Some roads “were more like huge stretches of human-sized potholes or a collection of head-sized rocks. Sometimes I thought local transport officials built these “roads” just to play a cruel joke and fool people into believing there was actually a legitimate way to get from one place to another.”
— Patrick Cook-Deegan writing at his website about his 2,800-mile bicycle tour across Southeast Asia this summer to riase funds to build a school in Laos.
The 21-year-old Annapolis native had returned from an earlier trip to Southeast Asia with a strong desire to do something positive in the region. He learned from the Room to Read organization that it cost $15,500 to build a school in Laos.
Cook-Deegan, a student at Brown University, set up his Cycle for Schools website to help seek pledges for the school. He received more than 100 pledges from people in the US and around the world, raising $22,500 for the school before setting out on his journey.
The bicycle tour took him across 2,800 miles in Laos, Cambodia and Burma (Myanmar). He met and talked with hundreds of people and was the guest of honor at a Buddhist ceremony in Laos.
At his website, Cook-Deegan says he slept at guesthouses — similar to hostels — but sometimes stayed in local villages, monasteries or camped out.
The money he raised will build a primary school and library in Laos and pay for two K-12 scholarships for two Cambodian girls.
Now that he's back in the US, Cook-Deegan will spend the year writing and speaking about his adventures and working on behalf of the US Campaign for Burma, a group opposed to the dictatorship of Burma.
Read more about his trip at the Durham News or the Washington Post.
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