AS mentioned in earlier articles, once the journey was decided on, the next priority was to select a cause to carry on the ride. I had always felt that it would be a great waste of effort if the ride wasn’t also used to highlight those in need and to help them where we could.

I had wanted the cause, if there would be any, to be related to cancer for personal reasons. My sister succumbed to cancer in 2014. It was her death which sparked my charitable streak soon after, something I wouldn’t have given much thought to had it not been for her untimely death. I suppose it was my way of dealing with the helplessness of watching her fade away. In doing so, perhaps the helplessness of others can also be converted into some measure of hope.

I first met the management team from the National Cancer Society of Malaysia (NCSM) when they sought me out for advice with regards to a man who was looking to raise money for cancer victims through walking the length of peninsular Malaysia. That’s a distance of over 1000km; Mahin Hendra had accomplished the walk from Perlis to Johor Baru on his own. What a remarkable feat.

He was about to start another walk covering the length of Sabah and Sarawak for the same cause. Unfortunately, his campaign hadn’t gained much traction at the time and contributions were rather paltry given the superhuman effort. We explored the possible problems and I offered my two cents where appropriate.

When it was my turn to pick a cause, I explored the various areas of cancer for consideration. Cancer seemed too vague on its own, so I listed the types of cancer in my head. Breast cancer was already very well-highlighted, I felt. Prostate or testicular cancer was something most men wouldn’t talk about. Lung cancer seemed, to me at least, often looked upon as self-inflicted in most cases. I was running out of ideas when I remembered a friend whose very young son was afflicted with the disease.

I remembered how my friend Mary Anne Loh had tirelessly chronicled her 5-year-old son Ethan’s brave battles with cancer, his progress (or otherwise) and updates, and of course, her own guarded optimism, which in itself required a different kind of strength and sacrifice to surmount.

“That’s it!” I thought. I immediately gave Loh a call to see if she would allow me to tell Ethan’s story through the ride, to have him as our “mascot” for this journey, so to speak. I shared my preliminary ideas with Mary Anne and was glad when she eventually said yes. The rest, as they say, is history.

I then initiated a meeting with NCSM, visiting their premises for the first time. I recalled being told that they also ran a centre called The Children’s Home of Hope within said premises that supported and cared for children with cancer. Things were falling into place, slowly but surely.

We discussed my offer to attach childhood cancer as the cause for the ride, and how we were going to go about it vis-a-vis messaging and other logistics. The skeletal concept was put forward and all NCSM had to do, like Loh, was to say yes. They accepted, with one or two conditions which were perfectly fine with me. I will only reveal what the conditions were at the end of the expedition, but rest assured they will tickle a few bones.

At this point, I will admit that the management team at NCSM appear a little stiff, given my restless and gung-ho personality. They seem more like an old school, by-the-book outfit accustomed to more conventional and routine fundraisers, not something quite outrageous like Seven Wunders.

Doubt crept in as to if we could actually work together throughout my two-year journey. It was further compounded by my good friend, Malaysian radio icon Patrick Teoh, who sat me down one day and asked “Eh, Wu, are you sure? These guys look as exciting as my walking stick, and knowing you, you’ll go crazy at some point”. Thanks, Patrick, that was all I needed to hear at the time.

But the weeks followed and we had regular meetings leading up to the flag-off. We started from scratch, from coming up with the campaign logo and taglines to handling logistics. We only had about two months to get everything done, and I must say that through those meetings, I was most encouraged by the enthusiasm and support shown by NCSM’s team.

In many ways, they too had to learn to cope with my impatience and the more than occasional madness. But I think we are a good team today, and it is indeed my privilege to have such wonderful and committed people behind us on this journey.

Still, there remained one crucial issue at the back of my mind I needed to address with NCSM. Think of it as being my condition this time for the cause to take life.

You see, most civil society groups, NCSM included, are often saddled by that familiar stigma of using part of the public’s contributions towards maintaining operation costs. We often hear of how a significant portion of contributions are used on everything but the cause itself. While it is true that these expenses need to be met, the stigma nevertheless remains, fairly or unfairly, and I addressed that concern with NCSM and stipulated my condition.

“Will you agree to incorporate a standalone bank account for the purpose of this ride, and have the all funds raised used exclusively for the Children’s Home of Hope? That none of the money raised will be used for anything other than funding the home? It is crucial we agree on this.”

I sent this to Sudha, general manager of NCSM, cautious of not wanting to speak out of turn. To my pleasant surprise, Sudha readily agreed and I was grateful.

It was and is vital that contributors know exactly where their money will go to, and that there is no question that they will be channeled elsewhere. There have been unkind accusations by irresponsible parties that the ride is funded by public contributions and I hope to put an end to these baseless allegations. It takes a certain kind of monster to use money meant for children with cancer to pay for his personal endeavours.

We have targeted to raise RM5 million through this effort. While it may sound somewhat ambitious, it is also more than doable if we all play our parts. The theme “A Ringgit A Malaysian” means precisely that. If five million or more Malaysians act on this, we will accomplish a remarkable feat as a nation that has come together for the sake of our sick children who fight for their lives, and with no guarantee of cure whatsoever.

What we can do is offer them hope to keep fighting. So do help us spread this message of coming together as a society. A ringgit may not sound like much, but collectively, we can do a whole lot of good. We all have that one ringgit (or more) that we can spare.

What does RM5 million mean to the Children’s Home of Hope? It means folks like NCSM does not need to source badly-needed funding for the children for the next 15 years. Together, we can see that it happens.

NCSM is the oldest cancer-related civil society group in Malaysia, having been around for over 50 years. The Children’s Home of Hope provides not only accommodation but also nutrition, a sterile environment, nursing, and pocket money, among other things, for cancer-afflicted children referred by the Hospital Kuala Lumpur – all for free – and for the accompanying caregiver. These patients come from lesser-privileged backgrounds, and such a service only helps to encourage parents to seek treatment for their children instead of shying away due to lack of money.

Seven Wunders is currently in Iran and should be arrive at Turkey in two weeks’ time.

You may follow our journey on Facebook and Instagram (SevenWunders) for daily updates or simply read about it right here on The Malaysian Insight. 

To contribute, send your donations to: Public Bank Acc: 3988587622, The National Cancer Society of Malaysia, Ref: Ride for Gold; or online via peoplegiving.org.

Thank you.

* David Wu is riding a bicycle around the world with Ving Lee to raise awareness about children with cancer. The Malaysian Insight is the media partner for the Seven Wunders initiative.

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* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.