Mark Inglis’ quest for the top

Mark Inglis - one of the Cambodia Trust’s many supporters from New Zealand - has set off to conquer Mount Everest - and to raise funds for our work at the same time. Mark writes:

“It’s every New Zealand kid’s dream really isn’t it, to stand on the roof of the world, on the summit of Mount Everest. It certainly was mine, though a dream I thought I had lost when I had both legs amputated below the knee 23 years ago (visit www.markinglis.co.nz to get the whole story). That was before I realized that in this life, each and every one of us can do anything we put our minds to. On the 27th of September 2004 I stood on the summit of Cho Oyu (at 8201m the worlds 6th highest mountain) and looked directly across at Everest, only about 650m higher, and knew that what I was seeing was my next challenge.

“Well I’m on my way, with the support of my family, friends and an awesome group of sponsors led by the Ahrens Group, I have been able to put together the components for a pretty neat little adventure! While it’s a great adventure for me it would be even more awesome if we can use this as a vehicle to make a difference in the world!”

Mark’s climb certainly will make a difference. With the help of his sponsors, he will be raising much-needed funds for our Kompong Chhnang rehabilitation centre.

You can sponsor Mark, follow his progress and even send him a message of support through his website: www.legsoneverest.com

Good luck Mark!

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Visit Cambodia - and support our work at the same time!

Asia travel specialist, Travel Indochina, has put together a special itinerary for Cambodia Trust supporters, which takes in our projects as well as the more famous sights of Cambodia!

The cost of the trip is £1,475 per person. Thanks to Travel Indochina's kind support, a £300 donation will be made to our work, for every booking made - so by going on this fantastic trip you will also be providing direct support for the projects you will be visiting.

Read the full trip itinerary and find out how to book your place

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Join Ken Finn in Oxford on May 20th

Join super-supporter Ken Finn and a fantastic group of performers at a 'Benefit for a Remarkable Tree' at the East Oxford Community Centre on Sunday 20th May.

Ken holds regular 'Benefit' events in support of our projects. His ‘Benefit for a Remarkable Tree’ - B4RT for short - is an inspiring blend of community spirit, great music and thought-provoking talk. The third Benefit in Newbury raised over £1,760, thanks to support from the wonderful performers and volunteers who donated their time and creativity to make a really special atmosphere.

Find out more and book your place for the Oxford event at:
www.ken-finn.com/Benefit.htm

Ken’s book - My Journey with a Remarkable Tree - is a fascinating read and for every copy sold, £2.50 goes to our work. Visit Eye Books to order your copy, or telephone (UK) 0845 450 8870.

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Raising funds online

	Bmycharity If you’re raising funds for our work through a sponsored event, birthday, anniversary or ‘in memoriam’ collection, you can now set up your own fundraising page and collect donations online, at Bmycharity: www.bmycharity.com/cambodiatrust
	JustGiving JustGiving provides great opportunities for online fundraising, and also runs forums where you can meet other fundraisers and share your experiences! www.justgiving.com/cambodia/donate
	eBay for Charity If you sell items on eBay, you can now donate a percentage of your sales to our work, thanks to MissionFish. Simply select the Cambodia Trust and a percentage to share, when you are putting an item up for sale. Once your item sells, you are paid by the buyer as usual. MissionFish collects the donation, sends it to us and even sorts out the Gift Aid. For more information, visit www.missionfish.org.uk
	Online donations in New Zealand Our many Kiwi supporters can now make tax-efficient donations online, direct to the Cambodia Trust Aotearoa New Zealand, at www.fundraiseonline.co.nz

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Cycling across Cambodia...

Three of our fantastic supporters are taking on an incredible challenge: Sanjeet Maghera, Sarah Spinney and Fiona Callanan will be cycling from Vietnam to Cambodia in November this year, to raise vital funds for our projects.

You can sponsor Sanjeet at: www.justgiving.com/sanjeet and check out his progress at everymuscleinmybodyhurts.com

Fiona was hit by the Asian tsunami which killed over 300,000 people. She was severely injured in the disaster and subsequently lost her right leg. She has been lucky enough to have had access to excellent medical care and fully appreciates how this has enabled her to return to a normal life. You can sponsor Fiona and Sarah at: www.justgiving.com/fionaandsarah

Interview with Peter Darrow, Chairman of the Cambodia Trust

Tell us a bit about yourself!

I'm 55 years old. I was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I attended Columbia University, and thereafter obtained a post-graduate degree in political science from Trinity College, Oxford. After receiving my degree, I attended law school at the University of Michigan, graduating in 1978. I've been working as a lawyer in New York City ever since. I'm a partner in Mayer, Brown, Rowe and Maw, a large law firm.

What led to your support of Cambodia Trust?

I met Peter Carey (co-founder of the Cambodia Trust) in 1973, when I was a graduate student at Trinity College, Oxford. We shared a house owned by Trinity College, together with other graduate students, and this friendship was the basis, 25 years later, of my becoming involved in the Cambodia Trust. About 8 years ago I attended a dinner at Trinity College where I ran into Peter Carey, and he asked if I would be willing to assist the Trust in establishing a presence in the US, through incorporation of a non-profit corporation. I subsequently established the Cambodia Trust's US organisation - American Friends of the Cambodia Trust - which has held a number of fundraising events in New York. After helping with several fundraising initiatives, Peter asked if I would be willing to serve on the board, and I agreed to do so.

What impressed you the most during your recent visit to our work in Cambodia?

I was overwhelmingly impressed by the professionalism and dedication of all of the staff members; by their incredible attention to detail and the level of organisation. The school (Cambodian School of Prosthetics & Orthotics) I found remarkably impressive. Never having been to South East Asia before, I didn't know precisely what conditions our rehabilitation centres and school were operating in. It's quite a shock when you come through Thailand and then arrive in Cambodia. The country was more poverty-stricken than I expected. So it was gratifying to see what a remarkable degree of proficiency we had achieved in our operations - from the creation of prostheses to the fitting process, to the community programmes to the immense and obvious sensitivity of all of the staff, to the needs of the clients. I was also impressed with the high level of collegiality and sense of camaraderie. I was also impressed by the sunny attitude and optimism of the staff.

How does your law firm support the Trust?

Mayer Brown has done a great deal since we took the Trust on as a pro bono client, 8 years ago. First, we took on responsibility for setting up the American Friends of the Cambodia Trust as a non-profit organisation, obtaining tax exempt status in the US, which took a lot of work. The firm provides logistical support through our London office and staff, for example by providing meeting rooms and conferencing facilities as well as legal expertise. I am given time off so I can fulfil my duties as Chairman and all my travel expenses are paid by the firm. For two years we provided office space for Christine Ho, who ran the American Friends of the Cambodia Trust. Our support staff also assisted with the logistics for all the fundraising events of the Trust in the US. Mayer Brown has provided generous financial support to the Trust. However, this level of contribution is consistent with the firm's philosophy of having its lawyers take on pro bono responsibilities.

As part of the firm's community commitment, I also read once a week to an elementary school child, through a reading program called "Everybody Wins", which I have been doing, together with other lawyers and staff in our office, for the past three years.

I have found it personally gratifying and very rewarding to be involved in the Cambodia Trust - an organisation that is so directly and successfully providing humanitarian relief to disadvantaged disabled people. It is also challenging - but lawyers are problem solvers by definition!

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Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics welcomes new students

14 new students began training at the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics (CSPO) in October 2005. Over the last few years, CSPO has developed its role as a regional school, with students coming from as far afield as Afghanistan, East Timor, Georgia, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), North Korea, The Philippines and Sri Lanka - as well as Cambodia.

We are very proud of CSPO’s regional role. By training Prosthetist-Orthotists from so many low income countries, the school is making a positive impact on the lives of disabled people across the developing world.

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Making a difference - our volunteers

All over the world, volunteers are making great contributions to our work. As a small organisation with limited resources, your help is really valuable to us! We’d like to say a big thank you to each and every person who gives their time and energy so generously. Here are just a few volunteer stories...

Elizabeth Birkby has been fundraising for the Cambodia Trust for many years. Last December she organised for the annual Grenoside carol evening to benefit the Trust, raising £718. So far this year she has raised enough funds to provide 17 people with prosthetic limbs.

Trevor and Glenys Tudor are the volunteers who mailed out this newsletter to you. Twice a year, they undertake the unenviable task of stuffing almost 4,000 envelopes and getting them to the post office!

Craig St George is a web development expert from New Zealand who has recently done some technical work on our website, enabling us to securely share documents with our staff members across the world.

Sue Crow has set up an online donation service for the Cambodia Trust's supporter group in Australia, making it easy for Aussie donors to sponsor Mark Inglis' Everest climb.

Our thanks to photographers Simon Larbalestier, Susan Schulman and Andrew Smart, who have recently donated their wonderful images for use in our newsletters, annual reports and on our website. Having high quality images is a very important part of promoting our work, however professional photography can be expensive. Our talented volunteer photographers provide all their images to us completely free of charge. They also help to raise awareness of the ongoing need for our work by publishing and exhibiting their photographs.

See more of Simon Larbalestier's photos of our work here

[Photo: © Simon Larbalestier]

If you would like to help us raise funds, or you feel you can contribute towards our work in another way, please contact us at office@cambodiatrust.org.uk

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