(MENAFN- Asia Times)
Four domestic workers have formed a team that aims to finish the Oxfam Trailwalker hike along the 100-kilometer MacLehose Trail next month to help raise funds for the underprivileged in developing countries.
Aleli, a Filipina team leader who first took part in the annual challenge last year, said she hoped that they will show people that domestic workers have real passion, and can achieve extraordinary goals, news website HK01.com reported.
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Aleli, who has worked in Hong Kong for 15 years, said the formation of the existing team was not easy because those who took part last year were unable to participate this year. With help from friends, she finally found three other people willing to join her in forming a team.
Since August, the new team , which retains last year's team name of ' Maid of Heart and Sole ', has spent Saturdays training. This has included running, physical training and hiking parts of the trail to familiarize themselves with the route.
New team member Milkhatus, an Indonesian domestic worker who had never before participated in the challenge, said that at first she was worried that she might not be able to finish the 100km route.
She admitted that the training has been very hard, but that she had made a special effort to get up at 6am every morning for the last two months to run for an hour.
With her teammates' encouragement and support, she gradually improved her fitness and began to match their speeds. Now she is confident that the team will be able to finish the race within 25 hours.
Milkhatus also pointed out that she appreciated support from her employer who has given her time off to train every day and has donated money to support her team.
Oxfam Trailwalker is an annual fundraising event to support poverty alleviation and emergency relief projects in Africa and Asia. Participants have to form a team of four people and finish the 100km MacLehose Trail within 48 hours. Since 1986, more than 98,000 people have taken part in the event, raising over HK$538 million (US$68.6 million) to support Oxfam.
Read: Domestic workers' team to join 100km Trailwalker event
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