Charity challenge: a 365 day dare

The Financial Times calls it “sweating for charity”. Yes, sweating, because charity challenges are all about getting physical: climbing the Kilimanjaro, gliding down the Amazon river in a canoe or riding a mountain bike across the Thai-Cambodian border. And all to raise funds for charity.

The challenge started in the UK, where every year more than 15 thousand Brits test their limits and spirit of adventure for a good cause. How does it work? Usually charity challenges are run by non profit organisations with the support of socially responsible tour operators, and usually the challenge is twofold: the first starts well before the plane takes off and sees the participants raising enough money to cover the travel costs and that will end up going to the project they will visit during their charity challenge. The second, of course, is the challenge its self, which by definition means testing your limits by trekking on Mount Everest or biking under the hot Africa sun.

But how does one go about raising the funds? Charity challenge pioneers Oxfam GB say that the answer is simple: “At work, at university, through your football club, at the gym, at a family do. Fundraising paths are never ending, and the aim is to involve as many people as possible both in the physical and in the social sense. Be inventive, use the internet to advertise your mission, organise karaoke nights. The important thing is to pass your enthusiasm on to others and make them proud of supporting you in your unique challenge”. If you run out of ideas, each charity prepares its own fundraising kit, brimming with tips and suggestions on how to launch an effective fundraising strategy. Ready to sweat for charity?

Perù: Trekking with the Inca’s for Oxfam

The wake up call goes off at 4 in the morning. Your home is a tent surrounded by the peaks of the Andes at 3 thousand meters above sea level, where the air is sharp and the adrenaline rush gives you a high. Your goal? To conquer Machu Pichu, the world famous city and UNESCO wonder of the world perched at 2,500 meters. But what really counts isn’t the fact that you are only an hour away from achieving your goal, it is the 39 kilometre trek that lies behind you. The steep paths, the narrow hanging bridges and the physical strain that the Qhapaq Nan, the main Andean road and backbone of the Inca’s empire, pushes you to. Fancy joining the Inca trail? According to Oxfam all you need is your legs and your lungs. And the determination to see it through. All you have to do now is raise the money: £2, 500 pounds (about 3, 700 euros), half of which will go to development projects run by Oxfam locally, the rest goes to cover the plane ticket, board and other expenses.

Oxfam’s challenge takes ten days: 4 spent trekking, 2 in Cusco, one in Lima, to visit development projects, and three days spent on travel.

To find out more: www.oxfam.org.uk/adventure

Tanzania: Discover the Masai with Christian Aid

Grace, spirituality, beauty. You don’t need to go there to know that these are the distinctive characteristics of the Masai warrior. But to really understand their strength and pride you have to stick your feet into African sand and feel your legs get heavier and heavier as you hike the Rift Valley. Walking an average of 25 kilometres a day, and sleeping under the stars, in a tent, is the Christian Aid’s charity challenge. A ten day trip of which five are spent visiting Masai villages. To meet the challenge you have to raise £3, 095 (abot 4, 500 euros). Once you take away the 1, 595 pounds to cover the travel costs, the 52% that remains goes to charity.

To find out more: www.chrisitanaid.org

India: Visit the Dalai Lama’s land with ActionAid International

Whether it is the stars in the sky that opens up as you trek in Ladakh, or the Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayan mountains that do it for you, ActionAid’s 15 day charity challenge will give you a taster of both. The trip takes off in Delhi with a guided tour of a local development project for street kids. Then, the first stop is Dharamsala, the city where the Dalai Lama resides in exile. From here it is time to don the trekking boots and cross the Tibetan colony at Bir, sleep in a tent and walk for six days across forests and grassy green slopes with spectacular views of the world famous peaks. This will bring you to the villages of Shilpadhani, Ropa and Palampur. The return journey, by train, stops off in Delhi before taking you on to visit the Taj Mahal.

To find out more: www.actionaid.org