20,000-mile trans-Eurasian challenge pledges to raise funds and awareness for CRY
Leading heart charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) aims to give all young people (aged 14-35) across the UK the choice to be screened for undiagnosed heart conditions. Every year in the UK, 624 apparently fit and healthy young people die from a previously undiagnosed heart condition. 80% of these deaths will occur with no prior symptoms and research has shown screening reduces the incidence of young sudden cardiac deaths by 89%.
Three years ago, a group of school friends were devastated by the loss of Suanu Saro-Wiwa. Although apparently fit and healthy, Suanu was struck by an unexpected flare-up of a genetic heart condition whilst playing football in Canada when he was just 18.
Motivated by their loss, a few of his best friends – Ben Yonge, Alfie Shankland, Meurig Shotton, Darius Rubin and Hugo Flower – wanted to do something meaningful and impactful to raise awareness of CRY in order to prevent further tragedies. Sports and adventure were always an important part of their friendship with Suanu and so, in a trip they are calling 20,000 Leagues Across Eurasia, the group is taking on a mammoth voyage driving from London to Lake Balkhash, Kazakhstan – and back – between April & October 2022.
The journey will be gruelling. They will be living and sleeping in a 1988 VW Transporter, a 4×4 van, while traversing mountain ranges, deserts, tundras, grasslands and forests. But that’s not all. They will also be undertaking arduous physical challenges which pay homage to the 624 young people who die each year of undiagnosed heart conditions. Alfie will be running 624 kilometres, Meurig will be swimming the length of 624 football pitches and Ben will be doing 6.24 kilometres of rock climbing. Suanu was his own man and loved to push boundaries and these young men are proud to be taking on a trip which encompasses this.
Motivated by Suanu’s love of all things arctic, the group adopted a polar bear through WWF in his memory which they will take with them from beginning to end (see if you can spot it in their Instagram posts!). For the same reason, the group were originally planning on travelling to Siberia. Regrettably the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has made the Russian border a boundary they don’t want to push, however a drive to Kazakhstan will be testing, nevertheless.
With your help the group aims to raise £20,000 for CRY by October 2022– just £1 for every mile driven. Your donations will go to funding: ECGs for 200 people (£10,000), a new ECG machine (£6,000), the training of a bereavement support volunteer (£3,200), and a cardiac event monitor (£800). By donating you will help ease the distress felt by bereaving families and prevent tragedies like this from happening again. So, you can keep up with their progress and help them garner more awareness, they will be documenting everything on a YouTube channel and Instagram page (@onlyvanz__)
In order to make this expedition possible, they have been working hard to save enough money to fund all the costs themselves, to ensure every penny raised goes directly to CRY. They have also prepared physically and practically: learning how to fix and repair a 30-year-old van, training every week and undertaking ‘warm up’ expeditions through the Lake and Peak Districts and the highlands.
Dr Steven Cox, Chief Executive of CRY, adds, “It is always so poignant to see supporters of CRY like Ben, Alfie and Meurig going to such lengths to raise money and awareness in memory of those they’ve tragically lost to previously undiagnosed heart conditions. It takes great courage to take on a challenge so epic as a 20,000-mile Eurasian road trip – but this is propelled by an enduring determination to do something to honour the memory of Suanu. On behalf of CRY, I would like to thank these young men for their dedication to supporting CRY in the vital work we do to help prevent sudden cardiac deaths in young people.”
Ben remarks: “By venturing on this expedition we will capture Suanu’s sense of adventure and test ourselves physically and mentally. We are indebted to anyone who donates and by giving to our cause you can do your bit to try to prevent such a tragedy from happening to anyone else. All of us have such fond memories of Suanu, from joking about in our school days to travelling in Europe together and we are thrilled to undertake the experience of a lifetime in his honour.”
Alfie says: “I can’t wait, I feel we are doing Suanu justice by undertaking such an active adventure with a lot of heart and doing it together. Being able to spend such a great time with my mates whilst raising money for such a good cause couldn’t be a better way to spend the year. We are so happy that all the proceeds from our expedition will be going towards a fantastic cause that will allow more young people to experience adventure without risking their health.”
Meurig comments: “Like Suanu we all love sports, but we don’t want this expedition to seem like a competition. By immersing ourselves in the culture of each country we pass through we will use this trip to strengthen the bonds between us and get to experience the amazing places we will go through. We hope that money raised from this trip can widen awareness of potentially fatal heart conditions in the sporting community as well as enabling better access to CPR, defibrillators and emergency services at all sporting facilities through the vital work of CRY.”
CRY now tests more than 32,000 young people (aged 14-35) a year in the UK – and has screened well over 225,000 since its foundation in 1995. The boys hope that their 20,000-mile adventure can help raise awareness of CRY’s services both locally and nationwide.
For updates on 20,000 Leagues Across Eurasia, follow @onlyvanz__ on Instagram & YouTube.
Donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/the-voibs
