Vodafone Qatar’s Sandstormers team participated in the 900-km cycling expedition, the Global Biking Initiative (GBI), from Oslo, Norway to Dusseldorf, Germany to raise charitable funds for children’s education in Nepal. The Qatari team, led by Irishman Eamonn Condon, supported Reach Out To Asia (Rota), Vodafone Qatar’s main charity partner, by raising funds to provide scholarships for students living in Rota’s project in Kailali, Nepal. So far, the Vodafone Sandstormers have raised QR36,000 to fund scholarships, allowing  marginalised and disadvantaged students in Kailali - a remote rural area regularly affected by flooding - to continue their secondary education. “Vodafone empowers its employees to make a difference by offering two days of paid leave for charity and volunteer work annually. The partnership with Rota allows us to help improve the lives of young ones such as ourselves through better education opportunities,” said Marouf Tirad Mahmoud, Marketing Specialist at Vodafone Qatar. Marouf, the only Qatari cyclist participating in the GBI said: “I am really passionate about promoting charity cycling in Qatar. There are tremendous opportunities to promote the sport in Qatar and create a fundraising culture amongst the youth. Though GBI is organised by Vodafone employees, it is open to everyone who is willing to cycle and raise funds for charity. Our goals for next year are to raise QR100,000 and have Qataris participate in the annual event, as well as joining our weekly training rides in Doha and Al-Khor.” “On behalf of Rota and the community of Kailali, I want to thank everyone who helped to raise this magnificent total. Rota will now ensure the Vodafone donation gives children in Nepal a better education and a brighter future,” said Rota executive director Essa al-Mannai. GBI donors include Vodafone Qatar, LS Cable, iConx, British Telecom and individual sponsors. For anyone interested in supporting the initiative, inquiries could be made from  Dana Haidan, head of CSR at Vodafone Qatar via e-mail at Dana.Haidan1@vodafone.com From gulftimes