HOPE Global Challenge 2007: 500km Cambodia Bike Ride

This Global Challenge Has 3 Purposes:

• To Support HOPE-International’s Cambodia Clean Water, Gardening & Health Education Projects.
• To provide an adventure of a lifetime that will include physical challenge, exotic locations and exposure to the needs of the poor and the success of grassroots development projects.
• To learn about the needs of the poor and how clean water can be leveraged to provide a better quality of life.

Sophari, Su Sein's Story Part I:

"Sophari was like so many families in Cambodia--trapped in a life of poverty. Sophari labored in the jungle earning less than 50 cents for 16 hours of backbreaking work. Late in the evening, the family would gather for a meager meal of fish paste soup mixed with whatever Sophari scavenged from the forest. Their family lacked clean fresh water--that had tragic consequences. Soghari's two year old son became sick and died as a result of drinking the local water."

Every day, mothers and children often walk half a day in search of precious water, yet one sip of this water can infect a person with a deadly disease like cholera or dysentery. Yearly, thousands of Cambodians die from diseases associated with drinking dirty water.

Another serious problem is a lack of nutritious vegetables in the diet of poor rural families. With an average annual income of less than $250, there is no way these families can afford even the most basic of garden tools, much less the seeds.

HOPE's objective is to bring clean water and nutritious food to suffering families in the Pursat region of Cambodia.

Fund-Raising Target: $10.00 per km.
Total: $5,000 per HOPE Global Challenge Participant

Sophari, Su Sein's Story Part II:

"Today, Sophari and his family live a different life--a life full of health and hope! Sophari no longer labors in the fields of others. They have their own garden. They grow and harvest nutritious food. And the food they don't need is sold at the local market. The money they earned has clothed the children, sent them to school, save for the future, and buy basic necessities. This new life only became possible with clean water and gardening education."

and/or