Seven adventurers will brave desert, snow and rough terrain to travel a third of the world in a ‘junk’ car in order to help nursing home Dar Bjorn and children’s charity Anita’s Palace.
The Mongol Rally will see Paul Buhagiar, Romilyn Desira, Luke Desira, Jennifer Busuttil, Brunella Bugeja, Andrew Cremona and Nicholas Schembri attempt to drive from the Czech Republic to Mongolia in two small vehicles with a maximum engine capacity of 1000cc each.
There is no support and no set route – only 12,000km over rough terrain including mountains, desert and steppe, Ms Desira said.
Starting in July, the participants will be sleeping in camps, washing with wet wipes and rationing food and water, the 33-year-old added.
If your car breaks down in the middle of the desert, then you have no help whatsoever
The participants are seeking to raise €15,000 for Dar Bjorn and for Anita’s Palace, a non-profit organisation which helps under-privileged children in Kenya. The team is also raising money for Cool Earth, an NGO that supports anti-deforestation communities.
Many of them had heard about the challenge from before, but it wasn’t until Ms Busuttil approached Ms Desira that the team started to take shape.
“We decided to choose Dar Bjorn through our admiration of the man himself, Bjorn Formosa,” the group said.
“Instead of giving up and feeling sorry about his condition, Bjorn decided to act upon it and help others along the process of raising awareness on neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS),” they added.
Only around 30 per cent of those who take on the Mongol Rally complete the challenge, with many ending up having their cars break down during the process.
One of the cars that will be used by the team to travel 12,000km.“The biggest challenge is that you are on your own – if your car breaks down in the middle of the desert, then you have no help whatsoever,” Ms Desira said.
The team plans on completing the 12,000km trip in five weeks and preparations are under way to ensure the two cars are ready to take on the challenge.
The cars are being equipped with the necessary gear to take on the different terrains and the team is preparing itself for any obstacles they may encounter.
“We know the biggest challenge will be mental,” they said, adding they were ready to face disagreements and hiccups along the way.
A fundraising treasure hunt will be taking place on February 17.