ALL MONEY DONATED GOES DIRECT TO OPERATION SMILE AND DOES NOT TOUCH THE INSIDES OF OUR POCKETS!

Take the smallest and least practical vehicle available in an entire continent and throw it at some of the most ridiculous and least hospitable terrain on our good earth. From the driest desert in the world, to the most dangerous road in the world, to the biggest rainforest in the world the Mototaxi Junket is rarefied adventure in a handy 2 week-so-you-won't-get-fired punch in the guts.

The machine of choice is the humble Mototaxi. Invented in Peru and not really perfected anywhere. Built from a motorbike and a few bits of pipe these hardy little ferrets are designed for pootling around the back streets of cities. Which makes them perfect for dirt tracks, waist high mud, the Andes and sand dunes.

Starting in Peru and finishing up in Asunción, the difficult side of the Chaco region around 4000km later. The adventure kicks off on the 24th of October and finishesAsunción the capital of Paraguay on the 7th of November. Is it possible to get so far in such small machines over such completely ridiculous terrain? Who knows, but that is exactly why you need to help us find out.

 

Operation Smile provides free reconstructive surgery to children and young adults suffering from facial deformities. Clefts are the 3rd most common birth defect worldwide and it is estimated that a baby is born every 2½ minutes with a cleft which can affect their ability to breathe, eat, drink and speak. James and I will be supporting Operation Smile projects in Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay.

 

Here in the UK, most cleft cases are repaired in the first year of a child’s life, however in the developing world, families are often too poor and many do not even know treatment is available for them. Over 75% of cleft cases in the developing world go untreated, often resulting in children living a lifetime of isolation, unable to go to school, make friends and distanced from their communities and all because of a facial deformity that can be repaired in as little as 45 minutes and for only £150.

Since its foundation in 1982, Operation Smile has grown to be one of the largest volunteering organisations of it’s kind. Working with a team of more than 5,000 medical volunteers in 51 countries, Operation Smile has changed the lives of over 120,000 children.

Partnering with local hospitals, Operation Smile provides all the medical equipment and supplies needed to ensure that every patient receives the same standard of care as they would in the western world. Operation Smile also provides free training and education programmes to local experts to ensure our work continues all year-round.

Here is a video about a project in India, very soon this is will be replaced with a video from South America. Find out more at http://www.operationsmile.org.uk/

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