A group of people from the Isle of Man are going to go on a 3,500km fundraising journey – in a rickshaw.
It’s all to raise money for Hospice Isle of Man.
The intrepid nine are Adam Callister, Fern Waters, Kaitlyn Rodgers, Rachel Murray and Kimberley Janye plus, from the Hospice fundraising team, Katherine Watling, Amy Senogles, Sam Waters and Ben Barlow.
Some of the group are travelling from Australia to do the trip but Adam and Fern are originally from the Isle of Man.
They will set off from the Isle of Man on Boxing Day, heading for India. They will travel from Kochi in Kerala, up the west coast of India, to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.
The trip starts in earnest on New Year’s Day.
They intend to travel between six to eight hours a day as part of a race.
The ‘race’ needs to be completed within 14 days. No accommodation is booked – they sleep somewhere along the route depending where they get to, No mechanical support is provided so they will learn how to fix a seven-horsepower rickshaw if they need to.
The team hopes to raise £3,000 between them all, with some of the funds going to protecting the rainforests – Coolearth {https://www.coolearth.org/|Click here to find out more}
The Australian team are also raising money for the Starlight Children’s Foundation, who work to brighten the lives of ill children and their families.
They have funded all the costs of getting to India via the UK and all costs attributed in taking part in this adventure, so all donations will go directly to Hospice, with a percentage to Coolearth.
To donate visit Just Giving {http://campaign.justgiving.com/charity/hospiceisleofman/TheRickshawRun|here}
Details of the trip are available from The Adventurists’ website on {http://www.theadventurists.com/rickshaw-run|here}
The event has been described as ‘easily the least sensible thing to do with two weeks’.
‘At each end of the Run is a party of earth shattering proportions but what is between them is all down to you. And luck - good or bad.’
‘There is no set route, no back-up, no way of knowing if you’re going to make it. The only certainty is that you will get lost, you will get stuck and you will break down.’
‘It’s just you and your mates in a wholly unsuitable vehicle, traversing the subcontinent enduring whatever s...t the road throws at you.”’
The people taking part have organised a couple of on-island events. They manned a stall at Hospice’s Christmas fair on Sunday 2 at Tynwald Mills marquee and they will also be holding an Indian night and another cake sale to raise even more funds for Hospice and Coolearth.
Mary thanked them for all their endeavours for the local charity
She added: ‘This will definitely be an adventure – they hope to raise £3,000 – if they do that will equate to over 10 days of care in our in-patient unit – roughly around the duration of the rickshaw run.
‘I think it will be amazing – thank you to them all.’