Walking Across Asia
American Trekking across Asia reaches Vientiane
The US Embassy to Laos hosted a special charity walkathon on Saturday to raise funds for reconstructive surgery for children born with cleft lip or cleft palate conditions in underdeveloped countries.
The fundraising walk began at That Dam in Vientiane and ended at the That Luang stupa. It was led by US Ambassador to
Laos Ms Karen Stewart and Mr Winston Fiore, a young American who is walking 5,000 miles across Asia. Participants in the walk included members of the American community in Vientiane as well as people from American alumni associations.
Mr Fiore, 26, whose next stop is Vietnam, left Vientiane on foot on Saturday. He was passing through Laos before setting off on his ‘Smile Trek’, an extreme walk that will take him across Southeast Asia and from which he hopes to raise money and create awareness for the International Children’s Surgical Foundation (ICSF).
ICSF provides free corrective pro bono reconstructive surgery in developing countries, to train doctors methodically, and over time, enable them to treat their own patients and train their own students.
Taking him across Malaysia, Brunei, Laos and the Philippines, the rigorous trek will take Mr Fiore about 11 months to complete.
Mr Fiore said "I started off from Singapore on October 3 and made my way to Vientiane, arriving here on Monday. Now I’ve had a short break and managed to get my Chinese visa. I asked some staff at the American Embassy if they would be willing to join me for the first couple of miles as I set off for my next stop, Hanoi. I will complete one big circle, from Singapore to Laos and then to Hanoi, across South East China and then back down to Chinese Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and then back to Singapore. I like this city and so far my impressions of Vientiane have been great. Compared to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, it’s the most tranquil capital I’ve been to; it’s so nice and relaxing, full of good vibes and the food is absolutely delicious."
If anyone would like to learn more about Mr Fiore’s ‘Smile Trek’ or donate to its cause, please feel free to visit
Smile Trek and ICSF on www.smiletrek.org
Mr Fiore hopes to raise US$50,000 from his walk and has so far managed to collect about US$30,000.
