Vodafone Qatar employees raise money for education

Vodafone Qatar’s Sandstormers team proudly participated in the Global Biking Initiative (GBI) 900 kilometer cycling journey 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 QR 36,000 until now to fund scholarships, allowing  marginalised and disadvantaged students in Kailali – a remote rural area regularly affected by flooding – to continue their secondary education.

“I am very proud to work for a company that takes Corporate Social Responsibility seriously. Vodafone empowers its employees to make a difference by offering two days of paid leave for charity and volunteer work annually. The partnership with Reach Out To Asia allows us to help improve the lives of young adults such as ourselves through better education opportunities,” says Marouf Tirad Mahmoud, Marketing Specialist at Vodafone Qatar.

Being the only Qatari cyclist participating in the GBI, Marouf continued, “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 organized 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 QR 100,000 and have Qataris participate in the annual event, as well as joining our weekly training rides in Doha and Al-Khor.”

GBI was established in 2009 by worldwide Vodafone employees with the goal of allowing individual groups to raise funds for their own nominated charities by organizing long distance cycle events.

“On behalf of ROTA and the community of Kailali, I want to thank everyone who helped to raise this magnificent total. The incredible efforts of the Vodafone Sandstormers demonstrate how important education is to people in Qatar. ROTA will now ensure the Vodafone donation gives children in Nepal a better education and a brighter future,” said ROTA Executive Director Mr. Essa Al Mannai.

GBI donors include Vodafone Qatar, LS Cable, iConx, British Telecom and individual sponsors. For anyone interested in supporting the initiative, please contact Dana Haidan, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Vodafone Qatar via email at Dana.Haidan1@vodafone.com.

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