Charities we’re supporting
In 2007 the Mongol Rally raised 200,000 pounds for charity.
During our Mongol Rally quest, we’ll be supporting two charities, dividing the money raised equally between them.
Mercy Corps Mongolia
Mercy Corps is an international charity. Since 1979 Mercy Corps has supplied 600 million pounds of aid to 94 different nations. The Mongolian division of Mercy Corps is the primary charity which all Mongol Rally teams must raise money for.
Mercy Corps supports Mongolia’s rural communities and herding families with economic, agricultural and civil society programmes. Mercy Corps works with business associations and local organisations to ensure a robust economy that still preserves ancient Mongolian traditions.
In Mongolia Mercy Corps is trying to help rural communities become more robust economically, whilst preserving their family traditions.
You can read more about Mercy Corps program in Mongolia by visiting www.mercycorps.org.uk/countries/mongolia/556
SWORDE Teppa
This charity works only within the tiny country of Tajikistan. SWORDE stands for ‘Sustainable World Development within the Environment’. SWORDE Teppa is about, development and poverty reduction, not at the expense of the environment, but working with the environment. In more detail:
- The relief of poverty, sickness and distress
- The advancement of education
- The preservation and protection of good health
- The promotion of community participation in healthy recreation by providing facilities for playing particular sports
- The preservation and protection of the physical and natural environment for the benefit of the public
Teppa is derived from the name of the city in Tajikistan where the charity was founded.
Tajikistan is the smallest county in Central Asia, and is 93% covered in mountains. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Tajikistan suffered from civil war, which ended in 1997. Much of the countries infrastructure was ruined in this war.
The last winter was so severe in Tajikistan, rivers froze and hydro power stations were forced to shut down. Millions of people battled through the winter with next to no electricity or heating, in temperatures of 20 below freezing.
To learn more about SWORDE Teppa, visit www.sworde-teppa.org.uk
To learn more about Tajikistan, visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajikistan
To read about the Tajik winter, visit news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7239279.stm
