AP - Thursday, January 10
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Three Americans and a Briton, after traveling through 21 countries, have arrived in Cambodia by means of two unlikely vehicles - the much maligned Trabant cars produced by the former East Germany.
Throughout their six-month journey, their cars broke down some 320 times. But despite the odds, they reached Cambodia in their quest to raise money for street children in this impoverished Southeast Asian nation.
The Trabant, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, is made mostly of plastic and has a top speed of 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour. Its considerable deficiencies have long been the butt of jokes.
John Lovejoy, a 26-year-old American who is the team leader, said Wednesday that the journey has so far raised US$16,000 (euro 10,880), still far short of the original target of US$300,000 (euro 204,000).
He said the money will be given to Mith Samlanh and M'Lop Tapang, two non-governmental organizations working with street children in Cambodia.
"We're passionate about this cause and knew we'd have to take an unusual spin on traditional fundraising tactics to really get the word out," said Lovejoy, from Washington, D.C.
The trip started out in Germany in July last year. It initially included eight people from Europe and the United States, but four dropped out along the way due to problems with the vehicles.
He said that on some days the cars had to be fixed up to 10 times.
The group traveled the cities of Europe, the desert of Turkmenistan, the mountains of Tajikistan, the Kazakh steppe and Siberia during winter, said Dan Murdoch, a 25-year-old Briton from London.
Last month, his team made it across China, spent Christmas and New Year in Laos before arriving in Cambodia via Thailand on Monday, Murdoch said.
"The last few weeks have been really challenging, the cars have been giving us a lot of grief," he said.
After traveling more than 26,000 kilometers (16,100 miles), the group left Phnom Penh Wednesday for Sihanoukville, Cambodia's coastal city, to continue their fundraising and enjoy the beach after the tough trip.
Throughout their six-month journey, their cars broke down some 320 times. But despite the odds, they reached Cambodia in their quest to raise money for street children in this impoverished Southeast Asian nation.
The Trabant, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, is made mostly of plastic and has a top speed of 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour. Its considerable deficiencies have long been the butt of jokes.
John Lovejoy, a 26-year-old American who is the team leader, said Wednesday that the journey has so far raised US$16,000 (euro 10,880), still far short of the original target of US$300,000 (euro 204,000).
He said the money will be given to Mith Samlanh and M'Lop Tapang, two non-governmental organizations working with street children in Cambodia.
"We're passionate about this cause and knew we'd have to take an unusual spin on traditional fundraising tactics to really get the word out," said Lovejoy, from Washington, D.C.
The trip started out in Germany in July last year. It initially included eight people from Europe and the United States, but four dropped out along the way due to problems with the vehicles.
He said that on some days the cars had to be fixed up to 10 times.
The group traveled the cities of Europe, the desert of Turkmenistan, the mountains of Tajikistan, the Kazakh steppe and Siberia during winter, said Dan Murdoch, a 25-year-old Briton from London.
Last month, his team made it across China, spent Christmas and New Year in Laos before arriving in Cambodia via Thailand on Monday, Murdoch said.
"The last few weeks have been really challenging, the cars have been giving us a lot of grief," he said.
After traveling more than 26,000 kilometers (16,100 miles), the group left Phnom Penh Wednesday for Sihanoukville, Cambodia's coastal city, to continue their fundraising and enjoy the beach after the tough trip.
2 comments:
The Cambodian government needs to curb pollution and traffic congestion in the city, including getting these trash and rubbish out of our country.
Hi,
My name is Dan Murdoch, and i'm one of the Trekkers.
Interesting comment above. I agree that dealing with pollution should be near the top of people's agenda.
But i think some things need to be put into prespective. Surely trying to do our bit to help child poverty in Cambodia is worth having our "trash and rubbish" cars driving across the country for a few days?
We've now made it to the beach town of Sihanoukville, and ended our trip.
It has been an amazing experience, with plenty of highs and lows.
You can see the route we have taken, as well as a wealth of information about the cars, along with blogs, photos and videos on our website:
www.trabanttrek.org
You can also donate, all money raised goes straight to Mith Samlanh Friends and M'Lop Tapang, to help them continue their magnificent work.
Dan
Post a Comment