Story
<p>Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.</p>
<p>With the help of the True Volunteer Foundation, I am organising a Charity Cycle Ride from Cambodia to Vietnam to raise money to support an orphanage project in Cambodia, and build a school in Vietnam, as well as support the work of the Catalyst Foundation, which deals with human trafficking in Vietnam. We are focusing particularly on a village where the people live and work on a rubbish dump. Adults, and children as young as 7, work all day sifting through rubbish to earn $2.50 to $5.00 a day. Mortality here is very high. Catalyst have built a school for all the kids from this village and support the adults by teaching them new skills. Their work is truly remarkable. </p>
<p>So on 19th November 2011 a group of people, most of whom are either friends from the David Lloyd Club in Raynes Park, or business associates from the referral and networking organisation called BNI in Surrey, will be taking part. Most of these people have not done much cycling before, but will be taking part in this life changing trip to raise money for these projects. We will cycle 400km over 10 days, mostly off the beaten track: starting at Angkor Wat down to the Killing Fields, then a boat trip over to Vietnam, and then cycling through the Mekong Delta onto Ho Chi Minh City. We will visit the site of the dump so that everyone can really see with their own eyes the conditions in which these people live and meet those who will benefit directly from the fund raised. </p>
<p>Being able to organise this trip has been my life long dream. Michael Padmanathan, the founder of True Volunteer Foundation, whom I met at the David Lloyd Club at Raynes Park, has helped to make this come true! Why is it I have the burning desire to do this? In 1973 at the age of 9, I left Vietnam with my family as my father was posted to the UK to work for the Vietnamese Embassy. We were due to return back to Viet Nam in 1977. However, as fate would have it, in April 1975, the Americans pulled out of Saigon. My father would have been killed if he had returned to Vietnam, so we were given political asylum. I feel that to express my thanks for the blessings that I have had in my life, growing up in a safe and prosperous country, I should do whatever I can to give something back. </p>
<p>We are living in tough times, but hard times are relative and the temporary difficulty that we are experiencing does not compare with the unremitting burden that these people have to live with all their lives. Whatever you can donate I THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. Whatever the contribution, your money would achieve so much in Cambodia and Vietnam, would improve so many lives and would assist Catalyst's efforts to eradicate human trafficking.</p>
<p>My daughter worked at the Catalyst Foundation this summer in her gap year. The experience moved her so much, that she is now studying Vietnamese and Development Studies at the School of African & Oriental Studies (SOAS) in London and she wants to work for charities/organisations whose aim it is to end human trafficking in Asia. If you are interested, you may click on the following link to read her blog giving details of her experience of this camp - www.gingerandgame.tumblr.com.</p>
<p>Just some facts: </p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 19px; color: #1c1c1c; line-height: 19px;">Cambodia is one of the poorest and most devastated countries in the world.<span style="outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-size: 19px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"> </span>With child mortality four times the average even for South East Asia. In rural areas most families live on less than 75 cents a day. More than half the children aged 5- 17 have to work to support their families and only 9 % ever go to school.</span></p>
<p>I am very passionate about this and apologise that it is rather long and I thank you for your time in reading this :) </p>