3 Ply take on the Rickshaw Run 2019

We are embarking on the Indian Rickshaw Run in August 2019 to raise money for Crohn's and Colitis NZ.

To sum it up, we will be driving a (personalised) tuk tuk 3000km through India – over 14 days and with as little preparation as possible...

What could possibly go wrong, right?!

A little about us:

We are a science guy, a sales guy and a media gal from New Zealand, who met in January, while volunteering at Camp Purple Live, a camp for children and teens with Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.... Here's the kicker, we also all have Crohn's Disease, so naturally we decided to drive a glorified lawn mower 3000km through India (Delhi Belly would be an improvement!) and fundraise to get more kids to the camp next year.

Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are chronic autoimmune diseases that affect the digestive system, collectively known as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Both cause debilitating pain, hospitalisations, repeat surgeries and a severely reduced quality of life. New Zealand has the highest incidence rate of IBD in the world. It’s not a pretty disease and despite being more common than type 1 diabetes in New Zealand, it is rarely talked about. Perhaps worst of all, there is no cure and the best treatments are sometimes worse than the disease itself.

That’s why this camp is so important.

At the camp, more than 60 young people from around the country were brought together for a week, where they could have fun, learn more about their chronic diseases, and most of all - realise they aren’t alone in their fight with inflammatory bowel disease.

We all came away from that camp wanting to ensure more children could get to camp in 2020. The camp is run by Crohn's and Colitis NZ, and relies on the generosity of donors, fundraisers and sponsors to get kids to camp, free of charge. In total, it costs about $1250 per child. It’s a huge logistical effort, but it makes all the difference in the lives of these children.

The difference this camp has on their lives is incredible. Over the course of a week, confidence levels shoot up and every child has a twinkle in their eye, as they make friends for life with others just like them.

The incredible onsite medical support team and army of volunteers mean that they get to rock climb, go down ginormous slip‘n slides, go white water rafting, and do all sorts of other things they otherwise might not have the opportunity to do.

As adults, our lives changed for the better too, by meeting all these gutsy young children, who have missed out on many things that make up a normal childhood because of their disease and countless hospital visits. But this camp shows them they can live a good life!

So, we are determined to make this fundraiser epic!

If you love the idea of three Crohnies driving a three wheeled, 145cc Rickshaw from one corner of India to another, we would be forever grateful for any donations or sponsorship opportunities.

Our aim is to raise $15,000!

We are covering our own personal costs, including airfares, food, accomodation, fuel, visas and vaccinations (and an additional $1000 that the Rickshaw Run team require us to raise for Cool Earth to save the rainforests), so 100 per cent of the funds raised on Givealittle will go to Crohn’s and Colitis NZ for Camp Purple Live 2020.

The cool thing is we can decorate our tuk tuk as we please, so we will be plastering the names of our sponsors over our (hopefully) trusty steed.

We will also be documenting our journey on social media, with blogs and video.

Please see link to Crohns and Colitis website here: https://crohnsandcolitis.org.nz/

Thanks for your support,

Team 3 Ply

Sean, Josh and Emily.