Thank you!
We made it! From Northern Ireland to Mongolia through 11 countries we successfully delivered the van and its contents to Ulaan Baatar. It wouldn't have been possible without the support of friends, family and sponsors - so a heart-felt thank you to you all!
Handing over the van in Ulaan Baatar
Brightening up the day of some orphans in UB
Van in the Mongolian Desert
Which way now?
Team "Driven Mad"
Two lads from Northern Ireland have undertaken what can only be described as a mad 10,000-mile drive from Lisburn in Northern Ireland to Ulaan Baatar in Mongolia via Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan Almaty in Kazakhstan, and all for charity.
Ed Booth who works at Lisburn and Hillsborough Tourist Information Centres and his equally mad co-driver CAD designer Austin McVeigh set off in July 2010 on a gruelling adventure nearly half-way round the world to donate their vehicle and it's contents to children’s charities in central Asia.
| We've already begun preparing the van for it's journey from Northern Ireland to the remote Republic of Kyrgyzstan and then on to Mongolia. We will filling the van with clothing and bedding such as cot mattresses for the orphanages there. |
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Ed says “The first thing we had to do was find Mongolia on a map! We have a lot of planning to do for the trip. It will be a month’s driving through a dozen countries, over mountain ranges and finally across the Gobi Desert to reach our goal.” |
The boys are looking for commercial or private sponsorship for the charities – no donation too small or large. The vehicle will be auctioned off in Kyrgyzstan or Mongolia and the proceeds given to the local charities. Additional sponsorship will go to Alpha Communities, Go Help and Save the Children in Mongolia.
If you’d like to donate any money, equipment (or even a commercial vehicle or ambulance you don’t need) please show your support. We'd love to hear from you.
What's New?
Last update 25 August 2010
24 August 2010: We made it! We delivered the van and its contents, raised loads of money for charityand had some adventures on the way! See the blog for details. We'll update this home page with morephotos and stories very soon.
27 June 2010: Not long to go - we set off on 9th July. We're making the final preparations to the van and hoping that all the visa arrive back in time!
13 June 2010: Thanks to everyone who came to our afternoon tea room in Hillsborough yeaterday. (And thanks too to Linda, Noleen and Michelle for all their hard work on the day!)
30 May 2010: Looks like the recent political unrest in Kyrgyzstan hasn't died down enough for us to visit Bishkek :( Not to worry though - the capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty is only a hundred miles away and will serve as a good waypoint.
7 May 2010: We got some great coverage in the Ulster Star Newspaper.
20 April 2010: A huge Thank You to everyone who made our fund raising evening on Saturday 17th such a big success. We raised lots of money for charity and made some great contacts, as well as catching up with friends and having a lot of fun!
9 April 2010: Twitter feed added to blog page
6 April 2010: Preparations are under way for our evening event in Hillsborough - all welcome!
20 February 2010: We've found our vehicle - a 1996 Mitsubishi L300 van!
16 January 2010: Our next fund raising event will be on 17th April 2010 - an evening in Hillsborough Old Courthouse - please come along!
28th November 2009: A big thank you to all who supported us at our stall at the Hillsborough Christmas Fair today!
29th October 2009: This website's new for a start! We're still looking for our vehicle, and as much sponsorship as we can raise.
Contact us
Links:
Donate online to Go Help who organise the Mongolia Charity Rally, who arrange for the import and donation of our vehicle.
Mongolia Charity Rally website
Place your Amazon order via this link and the Go Help charity get 5%
