Hanoi, 31 March 2006
AMBASSADOR TO WELCOME “ChallengeMD!” TO VIETNAM
His Excellency Mr Bill Tweddell, the Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, will welcome 32 Australians to Vietnam when they arrive in April to bicycle through Vietnam to raise money to help fight Muscular Dystrophy.
The ride, ChallengeMD! (sponsored by major supporter Custodian Wealth Builders), will be officially started by Ambassador Tweddell on Friday 31 March at the Australian Embassy in 8 Dao Tan Street, Hanoi.
“The Australian Embassy is proud to be involved with ChallengeMD! and the tremendous effort undertaken by the team to awareness of muscular dystrophy in Vietnam”, said the Ambassador.
Muscular Dystrophy Association of Australia Executive Director, Boris M Struk, who will be among the riders, said they will be tackling 547 kilometres of rugged mountain and coastal terrain, dense jungle and even parts of Vietnam’s barely inhabited central highlands region.
“ChallengeMD! couldn’t be easy because we wanted to raise awareness of the difficulties people with Muscular Dystrophy and their families face each and every day. The riders have already raised more than $330,000 for Muscular Dystrophy research and support,” Mr Struk said.
Muscular Dystrophy (MD) is a devastating, progressive muscle destroying disorder that affects one in 1,000 men, women and children. The severest form, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, sees children just walking at age five, reliant on a wheelchair by age eight and due to the muscle destruction they are reliant on a ventilator to breathe in their early 20s. Very few survive beyond their early to mid 20s.
The MDA provides support and respite services, facilitation and financial support for research and to increase public awareness and acceptance of neuromuscular disorders, to improve the quality of life for the MD community.
For further information about how you can support the MDA through ChallengeMD!, or to sponsor one of the riders visit www.ChallengeMD.org or call the MDA on 61 3 9320 9555.
For further information please contact
Leah Bryan
M Power
[email protected]
0418 330 006
or
Hoang Thuy Chi
Information Officer, Austrade
tel. (84-4) 8317755 ext. 438