Fundraising for Cambodia

Having spent a month visiting my family and friends in Cambodia, I came home to face a challenge! “How would you like to do the Fan Dance?”

I wasn’t sure if my good friend Ralph had taken leave of his senses, but no, his honest German face showed no sign of trickery; he was serious.

The plan was to complete the “Fan Dance Challenge” on Pen-Y-Fan in the Brecon Beacons. This 24km course winds around the mountain and follows roughly the route that SAS candidates would take during their selection. At 54, I wasn’t going to be able to take on “Them,” but what a motivation!

It came at an appropriate time as having just seen the ongoing damage that resulted from the bombing endured by Khmer people during the Vietnam war, the appalling actions of the Khmer Rouge and the civil war which followed, I knew I wanted to help these kind and generous people.

One of the many problems faced in Cambodia is the sheer volume of explosive remnants of war (ERW) which annually kill about ten people and injure hundreds more. Most victims are farmers or their children. There are many excellent demining NGOs in the country, and they deserve support and respect for their endeavours. Notwithstanding the fantastic work they do, I was greatly impressed by smaller organisations which also directly train and employ local people in the clean-up operations. The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) is a government body which co-ordinates the huge projects that are needed to clear the 10million plus landmines and other ERWs which are still coming to the surface after fifty years. Another important contributor is Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling which is thankfully known by its acronym, APOPO. Their “HeroRATs” have been trained to sniff out explosives and have played a significant role in the demining activities needed.

I wanted to raise money for and awareness of these organisations and used sponsorship of my Fan Dance to do so. I’m very pleased to say that colleagues from all the companies I have worked for were very generous, especially the guys from Balfour Beatty Construction.

I completed the TAB and my joy and relief can be seen in the pictures… but it was tough!

My fundraising continues in less dramatic style (so far) but I’m up for any challenges…