Liz's Rickshaw Run Blog, Mapusa, Goa
Booking the Rickshaw run the day I discovered it, I then had to learn to drive, pick a charity, raise money for said charity, save up book flights, visa etc and find a team. Picking a charity, wasn't as easy as one would think, I could of chosen a big charity from my own country, where i’d feel the money raised would be lost. Also it made more sense to give back to the country that I was actually going to be visiting.
The rest of the world, is fully aware of the poverty that many Indian people endure, the thought of actually seeing children in poverty, was gut wrenching, this was our opportunity to try make a difference, in the best way we can, by giving money to an established charity. So the hunt was on for a grass roots charity that supports underprivileged children in India. After coming across the website for Goa Outreach, I knew we had to support them, and all the vital work they do. I spoke with Rob, from Goa outreach who was very supportive, and invited us to meet with the children on our way through India.
On 22nd August, after 9 days of driving around 2000km across in a Rickshaw that often didnt get over 10-20km, on questionable roads, facing head on everything India has to offer, we made it to Goa Outreach.
Meeting the children was fantastic, I recognised some of them from the Goa outreach website, we played games and the children showed us there Bollywood dance routines, made up sketches for us; that involved fighting with the police at the road check points, which we thought was hilarious and I’m hoping untrue and just an excuse to be boisterous. The children (all 40 of them) jumped on the rickshaw for drive up the hill, once we got we had to have a serious team discussion, as we had another 700kms left in the race, we should probably not give them a lift back, try as we might, they ended up all getting on for a ride back down.
It was time to say goodbye, for now and we will definitely be following the charity in the future
Rickshaw Run 2018 - The Rickshaw Ravers, Mapusa, Goa
We were delighted to be contacted by Liz a month ago, who along with her team mates Paul and James make up the team called Rickshaw Ravers. Liz told us about their plan to drive across India in a Rickshaw for charity. Their chosen charity for the adventure was Goa Outreach.
The Rickshaw run is a race across India with no set route, back-up and no way of knowing if you're going to make it. The team is travelling in a 3 wheeled vehicle not known for its comfort or sturdiness, but that just adds to the fun (I’m told). The only certainty is that they will get lost, they will get stuck, they will break down. So why would you do it? Along with the chosen charity of the Rickshaw run, participants are asked to raise money for their chosen charity; and with the adventure the teams need to take care and responsibility for the world around them. Also at the end of the run there is to be a "party of earth shattering proportions"
The team is hoping to stop by Goa Outreach on their trip from Jaisalmer in Rajisthan to Bengaluru in Karnataka which is roughly just over 2000 kilometres. On Wednesday the 22nd of August towards the end of their run, the team met up with a group of around 40 children for a little chat and a few games. The children had a great time meeting the team on a sunny afternoon in the park inspecting the Rickshaw from every angle before the team headed off to the finish line and the earth shattering party that awaits.
We wish the team the best success and hopefully a breakdown-free last stretch. Thank you to Liz, Paul and James for their support and thanks to Papu, Acchelal and Vipul for helping out on the day.