Audrey Roofeh and Paul Hanson, dba Team Newyorkistan, need your help to raise money for Mercy Corps Scotland.

This is the deal: Paul and Audrey are the only New Yorkers taking part in the 2006 Mongol Rally - a rally that starts in London, and continues over 15 countries, 5 mountain ranges, two deserts - all in a crap car with no back up team - and (wait for it) - it's for charity! Yes! That's why you're here at our fundraising page!

Thanks to your help, Paul and Audrey will be bringing not just a total banger of a car to Mongolia, but also relief to those who need it.  Our wonderful donors have already helped us reach GBP 396 for a great charity "Send A Cow," and now we need your help for relief work that directly aids, well, the country that we're about to invade.  here are the details:

About Mercy Corps, in their own words:

Our charity was founded in 1990 under the name Scottish European Aid in response to the plight of children in Romanian orphanages. In 1992 we expanded our work to Bosnia, to start reconstruction work on houses and vital infrastructure, such as roads, public buildings, electricity and water supplies.

In 1996 we merged with Mercy Corps Europe, becoming the European headquarters for the international Mercy Corps network. This merger helped us to extend our worldwide reach, and work alongside communities in Central and South Asia, Africa and Russia.

As Mercy Corps Scotland, we have managed to help millions more families and individuals. However, our goals and vision to provide people with the just and secure communities which they deserve has never changed.

Our aim is "to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people all over the world build secure, productive and just communities". The need for this work has become increasingly apparent in recent times.

We achieve this goal in three ways:
Development work
Creating a civil society
Emergency relief work

Our projects respond directly to community-identified needs with creative programmes designed according to local culture and economic, social and political realities. These projects include education projects in Eritrea, creating clean water supplies in Tajikistan, rebuilding hospitals in Afghanistan and empowering local organisations in Russia. To find out more about our projects, click on our World programmes.

As part of the Mercy Corps family - an agency with 7 partners around the world - we have wide-ranging experience in over 30 countries worldwide. We pool our resources and knowledge in order to focus on what really matters…creating secure, productive and just communities.

For more information about Team Newyorkistan, visit our website at www.newyorkistan.org, our ridiculous blog at www.mongolrally06.blogspot.com, and of course, the official Mongol Rally website - www.mongolrally.co.uk

Thanks!