Three Men Travelled Through India In An Autorickshaw To Raise Money For 50 Orphans

Surabhi Nijhawan
Surabhi Nijhawan
Updated on May 15, 2016, 12:13 IST-6.3 K Shares
Trio on autorickshaw

Bram Schuurman, Daniel Künzle, and Ernie ‘El Che’ Bergen have named themselves as Kohinoor Khiladis, and have set out on an unusual expedition. 

Adventure of a lifetime. #rickshawrun

A photo posted by Kohinoor Khiladis (@kohinoorkhiladis) on Apr 17, 2016 at 10:14pm PDT

The three men have completed a rickshaw run from Jaisalmer to Shillong to raise funds for the education and other aid to help 50 orphans who are currently being raised by NGO SOS Children’s Villages. 

The men met at a kebab station at the Sziget Music Festival in Budapest. However, their friendship brought them to India, 30,000 km away from home, only to help children they had never heard of before. They started on this trip thinking of it as an adventure without knowing that they would end up doing something wonderful. They began looking for a cause and realised that they wanted to do three things. First, something to do with helping children, something that involves local Indians and something that will allow them to visit several places. Kohinoor khiladis have shared their journey on their blog. 

Bram, who is a social worker, committed to the cause of orphans and abandoned children, picked Shillong, knowing that it is situated in one of the poorest regions in India, and is home to more than 140 orphaned children between the age of 3 and 19. 

After six months of research, the men started their journey on 4th April, on their loved old autorickshaw named Lily. 

The troubles of commuting on an autorickshaw

They had never driven an autorickshaw before and had to struggle quite a bit with it. But, as they say, the experience became a memorable one for them. Lily broke down a couple of times, but they always got help from several locals who were nothing less than mechanical experts.  

The Khiladis were also traumatised by the perils of driving at night in a rickshaw, or on narrow steep roads. They had to accept the risks of the great Indian roads and be careful of the vehicles using their high beams driving towards them!  

But the experience was priceless!  

There were days when the three men slept under starlit skies in a sleeping bag. But making friends with the locals made their journey worthwhile. The connectivity issues did bother them, yet the experience of getting lost on the road was a great one. 

One of the best sights was that of the Taj Mahal from a rooftop.

The Khiladis also fell in love with Faizabad, where they witnessed the wheat harvesting season in full glory. After 12 days they finally completed their journey on 15 April, and chose to spend an extra day in Shillong with the children. A day they describe as unforgettable in their blog.   

They invested $5,000 (Rs 3,34,934) in this expedition and successfully raised $18,000 (Rs 12,05,765) and are still looking to raise more money before June ends. The funds will help the NGO build housing, education, nutrition and medical services for 50 orphans during the course of one whole said the NGO’s spokesperson.  

The trio confirmed that they will return to take on another auto trip in the future with with bigger fundraising goals.

Wanting to change lives of orphans is something not everyone can do! But, they’ve truly inspired us! We wish them best of luck for their future plans. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This 20-something is a crazy Bollywood fan and can recite DDLJ dialogues by hearty. She’s either listening to a story or telling one. On a regular day, you’ll see her adding an endless number of books and films to her bucket list. Her conversations mainly revolve around coffee, chocolates and cupcakes. She dreams of faraway lands and believes that her heart is made to travel. Also, she insists on writing a book one day.

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