Peru & world record next for UK education campaigners

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

Ends

Notes to editors:
(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.

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