Doing a world of good

By JIM EAGLES

Newly qualified doctor Ken Looi spent his holidays riding a unicycle 500km from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, in the process helping to raise $70,000 for charity and having "a really cool trip".

He is one of a growing number of people who want to feel that when they go on holiday they are not only having a good time but also doing good.

Of course, not everyone goes to the extent of riding a unicycle in a country where foreigners on ordinary bicycles are still a source of fascination. But the trend is growing and it is one that charities such as Oxfam New Zealand, which organised the Vietnam to Cambodia Cycle Challenge, are happy to encourage.

Lisa Robson, Oxfam NZ's challenge co-ordinator, says the idea of combining a holiday with support for a good cause is catching on around the world.

"They're quite common in the UK, and in Australia as well they're starting to get a bit of popularity, but I think we're the first charity in New Zealand to use them."

The cycle challenge Looi went on was Oxfam's first foray into tourism but it went so well that a repeat was organised for February next year and, says Robson, "that's sold out already so we've organised a third and that one is almost full as well".

Oxfam NZ is also planning a Borneo Bushwacka Challenge in June next year which will involve walking and mountain climbing in some fairly rugged national parks.

The challenge for these trips is not merely doing them but also raising the money.

For the cycle challenge, for instance, participants had to raise $5500 which was split between travel company Intrepid, which organised the trip, and Oxfam.

"People did a range of things to get the money," Robson says. "Some raised the whole amount, some paid the whole amount themselves, and there were a whole lot in between.

"A couple of businessmen basically called in favours from suppliers and other people ran sausage sizzles, darts competitions, ice-skating parties and wine and cheese evenings.

"One woman baked 100 cakes, sold them for $30 each, and there was $3000."

Looi, who now works at Masterton Hospital, paid half the cost of the trip himself and used his skill as a unicyclist to raise the rest for Oxfam by doing demonstrations, getting sponsorships and helping at unicycling events.

"I read about the trip on a mountainbiking website," he says, "and followed it up because I'd always wanted to get into cycle touring and I thought it would be a bonus to be able to help a charity at the same time."

It was, he says, well worth the effort.

"It was unbelievable. Cycle tours are the best way to see a country because you see a lot of things that you'd miss if you went through in a car or a bus.

"The back roads we used mostly weren't very well-travelled so a lot of the people hadn't seen foreigners on bikes before.

"They'd all rush out and wave at everybody and then I'd go past on the unicycle and they would go crazy.

"All the way from Vietnam to Cambodia it was just people laughing and waving and giggling as I went past. It was just amazing."

Former Oxfam marketing manager Paul Easton, who went on the first trip himself - training by riding a bike into the Oxfam office in Auckland - also felt the highlight was the chance to go off the beaten track and meet people.

"They're not used to seeing tourists, so when you went through the villages the kids would smile and wave and hold their hands out for a high five.

"By the time you got to the end of the village word would have got around and there'd be crowds of people, like the Tour de France or something, all very friendly, all wanting to chat - as far as the language would allow."

Another highlight for Easton was the chance to visit an Oxfam project at Prey Toteng in Cambodia which focuses on educating girls.

"One of the ways we achieve that is to give families a scholarship of $8 a year to ease the financial burden of keeping the girls at school," he says.

"When you tell people it costs only $8 a year to make that difference and then they see the kids - lovely girls, all smiling and in uniforms, and their parents proudly with them - you can see it sinking in. While we were there the people in our group had a whip-round and put the money into sponsoring some more girls."

Neither Looi nor Easton found the cycling particularly strenuous because the country was fairly flat.

"But," says Easton, "we did have one guy from Wales who didn't own a bike and had come from -7 deg C to plus 35, and he found it pretty tough for the first couple of days."

Looi liked the experience so much that there is now talk of organising a challenge specifically for unicyclists.

And Oxfam is looking at other destinations around Asia and also Pacific countries.

"The feedback we've had from this first effort has been very positive about the chance to experience the local way of life, getting to see one of the projects Oxfam is supporting up there, and doing something to help," Robson says.

"I think people want to get their hands dirty a bit these days and take part in the whole experience rather than sit in the bus and watch it through the window.

"And I think they like the fact that these challenges are not just a matter of writing out a cheque out buying a ticket. There's really a lot of work people have put in to come, and at the end of it they can feel good about what they've achieved - and good about helping Oxfam as well."

Intrepid's marketing manager for New Zealand, Alison Bradbury, agrees. "More and more travellers are looking for holidays where they will see what life in other countries is really like - the good as well as the bad - and increasingly they also want to make a difference," she says.

"We've also noticed that often when they get home travellers frequently want to do something to help individuals or families or communities they have experienced while they were overseas."

Intrepid has so many approaches from customers wanting to help that it set up a foundation which enables people to make donations - which the company matches dollar for dollar - and to specify where the money will be used. "It's all part of what we call responsible travel," Bradbury says, "and it's definitely a growing trend."

* Photos of the Vietnam to Cambodia Cycle Challenge and details of future trips at Oxfam.

* Photos of Ken Looi's trip

* Oxfam can be contacted at 09 355 6500