The Rickshaw Challenge and Round Table India Team Up to Transform Schools

Brianne — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 03:00:25 +0000

Over the past nine years, the Rickshaw Challenge has drawn more than 1,500 people from across the globe to India, where they have donned wacky costumes to dodge potholes, cows, motorbikes, and more from behind the wheel of an auto-rickshaw.
What many also have done is used their unconventional holiday to help Indian kids have a more positive and productive educational experience by raising funds for the exclusive charity partner of the Rickshaw Challenge, Madras Midtown Round Table 42 (MMRT 42), one of 200 “Tables “in the Round Table India (RTI) network. RTI, which provides young men with social and civic opportunities, is committed to reaching one million children through its classroom-building initiative, Freedom through Education.

Sandeep speaking with Pallikaranai’s principal, Ms. Shantha

The partnership began when Chennai businessman and MMRT 42 “Tabler” Sandeep Mall met Rickshaw Challenge Founder Aravind Bremanandam through a former “Tabler,” and participated in the first Classic Run. It always has been important to Aravind, a social worker by training, that the Rickshaw Challenge (and his other rallies) benefits communities along the routes.
“We believe that a big part of the spirit of adventure is spreading happiness by giving back to people who do not share our advantages, and leaving the places we visit better off than when we arrived,” says Aravind. “We encourage our adventurers to take part in our charity efforts with in-kind donations or by fundraising, and have found it’s usually a high point of their experience.”

a few of the old classrooms

The partnership started small and grew slowly, but to date, Rickshaw Challenge teams have raised nearly $300,000 for schools where, according to Sandeep, “good stuff is happening, but poor infrastructure is holding them back.” He explains many students in India have to sit outside or on the ground to learn, and if there are buildings, many are in poor condition, with no fans to provide relief from the heat. “You would be roasted,” he says.

Tuk the Challenge in the news

Two customized rickshaw rallies – Pimp My Tuk Tuk in 2013 and Tuk the Challenge in fall 2014 – also have been held to benefit MMRT 42, together bringing in $100,000.
“We all wanted to give something back and fundraise for a worthy cause that had children and education core to its goals,” says Tuk the Challenge organizer Derek Vann on the team’s GIVEasia page. “We wanted to fundraise in a unique way that would push us to the limits, and at the same time, be fun and rewarding.”
Rickshaw Challenge teams also visit schools in Chennai and other cities along the rally’s five different routes – coordinated through the RTI network by MMRT 42 – gifting school supplies and sports equipment, and playing with the kids.

Glenn Kelly clowns around with the school kids in Tuticorin. (Photo credit: Glenn Kelly)

“Getting to visit the schools, meet the children, and give our donations of school supplies directly to them was a highlight of our time in India,” says Classic Run 2015 participant Glenn Kelly of team The Trashbag. “Seeing the excitement as 40 crazy westerners turned up in multi-colored rickshaws is something I’ll never forget. And just having an hour to speak and interact with the kids gave me a wonderful insight into life in India today.” (Glenn captured a Tuticorin school visit in this fun video.)

the new building at Pallikaranai (phase one)

One regular stop in Chennai is Pallikaranai Government Secondary High School in the southern suburb of Vengaivasal. Described by Sandeep as a “showcase school” due to its dedicated staff and high student performance, Pallikaranai educates 2,500 boys and girls – many who live in nearby slums – from grades 6 to 12. On my last day in India, Sandeep met me there so I could see first-hand what funds raised by the Rickshaw Challenge are helping accomplish.

the “inspirational” speaker

The sprawling campus is set back off a main road in what seems to be a quieter part of town than where the modern office parks are located just a few miles away. In the front of the campus, faded, rectangular buildings dot a shady courtyard, where that day a few hundred students sat attentively on the ground listening to (what was supposed to be) an inspirational speaker psych them up for upcoming state exams.
Sandeep led me through the assembly to the rear of the campus, where at the far end of a large, sunny clearing sat a bright, shiny, two-story building, in stark contrast to the crumbling row of old classroom blocks leading up to it. This new building – comprised of 12 classrooms (six on the first floor and six on the second floor) – was phase one of MMRT 42’s commitment to Pallikaranai.

the site of the second building (phase two)

Phase two is a second, larger building consisting of 18 classrooms (9 on the first floor and 9 on the second floor), which is currently under construction next to the first. Sandeep expects it to open months earlier than originally scheduled – the target is now June. He says that a “Tabler” regularly stops by to check in on progress.
The cost of each classroom is approximately $10,000, and MMRT 42 requires nothing of the receiving schools except for a signed memo of understanding outlining that MMRT 42 will provide the physical space along with fans, lights and chalkboards; schools will provide the desks and chairs.

one of the bright, new classrooms

The investment does not end when construction is finished, however. MMRT 42 stays in contact with the schools, and sometimes helps meet additional needs the schools identify – at Pallikaranai, for example, they have provided a water purification system and books.
Since RTI is an all-volunteer organization, MMRT 42 has zero overhead, and raises additional funds through “Tabler” contributions and events such as concerts. The Indian government, along with international foundations and corporations, such as the Timken Foundation and Procter & Gamble, also have provided grants.
“(Donors) don’t have to worry,” Sandeep says. “Whatever we commit to, we’re doing.”

some of Pallikaranai’s enthusiastic students

What Sandeep and the other “Tablers” of MMRT 42 are committed to now is finishing the 18 classrooms at Pallikaranai. And they already are in the process of identifying what schools to help next.
He reminds me, “There is no dearth of need.”
If you’d like to learn more about how you can participate in the Rickshaw Challenge to benefit the classroom-building efforts of Madras Midtown Round Table 42, please contact Sandeep at sandeepmall@hotmail.com.

Offroading by Rickshaw: Ride Along with Game of Horns

Brianne — Sat, 17 Jan 2015 11:12:59 +0000

For many the ride to Tuticorin was a smooth road, too smooth according to some, so the Norwegian team Game of Horns decided to shake things up and make it a little more interesting by taking their rickshaw off road.
As we prepared to leave Madurai on day five of the Rickshaw Challenge, I was feeling restless. After all, it was a “rickshaw”challenge, and I had only enjoyed the route up to that point from the comfort of the air conditioned staff car.
So after briefly weighing my options – I could only join a two-person team, and I needed them to have wifi – I decided to jump in with Norwegians Kris and Sindre, also known as Game of Horns. Given the Scandinavians’ reputation on the sea, I assumed they would have superior navigation skills on land as well. I was wrong.

my view for the day

Setting out for a special program with Round Table India at the Upper Secondary School, we barely made it out of the vicinity of the hotel when we had to stop and ask for directions. We then went in a complete circle. Twice. The hospital that was to be our landmark proved elusive, and during subsequent inquiries as to its location, we were met with blank stares or a vague hand wave – the Indian equivalent of, “I think it’s over there.”
Finally 30 or so minutes after we were due to arrive, we spotted the hospital, quite prominent in a busy intersection. But it took a few more stops to find the school, and by then the other teams’ rickshaws were streaming past us in the opposite direction.

Sadly for me, the kids were already back in their classrooms.

Although the kids were tucked back in their classrooms following what I heard was a lovely ceremony, the school administrators and representatives from Round Table India were patient enough to show us around the tidy campus.
After handing over a soccer ball and some school supplies, we quickly (surprisingly) found our way to the highway we were to stay on for the remainder of our journey to Tuticorin. Soon we spotted the German team, the Bavarian Barbarian, and joined up with them. I knew the afternoon would be a much smoother ride, since the Germans – this is a team that did live up to its nation’s reputation – were known to strictly adhere to the day’s schedule, challenges and route.

This friendly man asked me to take his photo and then didn´t smile.

But I was wrong. After stopping for a chai and a filling banana leaf lunch at one of the nicest highway rest stops I’ve ever seen, the teams decided they had enough of the smooth highway and wanted to take a detour.
After all, these rickshaws – their drivers – were made for much more rugged terrain.
Winding our way on bumpy dirt roads through crowded villages surrounded by wheat fields, kids ran after us and shouted “Hello!!!,” while adults – many of whom were working to dry some sort of hay or straw on the roads – offered a more subdued smile or wave (while I’m sure wondering who the heck we were).

at the salt flats

Approaching Tuticorin, the land flattened out and opened up – the fields became a checkerboard of packed dirt, the liquid interior topped with a white glaze. The smell of the sea hit us, and they sky overhead turned from bright blue to a greenish, grayish haze (no doubt due to the numerous power plants that ringed the area). We were in the salt flats.
Once in town, we knocked off the challenges in quick succession – the local temple, Aardvark Cafe (OK, that one was tricky), where I had one of the best brownies of my life, Hitler tea stall (Yes – there really is a “Hitler” tea stall, but the details are fuzzy as to why), and the colorful Our Lady of Snows Basilica – and, despite the detour, we made it to the hotel with time to spare before flag down.

Our Lady of Snows Catholic Church

After experiencing all the chaos and colors of southern India from the back seat of a rickshaw – feeling every bump and with nothing in the way of my view – I must say that is really the only way to go.
(I never did make it back to the staff car.)

Are you crazy enough to come along for the ride? Then join us on the next Rickshaw Challenge. Then get a team together and lets see you at the starting line! If you want to join us in spirit, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or Instagram to keep up with our latest antics.

Brianne – Rickshaw Challenge

The Rickshaw Challenge and Round Table India Team Up to Transform Schools

Offroading by Rickshaw: Ride Along with Game of Horns