cycling for School Children in Africa", I had no idea that ten years later I would have collected over 300,000 euros in donations for the microschools in Ghana.

How did you become a cycling paediatrician and ambassador for school children in Africa?

My son Jan worked for the Opportunity International Foundation, which supports committed school entrepreneurs in Africa with microloans for school projects. I asked him if - when I retire - I could raise additional funds for this by cycling? He said: 'Great idea, mother'. In the summer of 2011, my son travelled to Ghana with a journalist to show her various school projects and had a fatal accident. I felt in the word with him, kept in touch with Opportunity. And so, in 2013, as a pensioner, I cycled off, hitting various banks who gave me cheques for the microschools project - I managed 954 kilometres in the first year.

What you need to know: Microschools are public schools, but deliberately for the poorer population. The parents pay as much as they can. In Ghana, school is compulsory, but in the public schools there are sometimes up to 70 children in the classes. We can hardly imagine the conditions: dirty classrooms, an oil drum as a kitchen, neither running water nor toilets, even though they are all-day schools. Opportunity is working to improve conditions, for example by providing toilet blocks, blackboards, chalk and much more.

The donations are also used to finance the Jan Binder Award, which is given in memory of my son. Every year, a school is chosen whose conditions are particularly exemplary: For example, they have school gardens where the children learn about waste separation or about marketing vegetables from the school garden. I was once in Ghana myself and would like to go again - when the mangoes are ripe ...

What role does cycling play in your life?

Without cycling I would certainly feel much older. During my working years I was already a part-distance commuter: we lived in Warendorf and I had to go to Münster every day - first to study, later to the University Hospital (UKM) to work there as a paediatrician. I had the bike in the boot of the car, parked on the outskirts of town, usually at Stapelskotten, and so was at the UKM every morning at eight o'clock on the dot - with the bike, the last stretch through the city was always easy to calculate.

Why is cycling important for you?

Quite simply: you don't drive a car all the time and blow_CO2 and nitrogen oxides into the air. Secondly, because of the physical exercise. The older you get, the more important it is! Also to stay mentally fit. And I can combine the beautiful with the useful: Collecting donations and helping children.

What makes Münsterland a cycling region for you?

Here there are neither gradients nor such a brutal headwind as on the coast. Münsterland and Münster itself have improved considerably over time in terms of the quality of the cycle paths. I can still remember many a bumpy stretch of road, and how outraged I was when the road next door looked freshly ironed with new tar. Why not the cycle paths too?

When you are in Münsterland - which routes do you cycle frequently and with pleasure?

I travel a lot between Warendorf and Bielefeld because that's where the grandchildren live. Most of the time, however, I am on the road for a specific purpose - to where our donors are located. In Münsterland, these are destinations like Nordkirchen, Havixbeck, Ahlen or Ennigerloh. I also enjoy cycling the Ems cycle path or the tours to the moated castles. You always find beautiful places - such as Harkotten Castle or Vinnenberg Monastery near Milte, which has a beautiful church. When I ride my fundraising tours, I plan them in advance on the Komoot tour app and replay them on the wireless earphones. That way I don't have to spend ages looking at the map at every junction. The compass on my handlebars also gives me orientation when it's cloudy or foggy...

Where are you going next?

Before I complete my circumnavigation of the globe, I'm going to Jever/East Frisia and back to visit a fellow Opportunity ambassador. Then it's on to Lower Saxony, first Visbeck, then Hanover. Next on the schedule: Leipzig, Lützow, Bruchsaal, Trossingen, Schorndorf and the Kaiserstuhl in Baden-Württemberg. As long as my backside and the bicycle saddle agree, as long as Opportunity participates and as long as donors invite me - I will continue the campaign. I'm motivated by the 300,000 euros I've raised so far. People can also ride along - or donate.

Thank you very much for the interview and have a good trip!