| Malaysia | 14 Sept 2016 | Asia Samachar |
Three Sikhs from Kuala Lumpur are gearing up to cycle 1,500km across Sabah to help raise funds for children with cleft lip and palate birth defect.
Baldape Singh, Karam Singh and Gurdev Singh plan to hit the roads at Kota Kinabalu on 1 December 2016 on a journey estimated to take 21 days.
Gurdev, a social entrepreneur who runs a blog called Sandakan Eagle, came up with the idea for the charity tour, dubbed Cycle for Cleft, and subsequently enlisted the help of his friend Baldape and Karam, who are no strangers to bicycle touring.
They made headlines in 2014 after cycling from Kuala Lumpur to Punjab, India, over a two month five days period.
The three of them had first met in early 2015 during the Kelantan Flood Disaster while helping the Orang Asli villagers in Grik with the food shortage crisis, consequently becoming good friends.
They estimate a total of 21 days to complete the 1,500km journey which will start from Kota Kinabalu on 1 December 2016, and will see them cycling through Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Tawau, Keningau and Kundasangen route to Kudat.
The plan is to cycle approximately 70km a day and rest at churches, hostels or the homes of friends and supporters.
“I think it’s a great idea to have Karam and Baldape with me on this mission as his wealth of experience in cycling will guide and teach me a lot,” said Gurdev in a statement sent to Asia Samachar.
“I’ll be handling the photography and writing about our journey, which we plan to release as a coffee-table book upon the completion of this project.”
The trio are also looking for partners who are keen in supporting the ‘Cycle for Cleft’ project.
Their host for the “Cycle for cleft” charity project will be Rotary Club of Likas Bay (RCLB) in Kota Kinabalu.
RCLB has been actively involved in cleft and palate corrective surgeries involving local Sabah and overseas, particularly in Cambodia, where it has collaborated for some years now with a Cambodian NGO called Smile Cambodia.
Each year, the club identify and arrange for surgery of children with cleft and palate abnormalities free of charge to them, according to the same statement.
The club has to bear an increasing cost as the surgeries cost and the number of patients has increase over the years. Funds are generated internally from the club and also donation from individual and corporate well wishers, it added.
“Many of us are not fully aware of the impact of this surgery. One of the most life changing benefits for the child is that it gives him/her the confidence to blend in socially for the rest of his life. Apart from that, it restores proper speech and food chewing functions of the mouth,” according to the statement.
FOR THOSE INTERESTED TO COLLABORATE: Call Gurdev Singh at +6016-213 5352 or Baldape at +6019-262 4694. Cheques can be made payable to ‘Rotary Club of Likas Bay’ at Maybank Account No: 5-10107-43885-3.
[ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs in Southeast Asia and surrounding countries. We have a Facebook page, do give it a LIKE. Follow us on Twitter. Visit our website: www.asiasamachar.com]
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