Raj Bavishi
Raj & Jim's Amazing Adventure
Fundraising for Veerayatan UK
Story
On 5 August, Jim and I will leave from Chennai and brave the Indian 'roads' and attempt to win the Indian Autorickshaw Challenge 2007 (http://www.indianarc.com) by being the first team to reach Mumbai, nearly 2000km away. All in under 12 days.
We will be driving an auto-rickshaw which has a hare-like top speed of 50km/hr and doing our best to avoid cows in the road, ditches either side of the road and on-coming lorries and buses which will literally have people hanging out of the windows like monkeys.
Unlike participants last year, we intend to suffer no nights of 'delhi-belly', get in no accidents and come back with all our faculties still in full working order.
No. We're not crazy. Well, only a little bit. We are actually taking part to raise funds for a school I am going to be teaching at from 16 July called Veerayatan Vidyapeeth (http://www.veerayatan.org/5d01.htm ). Some of you will have heard of it, most of you probably won't. It was setup following the earthquake in Gujurat in 2001 and has been hailed by many independent sources as an amazing success.
The New York Times hailed it as "the biggest, most honest and best organised private effort to provide stopgap schools for children in the state of earthquake-torn Gujurat", while a 2001 UNICEF report noted that "demand for schools is so great that Veerayatan is opening one new school almost daily. The total number of children in Veerayatan schools has swelled to 7,000".
Since then, the size of the operation has grown massively and the more funds they have, the more children, many of whom were left orphaned by the earthquake, they can help.
So please, dig deep. Whether you are in a job, taking some time out or still studying, reflect on the your own schooling and remember you are one of the lucky ones that received a decent education. 100% of the money raised goes directly to the charity as Jim and I have covered all our own expenses for the race.
It is so easy to take for granted that which we have received; surely it cannot be that hard to help others receive the very same.
So again, please give generously and we'll see you when we get back.
Raj & Jim
We will be driving an auto-rickshaw which has a hare-like top speed of 50km/hr and doing our best to avoid cows in the road, ditches either side of the road and on-coming lorries and buses which will literally have people hanging out of the windows like monkeys.
Unlike participants last year, we intend to suffer no nights of 'delhi-belly', get in no accidents and come back with all our faculties still in full working order.
No. We're not crazy. Well, only a little bit. We are actually taking part to raise funds for a school I am going to be teaching at from 16 July called Veerayatan Vidyapeeth (http://www.veerayatan.org/
The New York Times hailed it as "the biggest, most honest and best organised private effort to provide stopgap schools for children in the state of earthquake-torn Gujurat", while a 2001 UNICEF report noted that "demand for schools is so great that Veerayatan is opening one new school almost daily. The total number of children in Veerayatan schools has swelled to 7,000".
Since then, the size of the operation has grown massively and the more funds they have, the more children, many of whom were left orphaned by the earthquake, they can help.
So please, dig deep. Whether you are in a job, taking some time out or still studying, reflect on the your own schooling and remember you are one of the lucky ones that received a decent education. 100% of the money raised goes directly to the charity as Jim and I have covered all our own expenses for the race.
It is so easy to take for granted that which we have received; surely it cannot be that hard to help others receive the very same.
So again, please give generously and we'll see you when we get back.
Raj & Jim
P.S. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Veerayatan UK will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.