Bicycle ride raises funds for Angkor Hospital for Children
850 bicyclists joined an event organised by the Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) yesterday to raise funds to support underprivileged children in Cambodia.
AHC’s senior event organiser Heang Sorphea said yesterday that the participating cyclists rode along a 16 kilometre route. They started at 6am at the Sokha Siem Reap Hotel and finished at the Siem Reap Booyoung Country Club at 12pm.
Sorphea said the event was named, “Cycling for Environment and Children’s Health”. The riders were instructed not to throw away plastic bottles on the streets to prevent harming the environment.
She said the event marked the ninth year AHC has organised the fundraising ride in Siem Reap province.
She added that the fundraiser raises funds mostly to cover the cost of treatment because so many children come to the AHC daily.
“I’m happy because all the riders have maintained good hygiene and a clean environment. They did not throw any plastic bottles or cans on the roads,” Sorphea said yesterday.
She noted last year more than 1,000 cyclists attended the event and raised $35,000. She added 850 participants attended this year and raised $35,000.
She also said that veteran cycling rider named Tiv Dararith separately raised $56,257 for the hospital after completing his own fundraising ride, the “Southeast Asia Bike Tour for Charity”.
She added that Dararith began cycling on June 1 and crossed six nations:Vietnam, Laos, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand then returned to Cambodia August 26.
Sorphea said that the AHC was established in 1999. For the last 24 years the AHC has treated more than 2.5 million children.
She said 350 and 450 sick children visit the hospital for treatment every week, adding that all the patients’ accommodation and treatment are free of charge.
She noted that treatment for children at AHC amounts to $5.5 million annually.
She added that 75% of funds come from various nations through a grant system while the remaining 25% are raised through donations from generous individuals and philanthropists across Cambodia.
