GIVE A LITTLE, HELP A LOT
IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN HELPING, HERE ARE SOME WAYS IN WHICH YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE…
Over the years we’ve had many riders who have very kindly asked us how they can give back to the country in which they are touring.
The below organisations/issues are ones that are close to our hearts & partly rely on tourism to fund their projects. We have personal experience with all of these projects/organisations and can vouch for them 100%. Any donation WILL make a big difference.
If you would like to donate, please click the relevant ‘DONATE’ button on this page, where your payment will come through to us and we will forward on 100% of the money we receive (no fee will be deducted by us, but please note that a credit/debit card fee will be deducted by the merchant provider).
Thank You!
INDIA - HELP CHILDREN IN THE HIMALAYAS
Manali is a little town in the Indian Himalayas & a place many of our past riders will have visited on our Himalayan tours. It is also where our local partner is based & was home to Ride Expeditions owners Toby & Anna for two years.
Manali is a both a domestic and international tourist destination. The pandemic has hit this place hard and much of the population are out of work, with no furlough scheme or equivalent to support them.
Many of the poorer families rely on the money that their children can get from begging from tourists… Not an ideal situation by any means but without any tourists visiting the area, these children and their families are struggling to afford any food. We know that this isn’t a long term solution but by raising money to purchase food for these children, it will hopefully help them get through these tough times and out the other side
DONATE TO THE CHILDREN OF MANALI
INDIA - HELP OUR LOCAL TEAM
Our team members around the world have been effected by the coronavirus and lack of tourism in different ways… The majority have been able to find alternative work or get support from a furlough scheme (or the equivalent in their home country). But, some are struggling…
A few of our team members in India are unable to find alternative work and are not receiving any government support With our riding season in India having been cancelled for two years running, these guys are feeling the pinch.
We at Ride Expeditions are stuck between a rock and a hard place… we want to help these guys as much as we can, but have obviously also been hit extremely hard by the pandemic and simply do not have funds to spare.
While we almost feel cheeky asking for donations for our own crew, we know the love our past riders have for the local support team in India and many of you would love to help, given the opportunity. So, if that’s you – here’s your chance… Click that orange button and we’ll be forever grateful.
DONATE TO THE TEAM
CAMBODIA - HELP FAMILIES & KIDS IN CAMBODIA
M’Lop Tapang is an organisation we’ve supported since the inception of Ride Expeditions. This is such a fantastic team of special people that tackle serious issues in Cambodia, often whilst also fighting an uphill battle with local development and politics.
They run numerous programmes such as child protection, education, medical care, drug & alcohol harm reduction and vocational training centres, amongst others.
M’Lop Tapang has really struggled in recent years, since the rapid Chinese development of Sihanoukville – the town where they’re based. This development has caused frequent and severe flooding which has destroyed equipment, medical records and supplies. And now covid. Seeing what they’ve had to deal with and how they’ve tackled it – with smiles all round – has blown us away! The resilience of this organisation is nothing short of amazing.
CAMBODIA - SUPPORT BOMB SNIFFING RATS
Over 60 countries are contaminated with hidden landmines and other explosive remnants of war, that cause tragic accidents and hamper communities from developing their productive land. Cambodia is one of those countries affected (for all of our riders booked on a ride with us here, don’t worry – we stick to the trails and roads which we know are 100% safe!).
APOPO offers innovative, efficient solutions that integrate detection animals into traditional methods and results in speeding up the survey and clearance process: they use a combination of detection rats and technical survey dogs as well as manual de-miners and machines to support the animals.
For over 20 years APOPO’s scent detection rats have been detecting landmines, helping to rid the world of landmines returning safe land back to communities for development.
If you join us on a ride in Cambodia, we can visit the rats in Siem Reap and even organise a visit to see them in action, sniffing out bombs in the fields when possible.
ASIA - SUPPORT FREE THE BEARS
Sadly both Sun & Moon bears are classed as Vulnerable to Extinction & many of you will have heard about the vile bile farming industry (not to mention the poaching!). Free the Bears is a charitable wildlife-protection organisation which creates and supports bear sanctuaries. These sanctuaries are managed to the highest level of welfare and strive towards long-term sustainability. One way in which they aim to achieve this is by developing alternative livelihood programmes for the community to prevent impoverished families from exploiting bears for profit.
As well as habitat loss, one of the main threats to bears in Asia is the illegal wildlife trade. Many of their bears are rescued from poachers, exotic pet owners, or people planning to use them in traditional medicine. Poachers kill or capture bears via hunting or snare traps the sell them locally or smuggle them abroad.
We visit one of the Free the Bears sanctuaries on some of our trips in northern Laos, and we simply love the work these guys are doing!
GLOBAL - FUND UXO CLEARANCE
Laos is the most heavily bombed country on the planet. Simply Google this subject and you’ll discover some horrifying stats… “Some 288 million cluster munitions and about 75 million unexploded bombs were left across Laos after the war ended”. It’s a similar story across the border in Cambodia and Vietnam and other countries around the world.
We frequently come across the Mines Advisory Group (M.A.G) in Cambodia & Laos while they’re going about their daily job of clearing up unexploded ordnance (UXOs) and will often take our riders into the field to see it all up close. It’s always an eye opening experience!
There are so many UXOs still out there and it’s estimated that it will take another 100 years or so before organisations like MAG, Halo or Apopo can rid Cambodia and Laos of them all. Locals are still injured frequently, often when farming the land, and sadly it isn’t uncommon to see local villagers with missing limbs.
