Biking for Hope - We Need Your Help!

I am writing to you to let you know of an adventure that I will be taking next month and to ask for your help. As all of you know, Caroline runs and organization called Catalyst Foundation that works with orphaned, homeless, and impoverished children in Vietnam. The foundation was started in 1999 after we adopted our daughters from Vietnam. Over the past seven years Catalyst has worked with thousands of children to provide funding for food, housing, transportation and scholarships for school. I am very proud of her work and am always touched by the stories of the children she works with.

Recently, Catalyst has identified a new group of children that desperately need help. There are hundreds of children living in a garbage dump outside the city of Rach Gia in Kien Giang province. Kien Giang is along the southern coast of Vietnam and near the Cambodian border. The children are living day to day off of whatever they can find to eat or sell from the dump. None of them go to school. To make matters worse, because of their impoverished condition, and close proximity to the Cambodian border, these children are extremely vulnerable to human traffickers who are looking for children to work in the sex trade in Cambodia, Burma, and Thailand. Daily, traffickers visit the dump looking for victims. Little girls often between the ages of four and eight are targeted. They are frequently taken to a nearby hut and raped to see if they are “suitable” to become prostitutes. I know it is hard to believe that this is happening in 2006 but human trafficking is one of the world’s fastest growing industries and Southeast Asia is its epicenter. Each year thousands of women and children are sold from Vietnam. These victims are usually the poorest of the poor in a country where the average annual income is less than $400 a year.

The story of these girls has touched me so deeply that I feel compelled to do something to help. Catalyst Foundation has set up a scholarship program for the children of Rach Gia. For $120 a year we can sponsor a child with food, clothing and a school scholarship. This will get them out of them and give them some hope for the future. We initially had funds for 20 scholarships. When word got to the kids that scholarships were available, 300 children came to apply. I have decided to go on a fundraising bike ride from Astoria, Oregon to Northfield, Minnesota to raise funds for these kids. It is my goal to raise enough funds for all 300 children and also build a school for their community. Because the dollar goes so far in Vietnam all this can be accomplished for only $40,000. I will be riding a little over 2000 miles in 18 days from August 16th to Labor Day.

If you would like to help us with this project there are several ways to do so.

1) Help sponsor the ride. Either sponsor by the mile or a set amount. I am doing all the peddling, all you have to do is write the check. Catalyst is a registered 501(c) 3 non-profit agency and all contributions are tax deductible. Many employers will also match employees charitable contributions so be sure to check if this is an option for you.
2) Join me for part of the journey. I would love company riding or following along in a support vehicle with food, water and supplies. I would hate to be stuck alone in Montana or North Dakota without any help. My route and daily mileage plan is posted on the Catalyst Foundation website www.catalystfoundation.org
3) Spread the word. Tell your friends, co-workers, or community members about our trip. I would be happy to come and speak to any groups about our projects as well.

I know this is an ambitious undertaking. I will be riding between 100 and 150 miles per day but I am doing it because I believe that children are not disposable. No child deserves to live in a garbage dump. No child should live in fear of kidnap and rape. No child should be sentenced to a life in the sex trade. But for a twist of fate these children could have been my children, or me. I feel an obligation to help. I hope you will join me.

Thank you.

Scott Parker