The idea

The idea was simple: drive a Land Rover from the UK to somewhere remote, exotic and

adventurous, and then donate it to charity. Great road trip while helping a worthwhile cause –

everybody wins.

We already knew of a potentially suitable charity in Tajikistan, the poorest country in Central

Asia and a place unknown in the West. SWORDE-Teppa, a small UK registered charity based there

was in desperate need of a 4x4 to expand their sphere of operations out into the more remote

parts of the country. So all we needed to do was acquire and prepare a vehicle, attract some

sponsors, select the team, decide on the route, obtain visas, make a will and say goodbye to

loved ones. Easy.

Or so we thought. In fact, as we discovered, there is quite a lot of work that goes into organising such an expedition.

But once we had started, we were committed and we were not to put off by obstacles and inconveniences. We were to

discover that flexibility and adaptability were key to the success of the trip.

But first, the car... [click here to proceed]