The Heineken Maneuvers

The young woman in the center is an acid
attack survivor.

This weekend the Canadian High Commission held their 1st annual Rickshaw Relay Challenge to help raise awareness and funds for victims of acid violence.  They partnered with the Acid Survivors Foundation which strives to eliminate acid attacks and support survivors so that they may be able to live with dignity.  

Trying to explain the reason behind the
charity event was tricky but we thought the
kids should know.  They were sad, confused,
and scared about why anyone would want to
hurt another human being in that way.

Robbie and three of his fellow Embassy coworkers formed a team they chose to name The Heineken Maneuvers.  I must say, they put their hearts and souls and all the muscle power they could muster to try to win the race.  But driving a rickshaw is not as easy as it looks.  First of all, the rickshaws are made of metal so they are extremely heavy.  Throw in people and it weighs even more, making it harder to pull.  So not only is weight an issue.  There is only one gear, the chain comes loose frequently, and they can tip over easily.    But none of these challenges deterred the dozens of people from the expat community to participate in the event which obviously provided plenty of entertainment for the Bangladeshis.

The starting line - the one on the far left is Robbie's
teammate.

It's Robbie's turn....look at the determination in his face!

Time to switch!

Go Heineken Maneuvers!