UK teachers pulling their tuk tuk in Peru desert

UK teachers pulling their tuk tuk in Peru desert for world record

Click for big version.

International education campaigner Nick Gough hauling the broken down tuk tuk in the Sechura Desert, Northern Peru. With his colleague Richard Sears of Tuk Tuk Travels the two teachers from the UK are traveling the world in a tuk tuk. They have overtaken the current world record for the longest journey in a tuk tuk while crossing Northern Peru. The two teachers have travelled 37,500km around the world, supporting grassroots education projects in Africa, Asia and will finish in Brazil. 22 November 2013 Repro free (Tuk Tuk Travels). Media enquiries toworldreachpr@gmail.com

Here is a link to photos of two UK teachers who have overtaken the current world record in Peru for the longest journey in a tuk tuk. The ended up pulling the tuk tuk in the Peruvian desert due to break down.
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=112935015156493734927&target=ALBUM&id=5868910749687977025&authkey=Gv1sRgCIKGuNDZnu3BRw&feat=email

Richard Sears and Nick Gough have travelled 37,500 km around the world and passed through 37 countries, supporting grassroots education projects in Africa, Asia and South America.

After trying and failing to fix the tuk tuk on numerous occasions in Northern Peru, Rich and Nick were resigned to the fact that they would be unlikely to be able to continue their expedition beyond Lima. So when the tuk tuk broke for the umpteenth time and were only 70km from the world record mark, they decided to push it that way (800kg of tuk tuk, pushed 70km over 3 days). On arrival in Chepen they discovered a mechanic who specialised in our type of vehicle and who managed to fix it! So now they back on the road and aiming for our next goal - covering the circumference of the earth and becoming the first people to drive a tuk tuk around the world. They plan to pass that milestone in Northern Chile next weekend. 

Peru & world record next for UK education campaigners in a tuk tuk traveling the world 

Two teachers from the UK have overtaken the current world record (1) for the longest journey in a tuk tuk / auto-rickshaw while crossing Northern Peru. Educational campaigners Nick Gough and Richard Sears have travelled 37,500km around the world, supporting grassroots education projects in Africa, Asia and South America and raising awareness for the Global Campaign for Education. The final leg through South America will involve negotiating the cold temperatures, high altitude and narrow roads of the Andes before reaching the finish line in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in December.

Nick and Richard set out from London on 13th August 2012 and have now passed through 37 countries. They have had to tackle deserts and jungles, pushing the tuk tuk for hundreds of kilometres through deep sand and thick mud. They survived close encounters with elephants in Uganda and Botswana, and an accident in Malaysia when a truck ploughed into the back of them. The greatest toll on the tuk tuk has been the mountain ranges lying in their path, including the Alps, the Himalayas and the Andes.

Nick and Richard have uncovered some inspirational projects across Africa, Asia and South America, and have witnessed firsthand the extent of the educational challenges facing these areas today.  They have joined street children in the slums of Cairo, Khartoum, Kampala, Mumbai and Phnom Penh; visited Congolese refugees in camps in Eastern Burundi and met Colombian refugees fighting to forge a new life in Ecuador; seen how education can help foster peace and reconciliation in Rwanda after meeting two young genocide survivors in Kigali; and witnessed how education can empower sex-workers in Delhi, and victims of human trafficking in Nepal.

The pair established The Tuk Tuk Educational Trust, a UK registered charity, in conjunction with their endeavour. 

As part of its pioneering donation system, supporters of the charity will be able to donate to or fundraise for particular education projects highlighted via short films shot and produced throughout the expedition - 100% of donations go directly to these projects.  On the macro level, the pair are raising awareness for the Global Campaign for Education. By talking at schools and universities they are seeking to engage students in developmental debate, particularly concerning the role of education in this process.

The team has elected to travel around the world in a tuk tuk in order to take advantage of its slow-paced, open and friendly nature to explore and unlock different cultures and communities, learning about and from their values, struggles, inspirations and ambitions. The vehicle itself is iconic, exhilarating, eye-catching and engaging. No-one has ever succeeded in travelling around the world in a tuk tuk before.

Nick commented about the adventure: “Although there have been many testing times, we have been privileged to experience such wonderful places and meet some truly remarkable individuals.”

Talking about their motivation, Richard said:  “The World’s leaders have made a commitment to achieving universal primary education by 2015 but, despite this pledge, over 57 million primary-aged children worldwide are still out of school; many more are in school, though still cannot access quality learning opportunities.”

The expedition - sponsored by Cardiff University and DSV Global Transport and Logistics - has been no easy task for the Tuk Tuk Travels team. 

Keep up to date with the team’s progress:
http://www.tuktuktravels.com/
http://www.facebook.com/TukTukTravels
https://twitter.com/TukTukTravels

(1) While the team have now overtaken the current world record for the longest journey in an auto-rickshaw, they will not officially break the Guinness World Record until their expedition is complete and verified. The current record (37,410km) was set by Susi Bemsel and Daniel Snaider, both from Germany, in 2005.

Ends

© Scoop Media