Fundraiser raises over $30,000 for Burma Relief Fund

It’s now been two weeks since our fantastic fund raising night in Canberra, in aid of the victims of Cyclone Nargis, which smashed into the Irrawaddy Delta and Burma’s capital Yangon over a month and a half ago.  We are thrilled with the response we have had and even more pleased to know that every cent of the money we have raised will be spent on essential supplies. Active Travel has benefited from its association with Burma and it is our turn to give tangible support to the relief effort, knowing it is the ordinary person who will receive this help.

We have compiled a detailed report outlining our fundraising activities, and it’s too long to list here on our homepage. If you would like to read about our Burma Appeal and fundraising initiatives, you can click here to download a copy of the report. In a nutshell, a total of $AUD17,000 raised on the night. Together with net proceeds from dinner and donations we are at $AUD32,000  - just $AUD3,000 short of our goal.

Several weeks ago, the first images arrived of the Pandaw ships in action, assisting directly with disaster relief efforts. These images are quite remarkable. If you have travelled aboard a Pandaw in either Burma (or on the Mekong) you will be surprised to see the dining room of the ship converted into a hospital. More images have arrived and we will post these on the site shortly. You can access these images in a PDF document by clicking here. The owner of Pandaw, Paul Strachan has been uploading informative situation reports by way of a weblog. You can read Paul's weblog by clicking here. (Last updated 02 June 2008).

Again, tourism to Burma is a useful tool to assist people directly and we encourage your consideration to visit this beautiful country.

Yours sincerely,

Robert Fletcher and Christine Pearson
Proprietors and Directors