Futures '09 Profile - Ranny Kang

Amount Raised: $3115 | Sponsor Me

In 2008, I set a goal for myself for 2009. The goal was to plan a charity event where I would be able to donate the money raised to an organization empowering women and girls. During my search for the perfect foundation, a girlfriend mentioned the Somaly Mam Foundation. I remember reading Somaly's story in an issue of Glamour and then seeing her on Oprah. I haven't read A Road Lost of Innocence (...yet), but I watched a special on CNN exposing human trafficking of little girls in Cambodia several years ago where I became aware of this reality. So, I decided to visit the Somaly Mam Foundation website for more information on donating and I came across the Futures '09 Project.

After my Mom and her family fled to the U.S. from Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge, she struggled to raise three daughters on a single minimum wage income. My family and I were extremely poor but we were fortunate enough to have the opportunities to empower ourselves. We wouldn't have these opportunities without the help of others and this is my opportunity to truly make a difference in the world. From the words Mohandas Gandhi, "If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children."

I am not a cyclist nor do I have $6000 to donate. But with a goal, commitment and a whole lot of faith, I intend to make this happen and I have only a month and a half to do it. We need your help.