Saturday, January 10, 2015

Weissensee 2015 for Moldova

It is that time of year again! It's winter in Europe and many people are sharpening their ice skates. At the end of this month the 27th AEW (Alternative Elfsteden-tour Weissensee) will be held on the WeissenSee in Austria. Many marathon ice skaters from Holland will challenge the cold, snow and ice and enter the 200 km (!) long race. Each year the big question arises: will personal records be broken?

Moldova located in Europe
Our friends Krijn Donk and Henk Swijnenburg are getting fit and ready to enter this extreme ice skating race again, and well as sponsoring event for Traveling Light. We are really happy and thankful to have such faithful and strong volunteers/supporters. 

Krijn and Henk are planning to raise funds with their efforts on ice, for the completion of a shelter for girls and young women in Moldova, who are being rescued from human trafficking.

Johannes & Charlotte Petersen
The construction of the shelter is an initiative of Johannes and Charlotte Petersen, a couple from Denmark who have been living and working among the poor in Moldova for twenty years. They have set up a Teen Challenge rehabilitation center, children's work and activities, a church and they offer humanitarian help.

Johannes visiting the elderly
Each winter they visit about 500 families and old and lonely people and hand out coal and food packages. Make sure to watch this film. Despite the cold, their work among these families makes our heart warm!

Johannes and Charlotte are currently taking care of five girls (the youngest just being twelve years old) that have been rescued from horrible situations. The girls are living in a trailer until their home will be finished.

The shelter for the girls and young women
It is very cold in Moldova at the moment, so the construction will continue as soon as weather clears up. Funds are needed for plumbing, electricity, household items etc. It would be great if we could help them with a substantial gift, which will be a blessing and encouragement to Johannes and Charlotte, their team of volunteers and the girls of course!

You can sponsor Krijn and/or Henk as follows:
  • pledge a certain amount for finishing the race
  • pledge a certain amount per kilometer accomplished
  • pledge a certain amount no matter what the result will be
  • pledge a certain amount for breaking personal records
Of course all proceeds will go to this project in Moldova. You can send in your pledges by:
E-mail (krijncora@kpnmail.nl) or Facebook. You can also donate right now by sending your gift to IBAN: NL91RABO0118582275 BIC: RABONL2U St. Traveling Light in Papendrecht. Make sure to mention WEISSENSEE.

We are looking forward to an exciting race on the Weissensee and your generous donations towards the work among these vulnerable girls and women in Moldova.