$80K raised in Memory of Mike Matsushita for Kids in Indo China

Mike Matsushita was a very popular and much loved group leader, working for Intrepid Travel in Vietnam and Cambodia . Mike moved to the UK in 2005 and was travelling to work on the morning of Thursday 7th July when terrorist bombs struck the London Underground and Mike was killed.

Soon after this very tragic day, in consultation with Mike’s family and his girlfriend, Rosie Cowan, we established the Indochina Children’s Fund for Mike. This was to enable people wanting to give in Mike’s memory, to support needy children in Cambodia and Vietnam.

  • $30,000 AUD RAISED + MATCHED DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR BY INTREPID TRAVEL = $60,000 AUD !!!
  • $20,000 USD Donated to CARE USA

$60,000 raised for Mike with INTREPID TRAVEL

Thank-you to the many hundreds of people - friends, family and others touched by Mike, who have donated in his memory. In 9 months, over AUD$30,000 has been raised.

All these funds have been matched dollar for dollar by Intrepid Travel, bringing the balance to over AUD$60,000. These funds are currently being distributed equally between 5 charities working in Vietnam and Indochina .

The Fund is now closed. If you still wish to donate, please consider 1 or 2 of the following 5 beneficiary charities. You can click through to their respective web-sites and to their donation pages.

Mith Samlanh (and their restaurant Friends) in Cambodia

Mith Samlanh is a program for street children, their families and their community in and around Phnom Penh and neighbouring provinces. Mike’s Fund monies will be used to provide improved medical and dental care services for the children. They will fund the salary of medical personnel, medical supplies and dental care (currently provided outside the centre, but hopefully soon within the centre). www.streetfriends.org

Sunrise Children’s Village in Cambodia

Sunrise cares for some of Cambodia ’s many orphaned children. Mike’s Fund monies will be used towards education for the children. 15 children will be chosen to attend the Australian Centre for Education, which is the best English school in the country, for 4 terms. The level of English attained will give the children the best available opportunity to go on to find excellent well paid jobs. www.sunrisechildrensvillage.org

Saigon Children’s Charity (SCC) in Vietnam

SCC has been helping to educate poor and disadvantaged children in Vietnam since 1992. SCC’s Thang Long vocational training school helps 400 of the neediest and most vulnerable children in District 4 by giving them a chance to escape from the poverty into which they were born. Mike’s Fund monies will be used towards Thang Long’s very successful photography project, to make a major investment in new cameras and equipment.

The syllabus will be able to include digital photography for the first time. The photography project not only brings enhanced self esteem and vocational opportunities to many children, but is self sustaining raising enough funds from exhibitions and sales of photos to not only cover costs but contribute to the rest of the vocational training program. www.saigonchildren.com

KOTO in Vietnam

KOTO is a hospitality training project for street and disadvantaged youth in Hanoi , Vietnam . KOTO will be soon moving to new premises. Mike’s Fund monies will be used towards extending a resource centre facility - a quiet space for trainees to do homework and research their careers, as well as a place where trainees can relax in a safe, monitored environment away from the "temptations" of the big city. The centres resources will include: a trained counsellor, computers, music players, books and other teaching aids. www.streetvoices.com.au

Hoi An Orphanage in Vietnam

This orphanage in central Vietnam houses a large number of children with physical and intellectual disabilities. The Kianh Foundation was established in 2002, to help support these children. Mike’s fund monies will be used to completely re-tile and repair the roofs of the two classrooms used for the special education of the children with disabilities. (The rooms currently flood on a rainy day.) Funds will also be used to improve the diet of the children by establishing a nutritious meal program. www.kianh.org.uk

$20,000 USD Donated to CARE USA

A $20,000 USD donation was made in Mike’s memory to Care USA by Two Sigma Investments and its strategic partner. The funds donated have been earmarked by Care to be utilized for projects that benefit children in Cambodia. For more information on Care’s efforts in Cambodia, please see www.care.org and search for "Cambodia".

This donation was made by the company of one of Mike’s family members and they continue to make an annual donation to Care USA in Mike’s Memory.