Hello! and thank you for visiting my JustGiving page.

As you may know, I founded the Action4Diabetics (A4D) in 2015 with my old friend Jerry Gore. Our mission is to save and transform the lives of young people with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) in Southeast Asia.

T1D is an incurable condition that strikes indiscriminately. I was shocked to discover most children, in countries like Laos and Myanmar, who developed this condition were not being diagnosed or could not afford the medication. If untreated, T1D is fatal. 

To me, it seemed like a healthcare blind-spot: hundreds of young people were dying each year from a condition that can and should be managed effectively. Jerry and I wanted to do something about it. 

The A4D Cycle Challenge 2019 - The Italian Job Two - is the fourth fundraising ride that we have organised in Europe in as many years. These rides represent a crucial part of our fundraising activities, and every penny raised goes towards providing essential medication and developmental support.

A4D now cares for nearly 400 disadvantaged people with T1D across 6-countries in Southeast Asia. I am particularly pleased that, despite the fact we have grown so much in the last few years, the A4D team is still small and super-efficient.

We recently began operations in Malaysia. In comparison to some of the less developed countries that neighbour it, Malaysia's healthcare system is well developed. However, despite the diagnosis taking place, the cost-barrier was still plain to see with families spending up to 50% of their income on essential medication for their child. To be able to offer these families the opportunity to escape from poverty and to give hope for the future is very humbling and gives me the determination to continue the work that we are doing so we can reach more people with this condition.

This year's ride will see us covering between 80-100km a day in of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Please keep your eyes peeled on our facebook page - I promise photos of me huffing and puffing as I haul myself up the steep roads of this infamously hilly part of Italy.

And remember, only $500 is enough to support one child for one year. So any donation that you make will have a big impact!