Charities we support
We enjoy living and working in SE Asia and are grateful to be able to support some community charities and projects that assist those in need. Currently we are associated with 3 specific local charities and their projects. Bike Tour Asia makes regular visits to these charity projects in the course of our tours to help raise awareness of their generous work in the regions. We have also developed an annual CHARITY RIDE event which sees part of each guests’ entry fee going directly to the charity visited, while delivering supplies and catching up with the progress of specific projects.
Ban Nah Soi Community Learning Centre - Thailand
(BNSCLC)
Provides secondary education, practical vocational skills, and community development skills to secondary school-aged Burmese refugees, ethnic minorities and the rural poor living in the Mae Hong Son Province area of Thailand. The purpose of this project is to provide for the basic needs of the students in the most need. Without a provision of food and medicine, many of the poorest students would not be able to attend the learning centre and would be at increased risk for falling victim to exploitative labour. The learning centre provides an avenue of greater opportunities and better chances in life for these disadvantaged youths.
North Homien Village School - Myanmar
BIKE TOUR ASIA Sponsorship
Probably one of the best motorcycle routes in the World, the road from Mae Tang to Mae Hong Son, the road of the 1’864 curves. Between Pai and Mae Hong Son we are making a detour up in the mountains to Ban Rak Thai, a Yunnan Chinese settlement, beautifully located next to a lake, tea plantations and the Myanmar border. On the Myanmar side there is a small village with a school. Kids are coming down from the mountain villages to the school to learn, some of them walking for hours to get there. School facilities are VERY basic. In addition, with its high location (1800 meters above sea level) the winters are cold. Bike Tour Asia has visited the school and village since 2017 bringing school supplies and cloths/shoes for the kids. We have also donated money supporting an improvement of the school building. Through the years we have earned good relationship with the village elder and the teacher. Through this we are usually allowed to cross the border with our motorcycles (when others are not) offering the kids an opportunity to play football using our bikes as goal posts. It’s impossible not to be humbled and touched after a visit to this school.
*UPDATE - (Feb 2022) Charity Ride to BNSCLC has been completed and was a great success !
Our New Year has kicked off with some great local tours and scouting rides around Northern Thailand , culminating in our Charity Ride which was a fantastic success for riding, group participation and of course helping the BNS Community Learning Centre.
The students prepared welcome food and gifts to say thanks for the completed water and irrigation system, now in full operation, providing so many benefits for growing food, cooking and cleaning.
There was time to share the ‘big bike’ experience with the kids by way of some pillion rides and lots of selfies!
Our next project (for 2022) was identified with the Learning Centre staff as some dormitory and bathroom facilities in urgent need of repair & upgrades. The work scope is already being detailed for action and our group fund raising will hopefully get it all across the line well before our visit in 2023.
*UPDATE - (October 2021) BNSCLC Water Aggregation Project Completed !
As part of BNSCLCs’ goal to establish organic farming and becoming self sufficient for vegetables, Bike Tour Asia stepped in to partner the fund raising and sponsorship for the water supply needed from the nearby river. It required the purchase and installation of quality equipment such as submersible pump, solar panels to power the pump, over 150m of piping, 4 x 2000litre storage tanks and sprinkler systems to service the adjacent agricultural land. We are extremely happy and proud to announce that in September the funds required were achieved and during October the installation has been completed with the system now up and running for the teachers and students to push forward with their sustainability ambitions. We look forward to checking out the progress further at our visit in Feb. 2022 (and maybe tasting some of the local produce !).
Well done and a huge “Thank You” to all involved!
