NEW HOPE: Rickshaw Run funding event set for Sunday

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   NEW HOPE — The grandson of a noted New Hope photographer will document his trip across the Himalayas and India’s northern plains with a camera as he and a partner raise funds for the victims of Nepal’s sex trade.
   Cody Orrell, 27, of New Hope, the grandson of photographer Jack Rosen, will participate in the 2010 Rickshaw Run next month. He’ll take the trip with Dion Boehm, 30, of Lambertville, in a three-wheeled motorized rickshaw. Also going on the trip will be a friend from Mumbai.
   They will be raising funds for the trip Sunday from 2 to 9 p.m. at the Pellegrino/Shill Gallery, 204 N. Union St. Admission is $20. Food will be provided by Kindle Café and Tai Tida, both of Lambertville.
   All proceeds will benefit the charity, Maiti Nepal. The charity works for the prevention of the trafficking of girls, many of whom are children, and their rescue and rehabilitation.
   A trunk show of artist Nancy Shill’s work will generate 25 percent for the cause, and a sale of pieces in the art gallery will give half of the proceeds to the charity, Ms. Shill said. There also will be a silent auction.
   During the Rickshaw Run, Mr. Orrell will try to educate villagers about the deceptive practices used by sex traffickers to get girls from their families. Many of the victims are under 15, and some are only 6 years old.
   The area is so remote, people “never hear information about the tactics these people use,” he said. Often they’ll tell parents there are job opportunities in the United States for their girls. In another ruse, they tell families there are wealthy men who want brides.
   The traffickers are “so corrupt,” and prosecutions rarely end in convictions, according to Mr. Orrell. “They must be fought on an educational level and a preventative level,” he said.
   Mr. Orrell is a roadie for music acts, including Beyonce. He will be supported at the fundraiser Sunday with appearances by Justin Guarini, of Doylestown, and saxophonist Tia Fuller, a member of Beyonce’s backup band.
   Mr. Orrell said he hopes to be able to blog from the road so he can post his photos online. If the technology is unavailable, he said he would blog about the rally upon his return. He hopes to be back in the United States by early October.
   The Rickshaw Run is sponsored by The Adventurists, a United Kingdom company that describes itself as “a force for global mischief and global good.” It says it is “into saving the world” through adventures such as the two-week Rickshaw Run. It also sponsors a car rally in Mongolia.
   For people who love adventure, these are wild, once-in-a-lifetime trips, yet they are also dangerous. The Adventurists’ posted a notice on its website over the weekend saying one participant in the Mongolian Rally had died Friday as the result of an accident.
   The Rickshaw Rally has a starting point and an end point. Along the way, the Adventurists say, participants are on their own to figure things out, although there are checkpoints.
   The rules for both rallies are the same. The first, according to the Adventurists, is “the not a race rule.” Participants won’t be trying to beat the time of other participants. There is no winner other than charity. Participants pay their own way and pay a fee to go on the rallies. All fees go to charity.
   Another rule is “the don’t come if you are a wimp rule.” The company says, “Sometimes people get the wrong idea and find themselves with wet pants and a furious rage” when they figure out the Rickshaw Rally is not a day at the beach. “This is boring for us to deal with so do think about the reality of putting your life in danger and being smelly and uncomfortable for two weeks. Bliss for some, less so for others.”