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  • The Rev. Bruce Overstreet is biking across the country to help people in need who are far away. He is raising money to make a difference in Mali, West Africa, and seeks pledges for every mile that he rides. Michael Betts

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April 25, 2008

Local pastor to bike 4,000 miles to benefit mission in Africa

<a href="mailto:smoore@pressrepublican.com">By SUZANNE MOORE</a>

PLATTSBURGH — Riding his bike across the United States this summer, the Rev. Bruce Overstreet will center his thoughts and prayers on the West African nation of Mali.

Every mile he covers will bring in dollars to improve the Hospital for Women and Children there, where 150 babies are born every month, but there are just 17-or-so beds.

“The Republic of Mali is considered the very worst or second worst (country in the world) for mothers and babies,” said Overstreet. “It’s a terrible place to be.

“We’re trying to change that.”



BIKING FOR MALI

Pastor of North Country Alliance Church in Plattsburgh for 14 years, Overstreet will be taking his first sabbatical ever to bike from Clam Beach, Calif., to Old Orchard Beach, Maine, just under 4,000 miles. On a ride he calls Coast to Coast for Christ and Kids, he’ll set out June 2 with plans to complete the route in about eight weeks. Then, in October, the pastor will fly to Mali to pedal a final 240-mile leg along the roadways of the people he so wants to aid.

Hospital Director Craig Hanscomb encouraged Overstreet to be a physical presence there.

“He calls me just about every week or two,” Overstreet said. “He’s just jumping up and down” about the fundraiser.

The Hospital for Women and Children in Koutiala opened in May 2006, a project of the Alliance Church through its Orchard Foundation.

“The hospital really belongs to Mali,” Overstreet said.

Training Malian doctors, nurses and other staff is an objective of the hospital, which is the only facility within 250 miles equipped to deal with serious gynecological, obstetrical and pediatric conditions.

Anyone, regardless of faith, is welcome there, Overstreet said.

“They come in, they get treated — they don’t have to pay anything if they don’t have any money.”



DESPERATE NEED

Overstreet hopes to raise $1 million or more with Coast to Coast that will expand and better equip the hospital.

The need is desperate, he said.

Conditions in Mali are so poor that often parents have to choose between feeding their family and seeking medical treatment to save a child’s life.

And so children die.

As well, statistics show that one in four little ones in Mali don’t reach age 5, and one of every 10 women dies in childbirth.

“I’m a father; I’ve got four kids,” Overstreet said. “From that aspect, it’s real easy to develop an interest in that need.”

His own children are pitching in to make the ride possible. Christina, 17, will update the Web site, posting her father’s progress along the route. Isaac, 21, will drive the RV that will be Overstreet’s rolling headquarters. Jeremy, a seventh-grader, is often his dad’s riding partner as he trains for the trip and will pedal along part of the ride itself. And Joshua will join the whole family for a week or two before keeping a date for U.S. Army officers training.

Overstreet’s wife, Sheryl, works on publicity, and she’ll also travel some of the route in the RV.

“We’ve had a goal for years, at least 15, to see the Grand Canyon as a family,” the pastor said. “This is our last chance to do that.”



DAUNTING RIDE

Overstreet, 52, has been a biker since childhood; he’s done some amateur racing and rides with the Adirondack Cycling Team.

“I’ve always liked to do long-distance rides,” he said.

He came up with Coast to Coast last summer, when it occurred to him that all the mileage he puts on a bike could benefit more than his own health.

By the end of last season, he was riding about 300 miles weekly, about 100 fewer than he’ll have to do to accomplish the cross-country ride.

It’s a daunting prospect, he said.

“It’s not like when I was 30 and racing,” he said, laughing. “Every morning, I get up and think, ‘What was I thinking?’”

Overstreet has talked with others who have done similar trips — they tell him the first week is the toughest.

“After that, the body rises to the occasion. I’m trusting that’s what’s going to happen.”

Just as those in Mali trust the hospital will grow to care for more women and children.

“Bottom line,” the pastor said, “this is an opportunity.

“This hospital is helping people — it’s a very bright spot in the country of Mali right now.”

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