Midland Showjumping for VIVA

(Willie Quinn jumping at the show on May 3)

Midland Show Jumping is donating all entry fees from its four summer shows to VIVA. The shows which run on May 3rd, May 17th, June 21th and July 5th at the Sports Complex in Granard, Co. Longford are now a permanent fixture in the annual show jumping calendar.

VIVA would like to thank Midland Show Jumping and in particular, Brian Gormley and Oliver Durkin for their generous support.

Mike O'Leary Trust Travel Bursary 2009

(L to R - Frank O'Leary, Carmel Molloy and Sean O'Laoide (VIVA Chairman)

Today at a ceremony at the Veterinary College in UCD, Carmel Molloy, a third-year veterinary student from Thurles, Co. Tipperary, was presented with the Mike O’Leary Trust Travel Bursary for 2009. This is the fifth year of the Bursary which sponsors a veterinary student each year to spend a month working on one of VIVA’s overseas projects. The Mike O’Leary Trust was established to honour the memory of Kerry vet, Mike O’Leary. His family and friends have undertaken a number of fundraising initiatives over the years to raise funds for the Travel Bursary in addition to supporting the Irish NGO, GOAL and cardiomyopathy research. The O’Leary family was represented at today’s ceremony by Mike’s father, Frank O’Leary.

Carmel will spend a month in Uganda working with our partner there, Heifer Uganda, which will give her the opportunity to visit the VIVA-funded Koilei Amora Ican Animal Traction Project. One hundred and twenty eight families are being supported with the distribution of draft oxen, ploughs and carts. VIVA has committed € 80,000 over the next three years to this project. For more information visit our website http://www.viva.ie/

VIVA would again like to thank the Mike O’Leary Trust for their generous sponsorship of this unique initiative.

Women's Mini-Marathon 2009

(L to R - Anne Halligan, Laura Farrell, Morag White, Cynthia Geelan, Cathy Hawthorne)

This year, for the first time, VIVA had a team taking part in the Women's Mini-Marathon in Dublin with 17 supporters walking, jogging or running to raise funds for VIVA's Nepal programme. Since its inception in 1983 the event has grown to become the world's largest all-women sports event with over 40,000 participants each year. Charities are the big winners and it is now the biggest single day charity event in the country with over € 100m raised since 1983 for various charities.

Brendan Mimnagh and myself went along to Longford Railway Station to see off one group of participants, the Longford Animal Health Centre team. Cathy Hawthorne, Cynthia Geelan, Morag White, Anne Halligan and Laura Farrell (pictured below) looked resplendent in their new VIVA t-shirts. A big thank-you to all the women who ran for VIVA. If you would like to register for next year's team please contact me on mike@viva.ie