A couple of months ago I found out about Tour de Timor, a 410 km mountain bike race for peace. It’s one of the toughest in the world and my friend and I decided that we would do it to raise funds for a cause. As East Timor is the poorest, newest and neediest SE Asian country, where the annual GDP per capita is a mere US$542.

Goal:
The goal is to cycle 410 km to raise funds of USD 37,000 (SGD 50,000), to enable 360 rural weavers and craft workers to develop their skills and become sufficient. All the proceeds will go to Timor Aid, a Timor-based NGO of which Nobel laureate and President José Ramos-Horta is the Honorary Chairman and Patron.

1) Pass along this email to your friends and families
2) Email, facebook, blog, twitter (#gonecyclin) about us
3) Help donate for the ladies in East Timor
4) If you want to make a pledge and want something in return... post it below :)

This is crucially important because due to the rise of the digital revolution, women are being left behind in the job market. It is becoming more and more competitive for them to have financial means to cover basic costs for themselves and their families. As a result, we aim to which will help support their skills based training program.

My journey:
In the past 5 months, I have challenged and have myself further than I thought I could. I sacrificed spending time with friends, weekend getaway even going home in December. I spent long hours training on a bike, but it all seemed worth it knowing our goal was to inspire young people to make a positive and sustainable difference in this world.

Personally I have learnt that with endurance sports it both a mental and physical battle, and I have been able to break multiple barriers. However, these barriers are nothing compared to the people living in poverty who are struggling daily suffocating for a breath of fresh air.

Results:
We recently partnered with Rotary Club of Bukit Timah, Singapore, to assist us with fundraising centered around the upcoming race from 13-17th September 2010. As of today, our team has confirmed one sponsor - Air Timor, and has already received contributions from donors totaling 6,000 dollars. We have a long way to go to reach our SGD 50,000 goal by November 15th but with your support and loose change, we can make a difference.

Much Respect and Thank you for supporting make this world a better place