Details about the Rally
So What's the Story?
The Mongolia Charity Rally is the only 100% charity rally to Mongolia. All proceeds from your entry fees, to your donations, to the vehicle you drive to Mongolia, are used to support Go Help, the registered charity that runs Charity Rallies, and its charity projects in Mongolia. Don't buy the "social enterprise" line that other guys try to sell you - it doesn't mean anything. We're overseen by the Charity Commission, and our board of trustees have a duty to ensure that everything is done in this event to maximise the benefit for charity.
Before deciding whether you would like take part in the Mongolia Charity Rally, or in other events driving to Mongoila, take a step back and think about what you are about to embark on. Getting to Mongolia by land is no mean feat, and involves a lot of hard work on your side, both to prepare for the trip and to do the fundraising necessary to make this a truly charitable event. Now think about the partner you want to have along side you while you take this epic journey: do you want a profit making company who is only out to grab your entry fee and leave you in the dust? Or do you want a registered charity, staffed by volunteers who have all been there and done it, and who really care about what happens to your charity fundraising and the vehicle you donate in Mongolia. If it is the latter, we're the right event for you. If you're just after a joyride, but don't care about the charity side, the amount you raise for charity, the quality of the vehicle you donate to charity and its condition when you arrive in Mongolia, there are plenty of guys who will take your cash, but we won't.
When?
The Mongolia Charity Rally kicks off with the official launch Naadam on Saturday, 10 July 2010!
What Cars?
You can take any good vehicle on the rally that fits into our vehicle rules. The vehicle rules are designed in consultation with the Government of Mongolia to ensure that the vehicles that are driven to Mongolia are truly useful to the people of Mongolia. A banger may be fun to drive to Mongolia, but it will probably end up in a scrap-yard, which is a bit of a waste of all your time and effort. The vehicle rules for the Mongolia Charity Rally are designed to maximise charitable benefit: we try to avoid import tax at all cost, and help you choose vehicles that are both fun to drive to Mongolia, and a great donation once you get there.
The Launch
The official launch will be a great opportunity to line up all of the vehicles and is held on the same weekend as the Naadam festival in Mongolia. Once again we'll be teaming up with the Mongolian Association of Great Britain to put on the largest Naadam Festival London has ever seen. Naadam is the national festival of Mongolia and includes the three traditional Mongolian sports of wrestling, horse racing and archery. For those of you accustomed to Mongolia cuisine there will even be some buuz, Khoo Shuur, milk tea and a bottle or two of vodka. If you've never tried Mongolian food before...you're in for a treat! The event is free and open to the public, so come along to see the teams off. Full details on the Naadam page.
The Route
Teams head off east for the coast. After that, the route is up to you. See the routes page for some ideas. There will be prizes for the most ridiculous route taken by a team. Cape town as a checkpoint?
Your family and friends will be able to follow your progress as you text in updates from the road. Using our clever positioning system you'll be able to plot your course, by text message on a google map so your supporters can see exactly where you are. No need for a GPS - we'll give you a list of common locations on the route -or use a GPS to get precise locations. Your mum will be happy knowing you're still alive, and your friends will realise they're losing the bets they made.
The Finish
"When Mongolia throws a party, the rest of Asia locks its doors"
The finish is at Sukhbataar Square, at the centre of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The Mongolians sure know how to party and they're busy putting together a party to make Chinggis Khan proud. We've even got a famous Mongolian wrestler coming along to show you how to drink Mongolian style... (Just make sure you don't drive on Sukhbataar Square, otherwise you'll be spending your first night in the police cells!) When? Teams will be arriving at all sorts of different times so it is going to be impossible to get all the teams together at the finish. We'll be letting the teams decide the best time for the big party but there will be lots of smaller events before and after to entertain the early arrivals and the late arrivals!
Car Handover
At the finish your vehicle and any spare equipment will be handed over to Dulguun Batkhishig, who runs Go Help in Mongolia, and her team who are based in Ulaanbaatar. If your vehicle is sold the money will be used to help fund our charity projects in Mongolia. Some vehicles will be donated directly and not sold, for example Ambulances to the hospitals. Dulguun works closely with all the charities in Mongolia and liaises directly with the Mongolian Government. They'll give you a warm welcome at their offices and let you have a look around the charity projects in UB.
They'll also give you a certificate, in case no one believes you did the rally!
SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
