Hi,

Thanks for visiting our fundraising page at Just Giving. You'll probably think we've gone completely crazy, when we say that we'd like to raise £3-5,000 between now and the middle of October for 'Send a Cow'. A charity that provides livestock and valuable farming advice to subsistence farmers in Africa - anything from a swarm of Bees, a clutch of Chickens, to a pair of Goats or even a Cow, which in turn then provides further income for the whole village.

In order to encourage you to donate, we have decided to take part in something we've never done before, a journey that will push us to the limit, something called the Mongol Rally.

A rally that will entail coaxing a 20 year old, clapped out Citroen 2CV called Moo Moo (which we've had to build out of two old cars), across 12 countries, 5 mountain ranges and 3 deserts - a journey of nearly 10,000 miles from London to Ulaan Baatar, with absolutely no mod cons, no back-up teams, in fact not very much at all. We'll be driving 14-16 hour days, sleeping in the car or camping by the side of the dirt tracks. We'll encounter lengthy Russian border crossings that will test the patience of a saint (apparently) and being stopped every 5 minutes by corrupt police patrols. It also highly likely that we'll be attacked by bandits in Kazakhstan and assuming we get there, possibly kidnapped by fighting rebels on the Uzbeck / Krygyz border.

And assuming the car actually makes the whole journey, Moo Moo will then be donated to another worthwhile cause, a Mongolian Women's Organic Farming Association - returning her to her roots, as she was originally designed to ferry French farmers and their produce to market each week.

On top of our journey, and your kind donations, we shall also be trying to raise more money by selling at Car Boot Sales, Cake Sales, Book stalls and finding business sponsors. So please do dig as deeply as you possibly can - as every Pound helps. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor us because 'Send a Cow' will receive your money direct, faster, and if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in Gift Aid Tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you. If you'd like to know more about the rally or would like to help us with fundraising, give Damian a call on 07979 597269 or Julia on 01243 770668, or visit our rally weblog at www.mongolrally.blogs.com or have a look at the charity's website at www.sendacow.org.uk and find out more. Many thanks for your support. Julia & Damian