Officials from the 2016 ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf have presented a US$700,000 donation from tournament proceeds to The Handa Foundation following the success of last year’s event.
Joined by ISPS Handa patron and former New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, the donation was made to The Handa Foundation’s management team at the Handa Medical Center in Battambang, Cambodia.
“On behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours, it is an honor to not only make this contribution to The Handa Foundation, but to also be here and see, first hand, the meaningful impact that this foundation is having,” said Tournament Director Robyn Cooper.
“The motto of the ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf has been to promote international goodwill through golf. Today, making this donation and being here to see its impact, is a fantastic example of how this event is delivering on this vision which was created more than 60 years ago.”
John Key said: “It is a privilege, as the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, to once again be back in Cambodia. I am excited to experience first-hand the tremendous contribution that's been made by The Handa Foundation to improve the lives of so many people in this country.”
In 2012, Dr. Haruhisa Handa founded The Handa Foundation, which has been registered in the Kingdom of Cambodia, United Kingdom and United states. Its mission is to build sustainable hospitals, schools, farms and sports centres in Southeast Asia.
Two of the foundations largest programs are the Handa Medical Center and the 109-bed emergency hospital located adjacent to it. The hospital is the largest of its kind in the country and is located in a region that remains heavily effected by landmines left from decades of war.
The hospital provides care for more than 1,200 traffic and landmine accident victims each month and, since it opened in 1998, it has treated approximately half of the country’s 50,000 landmine survivors.
The foundation also benefits from partnerships with Curtin University, Australia, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, Stanford University, USA, and a joint farming project with USAID.
Kevin O’Brien, Country Director of The Handa Foundation, said: “I could not be more excited about this donation from the International Federation of PGA Tours. The game of golf has the ability to bring people together and harness their good will in amazing ways. I wish everyone who was a part of the World Cup in Melbourne could have been here today to celebrate this incredibly generous donation.”
Denmark won the 2016 ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf for the first time in the 58th staging of the event, as Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen claimed a thrilling four-shot victory at Kingston Heath Golf Club. The Danes had been a dominant force all week; with a stunning round of 60 in the fourballs in the second round helping them carry a four-shot lead into a final day where they played the same format.
In addition to the donation, the tournament also provided financial assistance to its two local charity partners in Australia, the Starlight Foundation and Monash Children’s Hospital.
