A PASSAGE OF HOPE - 3 Peaks Challenge: Departure date set

Monday, 7 April 2008

Departure date set - Royal Seal of Approval

HRH the Princess Royal was aboard Stray Cat last week and has wished us well in the upcoming A Passage of Hope - 3 Peaks Challenge.... Princess Anne was aboard Stray Cat for approx 2.5 hrs and chatted freely about the RYA National Trials and her own boating preferences and experiences. She listened with interest as I told her about this years' challenge.

The departure date for this years challenge is set - anytime after Friday 23rd May. If the weather is kind to us we may zip across to Ireland on the Friday evening. If the weather is not so good, then the first possible day after the 23rd.

Crew and climbers details are now much clearer and we are expecting a few well wishers and family members to meet us in North Wales on our return to climb Snowdon with us - Great !!!

Sponsorship has already started to arrive.... so please support us if you can.

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THE CAUSE - WAT NONGON SCHOOL, MAE TAENG, CHIANG MAI, NORHTERN THAILAND

Nongon is a small village community of approx 350 homes , located 23 miles North of Chiang Mai, Thailand's 2nd largest city. Most inhabitants are engaged in farming, growing rice , vegetables and fruit. Wages are poor , ranging from 50p to 3 pounds a day, depending on the nature of the work.
Although basic healthcare is free , there is virtually no income support, so living standards are low. Education up to high school is free and compulsory. The primary school in Nongon has 60 or so pupils , girls and boys aged between 4 and 12 years .The school is poorly supported by the government, who pay the teachers salaries only.

Local well-wishers, some with better off relatives, offer financial support for food and other running costs. The local authority provides free daily milk and a rich American philanthropist subsidises the salaries of an IT and a nursery teacher, both of whom are super-numery. Parents buy books by monthly installment of 20-30 pence at a time. Those who can't afford this are helped with whatever funds are left in the school kitty.

A recent drive by concerned villagers and a retired UK citizen (my friend Malcolm) and his wife (Marilyn) have successfully raised funds to buy much needed personal computers, build a new canteen, repave the perimeter road and tile the floors on the ground floor. This work, much of which has been made possible with money donated by British citizens (and the Rotary Club of Oswestry & Borderland) , has significantly improved the conditions for the children , many of whom are keen to receive an education to enable them to better support their parents in later life.

The teachers are loyal and hardworking. In 2006 the school beat 130 other teams from Chiang Mai district in an English speaking and comprehension competition , and earned a silver award in the 2007 event, against much better funded schools.Three years ago no one spoke English in Nongon school; but with Malcolm as an unpaid volunteer they now have a 'real' English teacher....

Last year 'A Passage of Hope' raised over £8000 which enabled us to build a much needed toilet block and washing facilities for the school.

Much more remains to be done, the most pressing need being books and learning media. We are hoping that we will raise enough money to equip a Learning Resource Centre at the school.

This is where your support of the 'Passage of Hope - 3 Peaks Challenge' is so important.... Please, please, please be generous to this worthy cause.

Thank you, Tim Gray

A PASSAGE OF HOPE - 3 Peaks Challenge

Monday, 7 April 2008

Departure date set - Royal Seal of Approval

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THE CAUSE - WAT NONGON SCHOOL, MAE TAENG, CHIANG MAI, NORHTERN THAILAND