Challenges, Inspiration

Charity Challenge Operations Manager Jo experiences India for the first time on our secluded ‘Trek to the home of the Dalai lama’ challenge!

December 7, 2012

Trek to the home on the Dalai Lama – an exclusive India Challenge with Charity Challenge

Have you been thinking for a while now about doing a charity challenge, but don’t want to go down the well-trodden routes of Kilimanjaro or Trek Machu Picchu with the masses? Then our trek to the home of the Dalai Lama might be the challenge for you!

As the Operations Manager for India and Asia at Charity Challenge, I’ve got the amazing opportunity to venture into the Himalayas on trails only trodden by Charity Challenge trekkers and the local Tibetan Community. As Ops Manager of this trek, I know that the Himalayas are a very sought after trekking destination, especially with the spiritual element of a visit to the home of the Dalai Lama. This popularity can sometimes make the Himalayas appear to be a crowded place!  But many of our participants come back from the challenge and write to me saying how quiet and exclusive their trek was, and how much more they loved it for this reason!  So I decided to head out to India and experience the tranquillity for myself.

Those that don’t know much about India, apart from the overwhelming amounts of people, and the extras that come from the vast crowds – i.e crazy roads jammed packed with vehicles, tuc tuc, cows and dogs, a country with no drinking water and the sheer extremes of poverty and riches! – may be surprised when I tell you that today I felt free from the hustle and bustle of London and enveloped in the peace and tranquillity of India!

I trekked our most exclusive and secluded challenge – “Trek to the home of Dalai Lama”, whilst trekking in the shadows of the world’s highest peak I found myself stopping and listening to the silence and taking in the awe-inspiring scenery of alpine forests, beautiful meadows back droped with snow capped mountains, and small Tibetan villages hidden in the rolling hills.

If you are new to the life of Tibet and the movement into India following the Dalai Lama then you will find this challenge as fascinating as I did, as you start in Daramsala with a ‘clockwise’ walk around the Dalai Lama’s Temple. You will learn about Tibetan/Buddhism and the issues it faces today, and see how Tibet is preserved in India through the practising of traditional Tibetan arts and crafts at the Norbulinka Institute.

I will have to apologise to you now, as after just 3 days I have learnt so much and realised how little I knew about India, and I won’t feasibly be able to share with you all the amazing experiences and revelations I’ve had so far!  However, I can say with certainty that if you want a challenge where you will trek the mountains with tribal Tibetan nomads and their goats, learn all about why cows are head of the household, be greeted by the friendly faces and smiles of the Tibetan/Indian people and see how you can help Charity Challenge give back to the communities of this area, then you should definitely check out our September and November 2013 departure dates for our Trek to the Home of the Dalai Lama Challenge! Click here for all the info!

To hear more updates from Jo in India, stay tuned to this blog! You can also see more information about the array of amazing challenges on our website at www.charitychallenge.com. To keep up to date on all our challenge news, please subscribe to this blog. You can also enter your email address into the adjacent box to subscribe to our mailing list.

Inspiration, Latest News

Charity Challenge team to be featured in “North Pole Airport”, on tv tonight at 8pm on channel 5

December 7, 2012

If it wasn’t for Barneo, the temporary airfield on ice set up and maintained for nearly a month every spring, then we wouldn’t be able to run our epic North Pole Charity Challenge!

So we’re glad to see the hard work the team at the Barneo airfield put in to make one of the most isolated places in the world accessible is being recognised in this Channel 5 documentary.

Acting as a gateway from which a motley assortment of tourists, scientists and explorers set out to conquer, investigate and discover the North Pole, Barneo Airfield really is an amazing piece of engineering – setting up the airfield on ice is no mean feat! –  A team of Russian paratroopers have to skydive onto the frozen Arctic Ocean to create this extraordinary ice camp. facing temperatures as low as -40° C, as they sculpt a unique airport on the drifting ice. Continue Reading…

Inspiration

When Dreams and reality Collide Part 4 -Laurie Sodomlak starts fundraising for her journey of a lifetime to Peru next year!

December 4, 2012

People are always surprising…..I received a call from  Mac’s Convenience store owner who had seen my Garage Sale poster.  He wanted me to call his brother because he  wanted to do a fundraiser with me.  I was  completely stunned by the open generosity of this offer.  Later that week, I visited Arshad at his Mac’s Convenience store.  We talked and  decided on a date for a BBQ.

Arshad began collecting donations during the week leading  up to the BBQ and again, I simply created a poster for the store, made a few of  my special pink ribbon cookies.  Arshad, his suppliers and one of his regular customers donated prizes and all of the food items.

On the day of the BBQ, the sun was shining, a good sign  that it was going to be a great day!  My friend Kathy and I, did a little decorating, put up our pink poster on the  road, and promptly at 11:00 a local resident, Carla who had seen the poster showed up to get the first hamburger. The day was filled with many of Arshad’s regular customers stopping by and enjoying a burger, cookie and a drink and of course getting their ticket for one of the prizes that Arshad had wrapped in pink paper!  One of the visitors that stands out in my mind was a 11 year old boy and his friend.  He had a special haircut, a ribbon. I asked him about it and of course took his photo! 

He told me that his hair stylist told him it was breast cancer month and he thought it was a good idea to get this ribbon design.  We need more young people like him.  The great part was that he was one of the lucky winners of the silent auction prizes!

It was another one of those amazing days when so many people shared their connections to breast cancer, thanked me for doing this fundraiser for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and continued to be very generous.  Thank you to the generosity of Arshad from the Mac’s Convenience Store and his customers, I had a $544.10 to deposit to my fundraising.

If you would like to donate to my cause, then you can visit  my fundraising page here. To find out more about the amazing charity I’m fundraising for, you can visit the Canadian Breast Cancer  Foundation here.

If you’ve been inspired by to take on your own challenge of a lifetime whilst raising money for the charity of your choice, you can visit the charity challenge website at www.charitychallenge.ca where you can find lots of amazing challenges, including the Mt Kilimanjaro summit climb challenge, the Great Wall Discovery  challenge – which takes place on China’s Great Wall! and of course the Trek to Machu Picchu  Charity Challenge based in Peru!

Inspiration, Responsible Tourism

Supporting our Porters!

November 30, 2012

So, as Christmas comes upon us and Jack Frost is nipping at Great Britain’s communal nose, I thought a little festive cheer was in order from the outside world. It has long been built into Charity Challenge’s policy on Responsible Tourism, that for each person taking part on a challenge, we will make a donation to a local project or charity, with the aim of contributing and giving back to the communities that have welcomed our trekkers. Of course, Responsible Tourism is about the environment, preserving culture, respecting behavioural norms etc… however I’ve always felt that our kind of adventure tourism owes a debt to the local staff that we employ in country. These are people who take on the challenges that our participants have trained and fundraised so hard for, but the difference is that they do them every day, for a living, working hard to make our challenges as unforgettable experiences as possible. Imagine climbing to Everest Base Camp. Incredible. Now imagine taking on the climb EVERY WEEK. With 20kg strapped to your back. Setting up camp, cooking and looking after a group of adventurers, far away from your family at home.

The incredible feats performed by our porters inspire our choice to send our Everest Base Camp and Stok Kangri donations to the International Porter Protection Group (IPPG). Just last month we received a letter from them confirming that this has been the right decision. We have sent, over the last 2 financial years, a total of £2613 to the charity, and their letter has iterated exactly how the money has been put to good use, and the incredible importance of donations to the continuance of their work.

In association with Community Action Nepal, IPPG have been building a medical rescue post and porter shelter where porters can have access to cooking facilities, warm blankets and a place to sleep within the shelter. They are in the process of building a similar outpost in a neighbouring valley, and both provide medical treatment to the lowland porters who are generally poorly equipped for high altitude. One of the greatest problems facing porters in Nepal is that they can be abandoned by their trekking group if they are sick, and made to descend alone where they will not be paid for their work. They also often carry a weight that far exceeds the regulations, although IPPG are stamping down hard on this.

It’s always great to get feedback about the projects that we support, so if you have any comments then  do get in touch with us. To read more about what IPPG do, and how this money supports their daily work, visit www.IPPG.com.

To learn more about all our charity challenges, and find out how else we get involved with Responsible Tourism you can read our Responsible Tourism policy here, and you can visit our website at www.charitychallenge.com . To keep up to date on all our challenge news, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking on the orange RSS button, you can also enter your email address into the adjacent box to subscribe to our mailing list.

Tips & Advice

Top trekking advice from trekkers past to trekkers future!

November 21, 2012

Once our Charity Challengers are safely back home and resting their feet, we send them our charity challenge survey, and one question we are always sure to ask is;

“If you could give any advice to future participants taking part in this challenge, what would it be?”

We ask this as it’s really important for us to know -particularly from a participants eyes view! –  What people could have done with knowing more about, or what they could have been better prepared for, so that our next group of trekkers can boldly head out onto their challenge being that much more confident and better prepared.

So check out the below to see some of the messages that our previous trekkers want to pass on to the next generation of charity challengers!

“Good idea to set up a forum with the others going on your challenge…great to be able to encourage each other and get tips on training and fundraising!” Hilary Banks, Sumatra Jungle Trekker

“Definitely train and if you think you’ve forgotten something don’t panic someone else is sure to have remembered and you will have stuff others have forgotten so be prepared to share your kit as well as your experiences and most of all enjoy.” Sarah Hollies, Sahara Desert Trek challenger

“Look after your feet, make sure you’ve got good socks/liner socks, break in boots.  Boots need good soles to protect from the very rocky day.  Tuck your laces in so you don’t trip up (like I did!).  Take a very warm sleeping bag.  There aren’t many bugs – so don’t be put off.  There are some bushes – so don’t worry too much about no loo in the day!” Sahara Desert Trek challenger

“Make sure you take lots of photos, I wish I had stopped sometimes to take more.” Hellen Vaughan-Williams, Cuban Revolution Cyclist

“Enjoy!”. Kevin Moore, Cuban Revolution Cyclist

“My advise would be to embrace every aspect of the challenge, the organisers and in my case the other challengers were the best people I could have ever met, dont let that pass you by.” Amy Harbone, Trek to Machu Picchu

“Just to go for it, push your boundaries and enjoy the challenge. Take the time to read all the info sent out by Charity Challenge and in particular the kit list. Do the training and it will be a breeze” Adrienne Booth, Great Wall Discovery Trekker

“Don’t underestimate the challenge, altitude and sustained camping are tough. You have to have a strong will, maybe be a bit stubborn to succeed! Take your training seriously but it’s as much a mental challenge as a physical one…Most of all, enjoy (and respect) the mountain, the whole experience even the difficult bits, and stay positive. It will be over too soon! Grace Breathe, Kilimanjaro Trekker

“Do the training!!  I was gald of the different terrain that we had trained in and the numerouse climbs that we had undertaken – it made our trek very manageable. It is also key to train with the equipment that you are going to be using as you are then comfortable with it all and have sorted out any ‘niggles’.” Joy Mitchell, African Bush Trek

“Make sure you have all of the correct kit and are prepared for every season of weather! Poles are essential!!” Brooke Kinsella, Trek to Machu Picchu

For more top tips, and to learn more about all our charity challenges, please visit our website at www.charitychallenge.com, and, to keep up to date on all our challenge news, subscribe to this blog by clicking on the orange RSS button, you can also enter your email address into the adjacent box to subscribe to our mailing list!

Inspiration

When Dreams and reality Collide Part 3 – Let the fundraising begin! – Laurie Sodomlak prepares for her Journey of a lifetime to Peru next year!

November 7, 2012

With the emails and letters sent to my friends and family, I started to see the donations come in.  With each donation came words of encouragement and energy. Sherry’s note reminded me of one of the reasons I was doing not only this challenge but the fundraising too!  Sherry is a survivor, and I will be carrying a pink ribbon for her.  I actually plan to carry a little box with items from a few people….people who want to be with me as I do this awesome challenge.  So far, I have Sherry’s pink ribbon, what else will be there with me???

Laurie, a challenge, a commitment and an adventure… go for it! Good luck and keep us updated, please. Hugs, Glenys

Way to go Laurie! Good luck on the Trek and please include us on your email list about your efforts. Connie & Ken

Way to go, Laurie. Carry a pink ribbon for me!  – Sherry

To my friend who dreams big, has the courage to follow through on those dreams and the strength of character to make great things happen. ~ Patti

I had a conversation with one of the fundraisers I work with through my job at the Foundation.  It was a young girl who hosted a garage sale.  She called it a Charity Garage sale, and told me she did not price anything, just asked people to make a donation.  I remember that she did very well with this concept and I decided to follow her lead.  Many of my friends and family made donations of items for the sale.

I had an article in the local paper  http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/herald/Headed-to-Peru-while-fundraising-for-breast-cancer-168506536.html  and I posted the article on Garage Sale day too.  I created pink posters and signs, made some pink ribbon cookies for the day, put an ad on Kijiji and my Facebook page too.

I will never forget the Friday as my friend Kathy and I opened the double garage door to start sorting items. The garage was FULL!!!  So many people had made donations of some very great items. With some skillful sorting we were able to be ready for our Saturday morning opening.

Saturday at 8am, the people started to come, we pinned a pink ribbon on their shirt, encouraged them to take a piece of literature donated from the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, gave them a bag and asked them to find things they liked and make a donation to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.  We were absolutely amazed at the generosity of the visitors.  They were visibly pleased to know their funds were going to a charity.  Many people shared their story of how they were connected to breast cancer.

I wish we would have kept track of the number of people who came through that garage on Saturday and Sunday and their stories.  It was a constant stream of kind, generous people who were pleased to support the Foundation.  I was so fortunate to have my good friends, Kathy and Rose to help plus my Mom, sister Barb and nieces Jenna and Kathryn.  It was an overwhelming weekend and I was able to add over $1470 to my fundraising.

If you’ve been inspired by to take on your own challenge of a lifetime whilst raising money for the charity of your choice, you can visit the charity challenge website at www.charitychallenge.ca where you can find lots of amazing challenges, including the Mt Kilimanjaro summit climb challenge, the Great Wall Discovery challenge and of course the Trek to Machu Picchu Charity Challenge based in Peru! You can also see more about my charity of choice, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation here