Five volunteers of Make A Difference (MAD), a youth volunteer network that works for underprivileged children, have set on a cycling tour of India to cover 12 cities travelling 4,240 km, beginning at Mangalore on August 7.
The team comprising two persons from Germany and one from Mangalore, stopped here on Sunday on their way to Chennai. The other two cyclists proceeded directly to Chennai as they suffered some injuries, said MAD core team member Surya Teja Aduri.
The MAD Vijayawada chapter was launched recently. The cyclists interacted with members of Child Aid Foundation. They participated in various events such as break the ice, dance etc., organised at the Child Aid Foundation near Benz Circle.
They also participated in wall signing ceremony, he said, adding, KLU pro chancellor Raja Hari participated as chief guest.
The cyclists set few objectives, including raising Rs.100 for every kilometre they cover, and to stress the importance of education to the future of our country.
The fund thus raised would be used to meet the costs incurred by the Mangalore chapter of the MAD on Cambridge syllabus textbooks for the 300 children under its wings.
They said that MAD tries to empower the children in orphanages, street shelters and poor homes with English along with its partner, Cambridge University Press. The English project takes learners from starter to intermediate level using Cambridge English for schools.
The MAD wanted to bring about a situation where all children can select a career based on their aspirations and potential rather than on their financial situation or their background. About 1,000 volunteers of the MAD teach close to 3500 children in the Indian cities of Cochin, Pune, Delhi, Mumbai, Mangalore, Bangalore, Trivandrum, Vellore, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Nagpur and Chennai. The team would visit Chennai, Vellore, Bangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin and conclude their ‘Tour de Difference' at Mangalore on September 23.
