Charity projects
We support several small-scale aid projects in Asia, Latin America and Africa. These are projects that have a direct effect on the living environment, conditions or education of a local community. Rickshaw travellers are welcome to visit our projects and get a first hand glimpse of what their donations can mean in real terms. The projects are managed by our local travel partners who keep us up to speed on their progress.
If you do would like to support one of our charity projects, you can choose donate £5 through the Rickshaw booking form.
Aid donations to areas recently affected by natural disasters and other calamities are also possible. Our local agents will make sure that your donations reach those who need it most. If you would like to support these causes, send an email to info@rickshawtravel.co.uk
School support project – Vada Kadumbadi, India
India Travel Plan supports small projects in villages throughout the Tamil Nadu coastline. Currently, we’re supporting repairs and partial restoration of an elementary school in the town of Vada Kadumbadi. The village is located in the countryside, near the coastal city of Mamallapuram in Southern India (Tamil Nadu province). This region is extremely poor and there are few resources available to the community. People have only the bare minimum needed to survive.
Almost 120 children from surrounding villages attend the elementary school in Vada Kadumbadi. Facilities really are minimal - there are no desks for the children who simply sit on the ground. There are only four class rooms in the school building, so teachers are also teaching lessons outdoors under the hot sun.
For more information, take a look at our India charity project page.
The Child Care Centre – Thailand
Thailand Travel Plan supports an orphanage for Burmese children who have lost their parents. The orphanage is known as the Child Care Centre and it is located in a refugee camp approximately 40km from the town of Mae Hong Son, about 300km from Chiang Mai. An estimated 20,000 people live in the refugee camp.
The camp is located near the Burmese border and most of the refugees are Karenni, an ethnic minority from the Burmese state of Kayah. Most inhabitants of the refugee camp fled to Thailand during the second half of the 1990s. The conflict with the Burmese government has recently reignited and the number of refugees in the camp is growing once again. Donations to this project are used to buy food, clothing and school materials for the children. It is also used to pay two people to cook, clean clothes and take on other household chores for the orphanage. If you would like to know more about this important project, have a look at the Thailand Travel Plan website.
The Child Surgery Foundation - Vietnam
Vietnam Travel Plan supports The Child Surgery Foundation, which helps children with physical disabilities. The foundation was set up in May of 2005 and offers direct rehabilitation assistance to children with a physical disability. The foundation pays the most attention to children that would otherwise receive the least care. They focus on those who live far from the large cities in places where the quality of living is far below average and where it’s almost impossible to request for assistance or reach the proper medical authorities.
A Vietnamese intermediary travels to the necessary areas to contact local doctors and govermenment organisations. He also helps to choose which children in the area need the most help and could benefit most from the programme. He then organises transport to a regional hospital or a surgery centre. He also makes sure that the children are not sent home too early, since most need a physical therapy programme at home after their surgery. If you would like to support this project, have a look at the Vietnam Travel Plan web site.
School fund – Bali
Indonesia Travel Plan supports a school fund for girls on East Bali. Els and Hans set up the fund for girls whose parents do not have enough money to send them to secondary school. It’s common on Bali for all savings to be spent on sending boys to study after elementary school, and girls are often left behind.
Els and Hans feel destined to help these girls and take regular visits to elementary schools to determine, together with the principles and teachers of these schools, which girls would benefit from the school fund. To help get them off to a good start, they provide uniforms, shoes, books, a bag and pens. Thanks to the school fund, 4 girls continued schooling in its first year of operation, and in the second year 10 more girls continued learning as a result of the fund. If you would like to support this project, take a look at the Indonesia Travel Plan website.
Napa Village – China
Hidden amongst the Himalayan foothills in South West China lies a small Tibetan village: Napa Village. The village lies on the banks of the enchanting Lake Napa and is surrounded by fresh green pasture and rolling hills. It is a poor neighbourhood and the inhabitants mostly live off the proceeds from deforestation. There is hardly any time – or money – for schooling.
China Travel Plan supports a project that was set up to help this village. Our local agent in Zhongdian, the initiator of this project, is helping to raise funds for better homes and facilities. An end to deforestation is very important for this beautiful area in order to preserve its natural beauty and the project is helping to improve education for the village’s children, in order to offer them a different future. By providing proper education (which is lacking completely at the moment), today’s children will one day be able to continue the good work started by their parents. Have a look at the China Travel Plan website to find out more about this project.
