Come Saturday May 23, 2009, 50 members of Team Hope will line up at the start of the fifth annual Rainbow Cup International Triathlon in Tobago.

Their goal is to raise $5,000 each, or $250,000, to assist the Caribbean Kids and Families Therapy Organisation (CKFTO), a non-profit body with a mandate to operate a therapy centre to serve children and families with special needs regardless of income or ability to pay.

Driving force behind the fund-raiser is Lesley Garcia, a qualified occupational therapist, and Board member of CKFTO, who joined with other friends to take up the challenge of recruiting ordinary people and training them to finish the Rainbow Cup triathlon.

The initiative, which will include people who have never done a triathlon (swim/cycle/run) event in their lives before, is dubbed ’Team Hope--How Ordinary People do Extraordinary things’.  

Garcia said her experience training for a marathon with ’Team in Training’ in the US has given her the confidence to establish Team Hope. 

’Using this model we hope to promote CKFTO, encourage a healthy lifestyle among ordinary people and build a community of people who are knowledgeable about and work for children with special needs,’ she added.

The initiative was launched last month at La Trattoria Guiliano’s Restaurant on Tragarete Road, Port of Spain, to give some details of how it would work.

Invitees, 16 of whom signed up on the first day, found out they would start training for the next seven months for the Sprint Triathlon--750-metre swim/20km cycle/5km run-- beginning November 1, with former nine-times national triathlon champion Jason Gooding and Olympic swimmer Sebastian Paddington, who will be donating their time free of charge.

By October 15, those taking up the challenge must return their  membership form plus $100 (which goes towards their $5,000 sponsorship).

On October 18, members will collect their packages of T-shirt etc and meet their teammates and some of the children with special needs at NALIS, in Port of Spain.

Other events leading up to the Big Day will include the Chancellor Run on November 29; the Penal Duathlon and 5km on December 14; the CLICO 5k on January 29; the Suez Energy Challenge in March; the UTC Ribbons of Hope 5k in April; and then the Big One, on May 23.

Those interested can contact Lesley Garcia at 784-0405 or lesleygarcia8@gmail.com; Sara Stephens at 722-3828 sarastephens@gmail.com; Nicole de Freitas 685-0542; Lou-Ann Maharaj 468-1082 louannmaharaj9@gamil.com; or Helen Pounder 694-2180/622-7253 hmp2004@hotmail.com or check on Facebook for Team Hope.