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WE DID IT - IN THE RAIN!
Despite the heavy rain on Sunday morning, the Doig Henderson tri-athlon for the children of the Tondo dumpsite went ahead. It was very wet, but the Scottish genes kicked in and we had lots of fun splashing through the muck.
We started at 7am instead of 6am, in a vain attempt to avoid the rain (no hope) and the biking went without a hitch; the only disappointment for Lachlan and Guthrie being that no cars with transformer stickers were spotted on route. Then came the walk, which the the kids were dreading the most. But practise,ice-lollies, balloons and sweeties all made it more bearable...Guthrie walked the entire way! Amazingly in my view!
As for the swim, well not surprisingly for 3 British School Manila kids, Miranda, Lachlan and Guthrie plunged in and thrashed up and down the pool at astonishing speed. A full range of strokes used to great effect. The result? Guthrie finished first (he did 4 X 25 metres) and Alison came in last. Free style for 16 lengths? Not a hope.
Our time to complete the lot - 1 hour and 55 minutes. Not bad if you ask me.
THANK YOU EVERYONE
Thank you to everyone for your support and generosity. We had no idea how much money we would raise when we started this project, so hitting the 2000 GBP mark has been fantastic. Of course, not all funds are coming in online, so for now we are focused on gathering in the cash donations/pledges in the Philippines. After that, we will contact Jane Walker of the Philippine Community Fund and deliver the cash to the charity. A final figure will be posted online at that time.
**My apologies for the lack video - having technical problems. Will try and resolve soon.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO MORE FOR THE CHILDREN OF THE TONDO DUMPSITE?
The children of Tondo need your help. So how about talking to your local school about fundraising for the Philippine Community Foundation? Or perhaps you could approach your company about foreign charitable support?
For those of you outside of the Philippines who would like to know more about the Philippine Community Foundation please go to http://pcf.ph/index.php or read my brief summary below. There was also a great article in the British newspaper The Telegraph, about Jane Walker; the amazing British lady who is driving the Philippine Community Foundation. Click here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/philippines/2259207/Jane-Walker-a-Briton-who-brings-hope-to-children-of-the-tip.html
THE CHILDREN OF TONDO AND THE PHILIPPINE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
In Metro Manila, infact not far from our home, there are thousands of children and families who are trapped in a life of despair and squalor, living and working in huge dumpsites. Their plight is barely on the radar of international charitable interest, but they need your help.
The Christian Philippine Foundation - spearheaded by British national Jane Walker - is a fantastic organisation focused on ending child labour on these dumpsites. The charity builds and runs schools, provides food and nutritional advice, healthcare and medicines, literacy and education projects, livelihood development and support, spiritual care and much, much more.
But the charity faces considerable financial challenges, particularly this year due to the global downturn. Simply put - it needs more funds.
So please consider sponsoring us or sending a donation. Your help will be appreciated in ways you might never imagine.
DONATE NOW THROUGH 'JUST GIVING'
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.