People living in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, are set to learn about the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance later this year.
Awareness of the Charity will be brought to them by ‘How Far to Baatar’, a team of three young Bournemouth men taking part in the annual Mongol Rally.
James Beale, James Flynn, and Sebastian Farahnak decided that as well as raising money for Mongolian charities they also wanted to do something for a good cause closer to home.
So, they will raise money for the Air Ambulance from their 10,000-mile global adventure, which starts on July 24, in London, and should end several weeks later in Mongolia’s capital city.
James Beale said: “We had all heard of the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, but always assumed it was Government funded.
“We never realised it costs £1.4 million a year and relies entirely on the generosity of the public to raise funds to meet those costs.
“The ‘How Far to Baatar’ team hope our efforts will not just raise as much money as possible for the Charity but will raise further awareness of the life-saving work they carry out.”
The trio will make their journey in an old ambulance which they will then give to the emergency services in Ulaanbaatar, which are in desperate need of such vehicles.
The three men met when they were at school in Bournemouth and have been friends ever since.
James Beale is now an IT contractor for Barclays Bank, James Flynn is a physical education teacher at Emmanuel Middle School, in Verwood, and Sebastian is a CFD trade analyst for the bank JPMorgan Chase.
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance fund-raising co-ordinator Annette Plaistow-Trapaud said: “It is brilliant that people in such a remote part of the world as Mongolia will have a chance to hear about the Air Ambulance.
“Who knows what may come out of it eventually, so we will be watching the progress of ‘How Far to Baatar’ with interest and hoping that they manage to raise their £5,000 fund-raising target.
“As James says, we have to raise all the £3,800-a-day running costs of our helicopter ourselves because we do not receive any Government or Lottery funding, which means we rely on the support of the public.”
