16,000km to Mongolia for Charity – in an Ambulance

16,000km to Mongolia for Charity – in an Ambulance

Two kiwi lads have decided to "go for a drive" to deliver an ambulance for children in Mongolia.

Ilya Skaler is a commercial lawyer at a Wellington law firm. Phill Derecourt is from Ngaruawahia, and is living in Dublin working as a pastry designer. Both are in their mid-20's, and have set up Team Haerenga because they wanted to do something for charity.

Ilya says: "we really are very lucky here in New Zealand. But there are places like Mongolia where life is pretty hard. We really want to do our bit to help people, and to make it interesting."

And so, in July this year, Team Haerenga will drive from London to Ulanbataar in Mongolia in an ambulance to raise money for the Children's Development Centre in Mongolia. The Centre needs an ambulance for a mobile health clinic, and money for first aid equipment. The journey will take them 16,000 km across western Europe, past the Black sea, into the central steppes of Usbekistan and Kazahstan, and finally through the Gobi Desert into Mongolia. "We will be driving for about seven weeks" says Phill. When they arrive, they'll present the ambulance to the Centre. Ilya says "the ambulance has three seats, so if anyone else wants to come on an adventure of a lifetime, get in touch!"

To pay for the ambulance, which the pair is buying in Ireland, they have set an ambitious target and set about some hard work in fundraising. Phill has raised almost $1000 by running his first marathon - he says "I couldn't walk properly for two weeks afterwards".

What they are really hoping for is a corporate sponsor that could help pay for the ambulance: "this could be great publicity for someone".

You can follow Team Haerrenga's progress, contact them, or make a donation, through their webpage: mongolia.charityrallies.org/haerenga.

ENDS

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