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WE ARE SUFFERING FOR 3 DAYS TO STOP A LIFETIME OF SUFFERING FOR OTHERS We have entered a team to ride in the London to Paris pro-am event to raise £50,000 to alleviate suffering for Indian orphans.  We hope to provide a better life for children who work in a Rajasthan cigarette factory.  Orphaned children, as young as seven years old, work in appalling conditions without access to education.  Their lives are condemned, with virtually no hope of escape from poverty.  We can change that for these children by asking for your support in our participation in an event known as the “L2P” (<a href="http://www.londres-paris.com/">http://www.londres-paris.com</a>). We will be riding from London to Paris in three days.  We will ride about 170+ kilometers a day.  Our average speed will be 32 kmh with approx. 1800m of climbing each day.  It is similar to running three marathons at pace for 3 days straight. This is an event which has demanded months of hard training, dedication and commitment. The children we are helping, through a charity called Karuna ( <a href="http://www.karuna.org/">http://www.karuna.org/</a>), are resigned to poverty for being born in the wrong cast.  This is the life of many unfortunate untouchables, or Dalits, in India. Dalits (‘the oppressed’) come from the communities which, under the Indian caste system, used to be known as “untouchables”. Traditionally they were considered so inherently inferior that the merest contact with them would pollute those of a higher caste. Forced to live apart from other communities, Dalits were allowed to do only the filthiest and most menial jobs and for thousands of years were denied access to culture and education. Although ‘untouchability’ was declared illegal in 1950 it continues to haunt millions of men, women and children who are trapped in a cycle of poverty and social stigmatisation. The vast majority of India’s 150 million Dalits still lack proper housing, medical care, education and employment prospects. Karuna looks beyond the economic and political factors that cause poverty and suffering, and addresses the prejudice and ignorance that often underlie it. Karuna believes that lasting change will only be achieved by a transformation of the hearts and minds.  They work with marginalised communities and focus on helping people to develop the skills and confidence to take their rightful place in society. I have been to India countless times since the 1980s and witnessed the desperation first hand.  By making a donation to Karuna you could change the course of a life which otherwise would have been condemned.  Please do not ignore this plea for help.  Every donation, no matter how small, will make a difference. By making a donation you allow people to “live” who otherwise would have just “existed”.

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