Gilberto Martinez, an Edinburgh Softball League veteran originally from Venezuela, is undertaking a three-month motorcycle odyssey through 12 African countries with his nine-year-old son and a friend to take photographs and raise money for a charity that can help African children with schooling.
Gilberto said: “Our journey from Cape Town, South Africa to Edinburgh will be a photography and charity project my son and I have been planning for over a year. We will mix artistic and journalistic photography, focusing on African faces and ways of life. Upon our return we will be editing and creating a photography book and an exhibition by the end of 2015.
“We are also going to be helping The Read and Ride Initiative,” Gilberto added, “which aims to increase access to education through the provision of materials, equipment and transport to facilitate education in primary schools in Kalisizo, Rakai District, Uganda. The Read and Ride Initiative's objective is to provide bicycles, books, toys and teaching materials for the children of Kalisizo and during our journey, we will visit the children we are helping, sending a container of books, toys and bicycles to arrive at the location at the same time as we do.”
ESL background
Gilberto Martinez grew up in Venezuela and played baseball as a kid and at university, picking up softball later on. He moved to Scotland in 2003, and after few months, was desperate to start playing again, so he joined the Dalmeny Dodgers in the Edinburgh Softball League.
He has also played in tournaments around UK for different teams, and has played baseball for the Edinburgh Cannons for the last seven years.
You can read a more detailed description of the project and the journey, and how you can help fund it, by going to: http://www.gofundme.com/gilberto-r2a.
