Adventure Philanthropy

I embarked on my adventure in the name of exploration…not so much in scientific or adventurous pursuits, but in the search to understand one's self; a bid to discover where my inner limits lie. In pushing my physical boundaries and exploring the edges of my mental envelope, I sought, in the words of former marathon runner Frank Maier, "an epiphany, a spiritual flash that would change the way I viewed myself". This race will be the ne plus ultra of self-discovery.

However, this process is not necessarily one-dimensional. I used the opportunity to raise funds for different children causes. But as much as I help them, they help me. Especially during the low points when it is easiest to give up, I ask myself what I would tell them upon my return. That is usually enough to encourage me to carry on. Thinking about my beneficiaries lends a broader take on life. The thought of their own daily ultra-endurance races takes the pain and suffering from myself. They give me the energy to continue moving forward because I am not only doing it for myself but for them. My accountability to them makes the whole adventure more meaningful.

Excerpt from Runaway Success: Life Lessons from Ultra Endurance Racing

Atacama Crossing
Antarctica
Gobi March
Sahara Race
Oxfam Trailwalker

Community Building
Cycling for Children's Cancer Foundation
Street Children
Trekking in Alaska

School Building and English Teaching
Mayan Civilisation and Bird Conservation
Cheetah Conservation
Charity Skydive

Atacama Crossing

A feather in the cap as Thaddeus completes the 4 Deserts Series of races, making him one of fewer than a hundred select individuals from around the world to do so. The toughest race yet took competitors to the world's oldest desert in Chile.

He mentored the National Student Exco of Operation Smile in Singapore and supported the fantastic students in raising awareness and funds for the organisation, which helps treat facial deformities such as cleft lips and palates all around the world.

Antarctica

In the third instalment of the 4 Deserts series, Thaddeus took his personal challenge to the coldest desert (polar): Antarctica. A huge step out of the comfort zone of someone from a tiny tropical island, this race presented one of the greatest learning and discovery for him.

Together with his partners Pet Lovers Centre, they raised a whopping S$110, 245 for Gracehaven, a residential home for children and youths from dysfunctional families. The money went toward the educational needs of the residents.

Gobi March

In the second instalment of the 4 Deserts series of footraces in some of the world's most inhospitable environments and extreme climes, Thaddeus endured the harshness of the Gobi Desert across 250km in 7 days.

His successful completion of this race qualified him to participate in The Last Desert – Antarctica. From the severe heat of Sahara and Gobi to the mind numbing cold of the polar desert that is Antarctica, Thaddeus will raise funds for Gracehaven, a home for children from dysfunctional families.

Sahara Race

In October 2009, Thaddeus participated in the Sahara Race, a self-supported 250km footrace in the Sahara desert of western Egypt to raise $60,000 for the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, which aims to alleviate the financial burden of children from low-income families attending school.

The 4 Deserts is ranked by TIME magazine as one of its Top Ten Endurance Competitions in the World. Each competitor carries his own gear, food and clothing for the week in a backpack and the only assistance provided by the professional medical and operations team is water, medical assistance and tents to sleep in at night.

Oxfam Trailwalker

In 2008, Thaddeus and a group of friends attempted Oxfam Trailwalker Japan, a challenging endurance fundraising event in which teams of four complete a 100-kilometre trail through mountainous bush terrain in 48 hours. While the physical goal proved too much, the team managed to accomplish their fundraising objective.

Community Building

Thaddeus led and guided a group of Junior College students on an Overseas Community Involvement Project to build a community hall in Vang Vieng, Laos in 2003.

Located on a hill overlooking the Song River valley, the building was constructed from local materials as much as possible, using unfired bricks, mud plaster, and local lumber. It is now available for use by residents of Phoudindaeng Village and is also the venue for English language classes.

Cycling for Children's Cancer Foundation

In 2002 Thaddeus cycled 1,200km from Hatyai, Thailand to Singapore and helped raise a total of S$337,395 for the Children's Cancer Foundation (CCF), Singapore.

The mission of CCF is to improve the quality of life of children with cancer and their families through enhancing their emotional, social and medical well-being.

Street Children

In 2000, Thaddeus committed half a year to teach, care for, and rehabilitate street children and drug users with the Duang Prateep Foundation (DPF) in Thailand. Living and working in the farmlands of Kanchanaburi Province and the slums of Bangkok was humbling yet very uplifting work.

The DPF was founded by Ms Prateep Unsongtham Hata, herself born and raised in the slums and who at age 16 opened a school in the slum while working and studying at the same time. In 2004 Prateep won a seat in Thailand's first-ever elected Senate and received the World's Children's Prize and the Global Friend's Award "for her 35-year long struggle for the rights of Thailand's most vulnerable children".

Trekking in Alaska

The freezing harsh terrain of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska was the setting for a gruelling eight-day wilderness trek in 1999. Bush whacking, fjord crossing, glacier exploration and travel through bear country amidst the stunning scenery and spectacular landscapes of one the last wilderness of the world raised £2,500 for SENSE.

SENSE is a UK-based charity campaigning for persons impaired by deafblindness, sometimes called multi-sensory impairments (MSI).

School Building and English Teaching

Thaddeus joined a team from Britain to build schools and teach English in two remote villages of Tabora and Ifucha in Tanzania, East Africa over three months in 1998. Following the project, he trekked to the summit of Mount Meru, Tanzania (14,980 feet) and went on to white-water raft the Zambezi (Zimbabwe/Zambia) and Blue Nile (Uganda) rivers.

Mayan Civilisation and Bird Conservation

In 1998 Thaddeus waded into the virgin rainforests of Belize, Central America in a three-month archaeological expedition and sustainable conservation project with Trekforce Expeditions.

Following jungle survival training, the team trekked through remote wilderness areas to rediscover ancient Mayan ruins, caves, tombs and artefacts. Their work contributed crucial data and evidence to complete the cataloguing and mapping of the ancient Mayan culture. They also undertook the construction of a watch tower for park wardens to protect the local area at the Crooked Tree Sanctuary, a protected zone for over 275 species of birds.

Cheetah Conservation

Thaddeus championed the wildlife cause through the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia, Southwest Africa. With a mission to be the internationally recognized centre of excellence in the conservation of cheetahs and their ecosystems, CCF works with all stakeholders to develop best practices in research, education, and land use to benefit all species, including people.

For over four weeks in 1998, Thaddeus participated in activities that included wildlife counts, feeding and behavioural observations of captive wild cheetahs, predator data management, release of cheetahs into the wild, tracking radio-collared cheetahs, collecting biological specimens, discussions with farmers and the livestock guarding dog programme.

Charity Skydive

Thaddeus took his first plunge into combining his sense of adventure with philanthropy in 1994 while a university student in the UK. His first skydive was for charity and he has since completed over a hundred skydives.