Josie’s Dragonfly Trust , Special pendant, jewellery and gifts to support children with cancer

Please note that the Nov 2012 Trek is now full. We do have places if you are interested in joining us in March. We are also delighted to be adding another Trek which will take place during in the FEBRUARY 2013 half term break.

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The Dragonfly Trek - Northern Thailand 2012 & 2013

You are invited to join us in a life changing experience!   

March 1st-10th 2012  & Nov.22nd-1st Dec 2012 (full)  & we are now booking places for February 14th - 23rd

The Trek is in conjunction with the Thai Wishing Well Foundation and the Rain Tree Foundation

If you are interested PLEASE CONTACT US AS SOON AS POSSIBLE The November 2012 Trek has a limited no. of places left and we still need a few more people for the March Trek. Please don't hesitate as places are limited to 20 people per trek & if you are interested but can't do either of these please still get in touch as we can wait list you for a possible additional date.

telephone Jane on:01434602043 or e-mail trek@josiesdragonfly.org You will be required to pay a non-refundable registration fee of 199.00 and raise a minimum sponsorship of 2,800

Some Questions & Answers

Why Thailand?

Josie on a family holiday in Northern Thailand - 2003

Josie lived in Thailand from the age of 6 until she was diagnosed with Leukaemia aged 14. She spent her first 6 weeks of treatment confined to a Bangkok hospital before returning to England for further treatment. Josie had 2 great holidays in the Chiang Mai area and since Josie spent so much of her life in Thailand is seemed appropriate to help some thai children with cancer as well as those in the UK.

What is the Wishing Well Foundation?  Jacqui,(Josie's mum) has supported the Wishing Well Foundation in Thailand alongside Josie's Dragonfly Trust since she returned to Thailand in 2008. The foundation is similar to Josie's Dragonfly Trust in that they particuarly support those children where treatment is not curative. In Thailand, possibly due to their Budist beliefs, they are far more accepting of their fate and many families when told that treatment has a very low chance of success, like Josie, decide not to fight from a hospital bed but prefer to be at home with family.

There is very little palliative care in Thailand and so the wishing well was set up by Khun Issarang & his father (both practicing paediatric oncology specialists) to support the needs of these children at home. The charity provides some nursing support by telephone and through home visits and organises trips & wishes for the children. www.wishingwellthai.org

Our trek will work in collaboration wiith the Wishing Well Foundation and will completely fund a fantastic trip for 10 children & their families. Jacqui has known Khun Issarang for 3 years, they are shown above at a recent fundraiser for both charities which was held in Bangkok.

How will I make a difference? The charity's aim has always been to brighten the lives of children & young people living with cancer. We will be spending 2 days with 10 children and their families doing exactly that. The money you raise will pay for us to collect each family by minibus and  bring them together with others in the same situation.We will be providing simple hotel accomodation for the families and laying on a big party, with everyone taking an active part in the entertainment. Whether you can make balloon animals, do face painting or happen to be a fantastic magician together we will be able to create a lot of fun and plenty of smiles.

We will then take the families out for a memorable day at the Zoo before taking them home.

Over the 2 days we will be taking photo's and making albums for the families to treasure. The whole event will be a real treat for these families who ordinarily live very modest & simple lives.

What else does my fundraising provide? Each fundraiser will also be providing Three 500 pound Cash Gifts for children in the UK where treatment is no longer considered curative. This makes a huge and very real difference to families at a tragic point in their lives.

The money you raise also pays for your travel expenses, accomodation, most of your food and some recreational treking. But we want every penny to make a difference where it can, so we will spend some time at Hot Coffee Resort where the accomodation and meals help support an orphanage.

Ralf runs the Hot Coffee Resort with his wife, The resort supports arround 30 orphans and the accomodation ranges from a 2-man tent to a simple bungalow. The accomodation will be allocated on a 'needs only' basis and all accomodation on the trip will be shared.

Each person will also fund & provide a water filter to a remote hilltribe village where there is no fresh water avaliable. By water filters we don't mean the Britta type! (Don't worry were not carrying them)

How can you do all that for 3,000 pounds? Because Josie's parents live and work in Thailand and have been able to organize everything themselves or with the help of friends such as Ralf. There is no middle man. Thailand it'self is relatively cheap and while we aim to make this a comfortable experience everything will be kept to a fairly low budget.

What Kind of Trekking will we be doing? The trekking will require a moderate level of fitness. You will need to be healthy and able to cope with walking in the heat - but you don't need to be superfit!

Some of the activitiies will depend on the recent rainfall... there is no point in visiting a waterfall if there has been no rain for weeks but the trip will definately include some elephant riding & river rafting as well as the visit to a hilltribe village

 These treks sound like a 'jolly', how do I justify them to my sponsors? We want you to have fun and enjoy being in Thailand but there is another point to the treks. Before we attempt to put on a big event for the children the group will need to get over the jet-lag, relax, get to know each other and spend a lot of time planning.

This is also going to be an emotional journey for everyone and the group will need to bond in order to support each other.

Do we fly direct to Northern Thailand? No, unfortunately direct flights from the UK usually go to Bangkok. We will spend the first night at a hotel in the capital and Josie's parents will meet us in the evening for some Thai Cuisine. While we are in Bangkok we will be briefed by Khun Issarang on the children that we will be going to support. Then we will be taking the Night Train to Chiang Mai.

The train is quite an experience in it's self! Western food is avaliable in the station prior to departure but food on the train is basic & very Thai. However it stops frequently and vendors come on board with a variety of local snacks & drinks as well a few recognisable treats.

Click here to see how the seats are expertly transformed into bunk-beds!

 What if I'm a fussy eater? You will need to be prepared to try the Thai food to enjoy this trip. Most places just serve Thai food and there is no guarantee that any western food will be avaliable. Thai's love hot & spicy food & love chillies, but they also have a variety of non-spicy dishes made with coconuts, peanuts or pineapple. Egg-fried rice is always a safe bet and fresh fruit is in plentiful supply. Vegetarians will find plenty to choose from but the frying pans will have been used for cooking meat! If you have any kind of food allergies you will need to tell us- peanuts are everywhere in Thai cooking.

Will I need additional spending money? You will need a small amount of money for additional snacks, food for the train and drinks etc... We will give you more details of exactly what is included nearer the time. Soft drinks are relatively cheap & because the locals also drink bottled water it can cost as little as 10p. When we visit the hill tribes it is also customary to buy a few handicrafts to help support the villagers income. You may also like to buy something for the children at the orphanage.

What if I don't think I can raise the money? We will be in touch with you throughout the months leading up to the trek and if you are having difficulty we can suggest plenty of ways to raise the funds. You certainly don't have to rely on asking friends & family or workmates for money- although that is always a great starting point!

Where do I sign up?

Telephone 01434602043 or you can drop us a line right here....

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