MAD cyclists return with Rs. 3.6 lakh for poor kids

MAD cyclists return with Rs. 3.6 lakh for poor kids

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Sep 25: The three volunteers of Make a Difference (MAD), who had set out on a fund-raiser tour of 12 Indian cities on their bicycles, have returned to Mangalore after covering 4,240kms during a span of 48 days. 

The cyclists Raichand R., a final year MBBS student of KMC; Sudhith Xavier of Kochi; and Sebastian Thele, a chemistry and social sciences student of Germany, have raised Rs. 3.60 lakh for around 280 children under the care of 4 MAD centres in Mangalore.

The three had started their fund-raising journey on Aug 7 and returned a couple of days back. While stating that they just had the most amazing experience of their lives, the trio said that the roads, especially those in Kerala, are not fit to be called roads. They also recalled a group of monkeys who robbed them of their entire supply of sugar.

In spite of the monsoons, the three cyclists had to put up with a lot of sun throughout their journey. Raichand, who hardly looks like his photograph taken before the cycling tour, said that his mother hardly recognizes him now. 

Although their cycles are in a battered condition, their spirits are higher than ever. Sebastian has expressed his desire to return to Germany within the next 48 hours and get sponsors to support the cause of MAD. 

MAD is a volunteer organization that empowers the inmates of orphanages, street kids’ homes, and poor homes by teaching them English in partnership with Cambridge University Press. 

The aim of the three cyclists was to raise Rs. 100 for every kilometer they covered. Today, the cyclists will exchange their cycling shoes for paint brushes to paint CARDTS Centre, where MAD teaches English to underprivileged kids. The grand finale of the fund-raising tour will be an event called Big Band Theory at Mangalore Ladies Club.