 CIRCUS BOYS: Aman and Bijay show off their medals at the National Games in May. Both were rescued from Indian circuses and are now being supported by the Esther Benjamin Trust, which is raising funds by being a part of the London-Ulan Bator car rally this month. |
Choegyal's car will be among 300 that will be flagged off in London to make their way to Mongolia, crossing deserts, mountains and steppes. All cars will have engines less than one litre.
Choegyal, who grew up in Kathmandu and is now studying economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London will be raising money for the Esther Benjamins Trust (EBT), which has been working since 2002 to stop the trafficking of Nepali children and girls to Indian circuses.
The Trust's founder, Philip Holmes, says all known Nepali trafficking agents who were preying on vulnerable rural families are now in prison. In India, the demand for Nepali children at the circuses has dried up because of the adverse publicity and legal consequences that followed daring rescues by the Trust and its Indian partners.
A court case is currently underway in India against one circus owner who is accused of rape. Another, Siraj Khan, the owner of the Raj Mahal Circus that the Trust raided last June (See: 'Juggling with young lives', # 405), has absconded after being charged with employing bonded labour.
The Trust is now working to create a legitimate pathway for Nepal's young people to enter employment inside genuinely reformed Indian circuses by setting up a circus training school in Kathmandu next year. "But for now we most need funds to support the care of children at risk whom we have rescued from the circuses and who live at our refuge in Godavari," Holmes says.
One boy, Bicky, who was retrieved by the Trust from an Indian circus in January 2004, has just passed SLC in first division. Two other boys who were freed along with Bicky, Aman and Bijay, won gold medals in gymnastics in the National Games in May. Aman scooped no fewer than three gold medals making him one of the top 10 athletes in the Games.
Choegyal aims to raise ?3,000 over the month that he is on the road and that will ensure his 10,000 mile journey is uphill all the way. Says Homes: "Charities are feeling the fundraising chill that comes with the economic recession but every penny raised will help rescued children in Nepal find a future."
To donate to Rinchen Choegyal's Mongol Rally see his online sponsorship form at www.justgiving.com/rinchen Esther Benjamin Trust: www.ebtrust.org.uk
