{"id":98993,"date":"2019-05-20T15:06:26","date_gmt":"2019-05-20T13:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=98993"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:20","slug":"meet-the-rsm-secretary-who-will-cycle-in-vietnam-to-raise-funds-to-stop-child-marriages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/05\/20\/meet-the-rsm-secretary-who-will-cycle-in-vietnam-to-raise-funds-to-stop-child-marriages\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the RSM secretary who will cycle in Vietnam to raise funds to stop child marriages"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many girls in Vietnam are forced to get married at a young age. As a result, they drop out of school and lose any chance they might have at a good job and independence. Cycle for Plan<\/em> invests in projects designed to prevent child marriages by providing more information and ensuring that girls have better access to education. Along with her friend Annette, RSM secretary Patricia will join Cycle for Plan Vietnam, which will involve her cycling 400 kilometres in a mountainous area in Vietnam.<\/p>\n

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How did you come up with the idea of joining Plan Vietnam?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I saw a commercial for Cycle for Plan on TV once, and I thought: wow, that\u2019s cool \u2013 I\u2019d love to do that some time. I needed to set myself a challenge, something that allows me to help others, too. This is an enormous physical challenge that allows you to do something for a good cause at the same time.<\/p>\n

Why did this particular cause appeal to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have a daughter who is nearly ten years old. I absolutely hate the thought of girls that age getting married. But there\u2019s also the contrast between the position of women here and the position of women in Vietnam. The university is focusing on diversity; we wish to see more women in high-ranking positions. This is a good initiative, and we have to keep working towards it. However, it\u2019s a huge contrast with Vietnam, where women in certain areas hardly have any say in anything. Vietnam has a long way to go, but there are things we can do to help reduce the contrast by reducing the number of child marriages.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Kids in elementary school can\u2019t imagine getting married at that age, which is exactly what happens in Vietnam\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Participants in the programme must raise at least 4,000 euros to be allowed to participate. So, together you and your friend had to raise 8,000 euros. What did you do to get that money?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The main action we organised was a sponsored run at my children\u2019s school. We provided information to pupils in Years 5, 6, 7 and 8, meaning the kids all knew what they were running and raising funds for. It was quite a hit. The kids rang a lot<\/em> of doorbells to collect donations. We raised nearly \u20ac4,200 through this action alone. The great thing about this action was that it taught the kids that they lead very good lives here. It\u2019s a good thing to work on behalf of others sometimes, and children should learn that. Some children were quite shocked by our story, particularly those in Year 8. They can\u2019t imagine getting married at that age, which is exactly what happens in Vietnam.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll be cycling 400 kilometres in a mountainous area, so yes, that will be quite the physical challenge. How are you training for it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll start training properly next month. The area where we will be cycling is very mountainous, so it\u2019s kind of hard to prepare for that here. I\u2019ve signed up with a gym, though, so I\u2019ll be taking a lot of spinning classes in the next few months, among other things. I expect to be spending eight hours a day on my bike in Vietnam, so that\u2019s definitely something that requires training.<\/p>\n

While participating in Plan Vietnam, you will be seeing the projects Plan is engaged in along the route. What do you expect to see?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is one of the reasons why I decided to become an active participant, actually, because I wish to see what\u2019s being done with the money. All the participants will be paired up with a child, and we\u2019ll actually meet those children over there. I think it will be shocking to see how girls live over there, particularly since poverty is still quite prevalent in the north.<\/p>\n\t

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Patricia and Annette will be cycling in Vietnam between 23 October and 2 November. For more information on their journey and on Cycle for Plan Vietnam, please refer to their action page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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