Next month members of the Journeys Within crew are cycling or running for a good cause. Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC) scholarship students and staff, as well as our beloved hotel front desk man Makara, are using two of Angkor’s most popular sporting events to raise money for the projects close to their hearts …
Last week, our good friend Makara from the Journeys Within Boutique Hotel popped by the office to collect the tour companies donations to his half-marathon effort. On December 7th, Makara will run 21 km around the Angkor Wat park to raise money for JWOC. Our favourite front desk man is using this popular half-marathon race to raise awareness and funds for the JWOC programs he loves. A former student, Makara knows the transformative effect JWOC’s outreach programs can have.
Makara isn’t the only one giving his time, sweat and probably tears to long-distance event in the name of JWOC.
Scholarship student Chhorvy was the inspiration behind the JWOC bike ride. She is a Communications student at JWOC and is working hard planning and organizing the bike ride for the other scholarship students. She is also the student who put forward the idea for scholarship students to enter Race4Change to raise money and awareness for the good works JWOC does.
In her own words…
Why did you want to take part in this bike ride?
It is good exercise!!! but also it is an opportunity for me to represent JWOC and help them to tell people about all the good things we do. JWOC has given me so much help and support over the past 4 years, I wanted to do something to say thank you for this. Riding with the other scholarship students and staff for JWOC will be such a fun opportunity, I hope by doing Race4Change, friends of JWOC around the world will want to support and help us. If I can’t donate to JWOC myself, I want to try and inspire others to donate themselves.
Have you ever cycled 30km before, do you think you can do it?
I have never! but I will try my best, it will be such a wonderful experience and it is around the Angkor temples which makes it more special. I am so excited to be part of this.
How will Race4Change help JWOC?
Each of our 4 programs are trying to raise money for parts of their project which are really important. We are trying to raise money for 140 water filters, to continue our art and science classes for one year, fund 15 microloans and provide one whole village with 60 Home gardens. It is a dream of ours to be able to achieve this but if we did, my community would be proud of my hard work.
*** Okay, so those of us in the tour office may not be the racing kind but we are the supportive kind. We would like to wish all our JW team members who are getting race ready the best of luck. Whether on foot or bicycle, we support you!