16,000-km drive for charity

A Canadian expatriate residing in Dubai will be participating in a 16,093-kilometre car rally from the UK to Mongolia for the sake of charity. Nathan Clute, manager at a management consultancy firm, is ready to undertake the challenge where up to 300 teams will be taking part in the rally from July 23. His interest in the international car rally was first sparked while he was watching a documentary about it on the Travel Channel. "Within five minutes of watching the show, I knew that I wanted to do it," he said, pointing out that the programme aired last year and that he has been preparing for the rally since September 2010. Clute explained that he expects to take between four and six weeks to complete it but he will not be alone, and will have people accompanying him during the rally. "I've always been an outdoor type of person and am always looking for an opportunity to give back to the community. I've been to Mount Everest a couple of times and while there I picked up the litter for recycling," he said. As part of the rally's rules, each team has to buy their own car and Clute has travelled to the UK specifically to purchase a Fiat Doblo for the occasion, which is equipped with a 1.2 litre engine. Participants are required to donate the cars at the end of the rally, in addition to charity contributions, to the UK-based Christina Noble Children's Foundation. The Christina Noble Children's Foundation is dedicated to serving underprivileged children with the hope of helping each child maximise their potential, which includes providing emergency and long-term medical care, nutritional rehabilitation, educational and vocational training and job placement. Teams are also required to make donations to a charity of their choice, with Clute having his heart set on the Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation, which awards scholarships to students entering community colleges in Canada "I will have to drive an average of 500 miles a day. There's nothing I can do to prepare for it other than try to get used to the idea of sitting and sleeping in the car for a long time," noted Clute. His provisions have already been collected and Clute is ready to drive the distance, equipped with a tent and up to six cans of petrol. Each team is responsible for mapping out its own route, and Clute's team has decided to cross over from Southampton to France through the English Channel, and then through Brussels, Germany, Romania, Ukraine, on to Russia and then to Kazakhstan, before reaching their final destination in Mongolia. "Getting visas for all the countries has been the toughest part so far, and I have managed to get all of them except for Mongolia, which I am still trying to get. When I told my friends and family back home, as well as my colleagues here in Dubai, they were very supportive and made contributions to my charity of choice. At the end, every dirham counts." If you are interested in making donations, visit Nathan Clute's team page on: mongolrally11.theadventurists.com/teambob For more information on the Mongol Rally website, visit: mongolrally11.theadventurists.com From / Gulf News