HYF UK
Gerry's "Half Marathons" in the Himalayas
Fundraising for HYF-UK
Story
<div><span class="ecx264212611-20102010" style="color: #ffcc00;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; color: #ff0000; font-size: small;"><strong>"Ageing fundraiser to take on vertical half marathon to raise funds for a Childrens Hostel in Nepal"</strong></span></em></span></span></div>
<div><span class="ecx264212611-20102010" style="color: #ffcc00;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; color: #ff0000; font-size: small;"><strong> </strong></span></em></span></span></div>
<div><span class="ecx264212611-20102010" style="color: #ff00ff;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>Update Dec 12th.</strong></span></em></span></span></div>
<div><span class="ecx264212611-20102010" style="color: #ff00ff;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong> </strong></span></em></span></span></div>
<div><span class="ecx264212611-20102010" style="color: #ff00ff;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>Just back from Nepal having successfully completed the trek to Annapurna Base Camp. We arrived there in a snowstorm and brought back a tremendous sense of acheivement. </strong></span></em></span></span></div>
<div><span class="ecx264212611-20102010" style="color: #ff00ff;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong> </strong></span></em></span></span></div>
<div><span style="color: #ff00ff;"><span class="ecx264212611-20102010"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>On our way back through Kathmandu, I picked up a souvenir in the form of a dislocated shoulder, but went on to visit the hostel where we were able to see the happy children who will benefit so much </strong></span></em></span></span><span class="ecx264212611-20102010"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><strong>from your generous donations. thanks to everyone</strong></span></em></span></span></span></div>
<div><span style="color: #ff00ff;"><span class="ecx264212611-20102010"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><strong></strong></span></span> </span></div>
<div><span class="ecx264212611-20102010"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><em>10 years ago, I ran a half marathon (13.132 miles) to raise money for a Kailash Childrens hostel in Nepal. The money raised helped install Solar Panels to provide hot water.</em></span></span></div>
<div><span class="ecx264212611-20102010"><em></em></span> </div>
<div><span class="ecx264212611-20102010"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">But---- 10 years on, another half marathon is a bit beyond me, so I am going to travel the same "Half Marathon" distance, but in a vertical rather than a horizontal direction. </span></em></span></div>
<div><span class="ecx264212611-20102010"><em></em> </span> <span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><span class="ecx264212611-20102010">T</span>his time however it will be in feet rather than miles, and <span class="ecx264212611-20102010">I'll be trekking up to a breathtaking height (literally!) of</span></em><em> 13,132ft<span class="ecx264212611-20102010"> to </span>Annapurna Base camp<span class="ecx264212611-20102010"> in Nepal.</span></em></span></span></div>
<p><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="ecx264212611-20102010">So why am I doing this? The Kailash H</span>ostel is located in Kathmandu and provides accomodation and education for orphaned and underpriviledged children from remote areas of the Himalaya.</span></span></em></p>
<p><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This Hostel is run by the Himalayan Childrens Foundation and I have helped to form a <span class="ecx264212611-20102010">UK arm of the charity, to date we have</span> raised over £90,000<span class="ecx264212611-20102010">.</span></span></span></em></p>
<p><em><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Children enter the Hostel at the age of 4/5, and are provided with accomodation, healthcare and a 10 year education programme. During this time their costs are covered by individual sponsors<span class="ecx264212611-20102010"> like myself.</span></span></span></em></p>
<p><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The educational programme at the Hostel is focussed on taking the children into the community as much as possible to undertake various activities and training in preparation for their future outside the Hostel.</span></em></p>
<p><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Currently, the only vehicle available at the Hostel is an old School Bus which is <span class="ecx264212611-20102010">close to falling apart and struggles with the </span>poorly constructed roads around the hostel and this severely restricts the external programme.</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>The Hostel has an urgent need to provide additional transport to support these activities and </em><em>I am aiming to raise money to provide a 4-Wheel drive vehicle<span class="ecx264212611-20102010"> that will make a dramatic difference to the lives of the children. </span></em></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #ff0000; font-size: x-small;"><span class="ecx264212611-20102010"><strong>4WDs don't come cheap so I have set myself a very ambitious fundraising target . Any contribution, big or small, will be very much appreciated.</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #ff0000; font-size: x-small;"><span class="ecx264212611-20102010"><strong>
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong><em>You can visit the hostels website at</em></strong> <span style="color: #ff0000;"><a href="http://www.hcf-nepal.org"><strong>www.</strong></a></span><strong>hcf-nepal.org</strong></span> <span style="color: #ff0000;"><em><strong>to find out more about the children at the Kailash Hostel</strong></em></span></p>
</strong></span></span></p>