Patricia White
Shill-Long Way To Go... The Rickshaw Run page
Fundraising for The Batemans Trust
Story
Insane. Ridiculous. Suicidal?
In August 2016, the three of us, Nikki, Oscar and Alex will
embark of one of the maddest challenges we could think of…The Rickshaw Run. This arduous 3 week, 3500km journey that traverses the entire length of India in the famous 7 horse-powered Tuk Tuk. This will be no easy trip. With no set route, no back-up and no way of knowing if we’re going to make it. The only certainty is that we will get lost and break down repeatedly. We will be battling India’s rule less roads, torturous pot holes, murderous lorries - all in the height of monsoon season. We will be covering all the costs of getting there and our aim is to raise £1000 for two well deserving charities: The Batemans Trust and Cool Earth. We are asking for your help - for any advice or support that you could offer, to help us survive this mammoth task.
The Team
Nikki, Oscar and Alex met at Bristol University and here the hair-brained task was hatched. None of us have any mechanical experience, or come to think of it… any practical skills or experiences to help us.
The Task
Now Indian roads are not known for their smooth tarmac or surfaces so to make things more interesting we will be travelling for the 3 weeks These autorickshaws, affectionately known as glorified lawnmowers, have a meaty 7 horsepower engine under the bonnet of the three-wheeled tin can.
The Adventurists sum up the trip quite well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLOQQ7ge_0Q
The Charities
The Batemans Trust is an Indian charity that supports disadvantaged children in southern India. It is a small charity that has close ties to Alex’s family and for a challenge in India it was the obvious choice. The Batemans Trust support the most disadvantaged children and young people in Chennai. By providing safe accommodation, food, healthcare,
education and vocational training, the trust gives these children the power to change their lives and the lives of the people around them. Once they are employed they are able to support their families and end the cycle of poverty for future generations.
Without this care, these children and their families will continue to live a life of hardship with few prospects and little hope. The trust provides a huge range of different services to children at local schools as well as providing school fees, school uniforms and text books. The children are also taught additional skills such as training in tailoring and computing. For their health each child has a nutritional diet, a constant supply of clean water, nursing care, regular dental check-ups and improved sanitation facilities. The trust also offers a wide range of extracurricular activities, computer facilities, new clothes at Christmas, annual outings, sporting equipment and props and sets for drama and musical productions. They make a huge difference towards the quality of life of the children and as a small charity any contributions can have a very large effect.
Cool Earth is a conservation charity that works with indigenous villages to protect the destruction of the rainforest. They operate over three different continents.
Local people stand to lose the most from deforestation but
the most to gain from its protection. As such, they are the forest’s best
possible custodians. Cool Earth partnerships are community-owned and led – an approach that research is continually proving to be the most effective way to keep rainforest standing. By developing local livelihoods, Cool Earths mission is to end the cycle of deforestation entrenching villages into further poverty. Creating strong, self-determining communities – not dependency.