On the bright and beautiful morning of Saturday 10th March, Saigon Children's Charity welcomed thousands of spectators to its annual community event – the Saigon Cyclo Challenge. After 12 exciting races that crowned HSBC as the 2012 champion of the world’s only Cyclo race, Caravelle Hotel (2nd place) and TNK Vietnam (3rd place). Supporters from sponsoring teams, spectators, local and international families left the venue having been entertained as well as informed about the situation of disadvantaged children in South Vietnam.
Despite the hot summer day, children and their parents had come from near and far to enjoy the specialized game area where they played dress-up games, enjoyed frisbee-throwing and watched magic shows and cheer-leader performances.
One of the riders, Mr Nguyen Huu Toan from the Megastar team said about his experiences “It’s not easy to ride a cyclo. High-speed racing even more difficult. I am very happy to join this event. It’s not only a sporty recreation but also a meaningful charity event to help community and disadvantaged children.” and many riders nodded in agreement.
Although it is a hard race, teams and their colleagues had plenty of energy to celebrate. Winning the new category Cyclo Deco for best Cyclo decoration was Megastar Cineplex whose colorful design won the hearts of the judges: the Art class at a vocational training Thang Long school in District 4 that is run by Saigon Children’s Charity.
In his speech, Paul Finnis, director of Saigon Children’s Charity, expressed his gratitude to:
The gold sponsors Baker& McKenzie, Caravelle Hotel, Crown, Hoang Long Hoan Vu, HSBC, Giant, Megastar, Schenker, TNK Vietnam, the silver sponsor Atlas and our numerous service sponsors such Savoure, Flower Studio, United Vietnam, Phu My Hung, Kizciti, Radical Coaching, NYDC, Santa Fe, Marsh, Windsor Hotel Plaza, Kissho Restaurant, Vietnam Heritage, AsiaLife, Vietweek, YanTV, The Guide – Vietnam Economic Times, tạp chí Mốt và Cuộc Sống and other long-term supporters of SCC’s activities.
With the excellent support from sponsors and spectators, the event raised a total of $41,841! Altogether we spent around 8.5% of the income on organising the event, which means that the remaining $38,314 goes directly to:
- help 380 young children from disadvantaged families to go to – and stay in - school for a whole year OR
- provide bicycles for 425 children who live more than 5km to school OR
- support 23 young people from poor backgrounds with a full university degree (most likely as the first in their family to enter higher education) OR
- run our accredited IT classes for 3 years to provide 200 young people with vocational training OR
- build and equip 2 kindergarten classrooms with an educational and inspirational learning environment for 45 students in the Mekong Delta.
SCC has a long list of needs and we can assure you that this contribution will have an immediate and essential impact on the high-quality continuation of our children’s development programmes. Thank you and see you next year!
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