On Thursday 1st January 2015, to mark the start of the new year, Fran, Luc, Helly, Adam, Ant and Ross will be setting off into the unknown from Kochi, Southern India with the aim of reaching Jaisalmer, North West India, Rajasthan in two weeks.
Our method of transport is probably the most ill-suited vehicle for this kind of race and terrain and has been known to be called a glorified lawnmower…..The humble rickshaw. If you have ever had the pleasure of riding in one of these you will know that they are incredibly prone to breaking down, extremely noisy, unbelievably uncomfortable and not remotely suited to adverse weather conditions be it really hot or really cold and rainy.
There’s no set route, no support vehicle or back-up and no guarantee we’re actually going to make it. The only certainties are that we will get lost, we will get stuck, we will get delhi belly and we will break down! The distance is approximately 3,500 km or if you're still using old money that’s 2,000 miles. To put it into perspective it’s the equivalent of driving from London to Moscow in a vehicle which rarely reaches an impressive top speed of 30mph on some of the most dangerous roads in the world.
Are we out of our minds?! Probably.
Were we sober when we signed up? No.
Did we realise we would be driving for about 10 hours a day in a tin can? Definitely not.
Did we know how much distance we would have to cover? No.
But…….Are we going to raise lots of money for charity? Yes, Yes, Yes.
And….Are we going to have the most exciting adventure of our lives. Yes!
So who are we supporting?
Between us we’ve selected 5 charities very dear to our hearts which we hope will benefit significantly from our efforts.
In their own words "We know that saving the rainforest isn’t a new idea. Managing to do it is." Cool Earth are out to halt rainforest deforestation but going about it a different way, by putting the indigenous people back in control. The people who have lived there for endless genrations.
The Royal Marsden Cancer Trust
It is hard to find a single person who is not affected in someway by Cancer. The Royal Marsden is a world-leading cancer centre specialising in diagnosis, treatment, care, education and research. The doctors and nurses at the Royal Marsden are World Class. They strive for excellence and ceaselessly work to find ways to improve the lives of those people living with cancer.
FISCH stands for Future for Iringa Street Children. They work in some of the poorest areas of Tanzania to help children living on the streets. In Iringa, 24% of 0 - 18 year olds are either orphans or vunerable children.
Shivia work in India providing individuals and families the tools and training to help lift themselves above the poverty line. One third of the world's poor live in India and 70% of India's population live on less than $2 US Dollars per day. Shivia look at giving people sustainable income through enterprise. Offering training in agriculture productivity and farming so that they can be in control of their own income.
The Rowan Varey Memorial Fund came about in response to many generous donations made by those who had come into contact with Rowan Varey. A 12 year old girl who sadly passed away in 2002 from leukemia. Rowan's parents, Dave and Angie, then set their mind on a long term project for these donations, building and supporting a boarding school for deaf children in Uganda, many of whom are orphaned by war and AIDs.
Watch out for more information on each charity as we update our blog!
We are well aware that you are asked to hand over your hard earned cash all the time. But, we would be extremely grateful if you could find the cash and spare the time to make a donation to our fundraising page and help us raise as much money as we possibly can for our chosen charities. This really is a once in a lifetime experience and, as we’ve learnt since we signed up, definitely not a holiday! ALL costs from flights to petrol will be funded by ourselves so you can rest assured that every single penny you donate goes directly to these great charities.
If you want to follow us more closely we are also on twitter and facebook. Thanks for all your support.
And remember… Eat. Sleep. Rickshaw. Repeat.