T.D.N.N.: Trek For Fund - Trekking with good intentions

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It is their first mountaineering expedition but they set their sights high – on Mount Everest in fact. These three 21-year-olds had planned to scale to the base camp with no money in their pockets.

Before you brush them off as young and reckless daredevils, get this - they were on a mission to raise funds for the underprivileged in Cambodia.

The trio, S. Surentheran, Siddiq Poh and Wee Wei Liang, formed 'Trek For Fund' early this year. On May 2, they departed for Nepal, where they aimed to reach Mount Everest's base camp within 12 days.

S.SURENTHERAN (LEFT), WEE WEI LIANG (CENTER), SIDDIQ POH (RIGHT)

This is their story:

They drew their inspiration from Project Battambang, where medical students from National University of Singapore (NUS) provide free basic healthcare and education needs, including health screenings, to the villagers in Poipet, Cambodia.

What started as a friendly conversation after a football game gave way to a big initiative and responsibility that each now has to shoulder.

"Suren is part of Project Battambang. When he told us about his difficulties in raising funds for the project and the villagers, we talked about it and and came up with the trekking idea," said Siddiq and Wei Liang, who both recently completed their National Service.

Surentheran, having led Project Battambang last year, added that this project is close to his heart. He said: "I've always longed to trek Mount Everest, so I thought, why not add a little fund raising to that experience?"

So, why do the trek without any money?

Well, for starters, each of them will be carrying $200, but with a vow not to touch the money except in dire circumstances, such as falling sick due to the high altitude and requiring helicopter services to send them to a hospital.

They plan to collect funds from fellow trekkers and use the money to sustain themselves throughout the journey. When they return home, they promise to fork out all the money they collected and used, and contribute everything to Project Battambang. The funds will be donated to the villagers in Poipet for medical and school expenses.

Their personal expenses, including airfare, accommodation and gear, will be borne by themselves. Siddiq estimates that this works out to about $2,000 for each of them.

The trio have also started raising funds before their expedition. So far, they have received $3,489 in donations by family, friends and strangers.

They aim to raise $5,364, which is the height they are attempting to reach (5,364 ft). This target amount includes the money they intend to raise during the trek itself.

So, how have they been preparing for the trip? Although they are all fit footballers, mountaineering is a different ball game. "We have been carrying 20kg loads up Bukit Timah hill three times every weekend for the past few weeks," said Siddiq. Each time, the training take two hours.

Despite the difficult task at hand, Surentheran explains that there is no such thing as failure. He said: "The amount of money made will be given to the underprivileged and the message is already widespread, with over 800 likes on our Facebook page. The money will definitely be able to change their living conditions. Although we can only do so much in a short period of time, hopefully we can teach them to help themselves afterwards."