5,350km on the Road for a Good Cause
Mixing adventure with a good cause. This is the plan for Alexander Oxenstierna, Swedish, Marco Halwart and Niklas Rehm, German, and Victor Sagon, French, four Bocconi students who with their EduCar Africa project will be setting off in mid January on a 5,350km road trip from Milan to Senegal with a trunk full of pens and notebooks. The aim? Take these basic school supplies to schools in need in Western Africa.
"We were discussing what to do in our break after the exams in January. My grandparents live in Senegal and have, among other things, helped build a school. I often visit and bring some basic supplies and I thought we could do something more," says Victor.
"We decided to make a trip that also mixes in a good cause - a human and humanitarian adventure!," adds Niklas. "To make even just a small difference for the kids and raise awareness about the issue of a lack of basic educational supplies in western Africa, but also to show that whatever trip you do, charity and vacation can be combined".
The whole trip will take 3-4 weeks and after crossing France and Spain the students will begin passing down the Moroccan Atlantic coast, spending time in small villages. On the Western Saharan coast they will pass through Dakhla along with other smaller cities, providing more supplies on the way. Next will be a hasty trip through Mauritania in one day – a delicate passage as the country is deemed dangerous. Once in Senegal, they will spend time at schools in different districts, starting from some in Dakar and ending up in Saly du Portudal. To finish off, the car will be sold in Senegal and the profits gained will be donated to rural schools in the area.
The students are covering their own personal costs and have been very active raising the necessary funds for the transport and school supplies through various contacts and through crowdfunding. "We want to act as a medium to anyone who wants to help and make a direct impact since 100% of the contributions of the funds from friends, students and others will be put into a highly transparent project," adds Alexander.
They will also keep a blog during the trip and will film their experience
"We will also spend time in the schools to help with the infrastructure. And with one school we want to create a continuing project and follow its development," adds Niklas. "We would also be really happy if the EduCar idea spreads and others follow our example".
In the meantime, the students are busy studying for their exams whilst being in the last hectic stages of organizing their trip, including making contacts with Embassies and NGOs that will help them on route.
If you want to follow the project here is the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/educarafrica/