Cartwheel Foundation

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Cartwheel Foundation, together with the North Face, joins Romi Garduce in

the Mt. Cho Oyu Climb for a Cause

August 20 - October 11, 2005

This historic event is an awareness and fundraising campaign aimed to help provide much needed education to often neglected indigenous children in the remote parts of the country.

The climb objective is to set a new altitude record (26,907 ft.), an attempt of the 6^th highest mountain and one of the peaks in the death zone.

Wiith the same courageous spirit, we urge everyone to struggle with the mountainous task of bridging the education and social services gap in the country, with the hope of providing indigenous children with a better future --- safe and away from a possible ‘death zone’.

The Mountain

Mt. Cho Oyu (also spelled as Cho Oyo or Zhuoaoyou) is found in the Himalayas,
somewhere in Eastern Nepal, near the Tibetan Border.

Along with Everest (found some 20 km away) it is one of the towering peaks easily distinguishable in the region.

Last year, Mt. Cho Oyu's Golden Jubilee was celebrated in commemoration of the first ascent in 1954 by a small Austrian expedition.

It's heights have never been attempted by a Filipino.

The Mountaineer

Romi Garduce is a seasoned adventurer and an old-time mountaineer who has hiked and climbed mountains in more than 10 countries. He has started his international Climb for a Cause program in August 2004 (Mt. Elbrus, Russia; 18,481 ft; highest mountain in Europe), and continued with his 2^nd in December 2004 (Mt. Aconcagua, Argentina; 22,842 ft.; highest mountain in America). This will be his 3^rd Climb for a Cause. The Mt. Aconcagua climb is the highest altitude reached by a Filipino. The 3^rd climb will hopefully set another record by a Filipino.

The Cause

Cartwheel works in areas where children are under constant threat of malnutrition, disease, neglect and violent social unrest. Because indigenous communities are in the remotest areas of the country, access to education, health and social services are at a minimum. In Miarayon, Talakag, Bukidnon, for instance, there is no operating barangay health center. Indirect estimates place the Under-Five-Mortality Rate of Tala-andig children at twice the national average. In Sitio Abel, where Cartwheel implements a preschool and adult literacy program, as much as 76% of the children were found to be underweight (the national incidence is only 31-35%). Based on world health standards, almost half of these underweight children are considered severely underweight. These conditions are mirrored in almost every IP community in the country. Indigenous children face the reality of a death zone everyday in their life.

Click here to learn more about Cartwheel Foundation

How to Participate:

1. Send words of encouragement to Romi

2. Donate to the Cause:

a.   in the Philippines

b.   in the U.S. (by mail ) ...............................


c. (U.S. Credit Card) Online

U.S. and Philippine Donations are tax deductible

Email: Action@cartwheelfoundation.org

call (632) 689 1003 (look for Noemi Jara)
to schedule a check pick-up (Metro Manila)
or to provide bank deposit / credit card details

Download form and fax to 1 650 508 8988
or send to

Ayala Foundation

    255 Shoreline Drive, Suite 128
    Redwood City, CA 94065

thru Cartwheel Page - MyAyala.com

(note: please put down under shipping address
same as billing address -- where certificate
of donation will be mailed)