What better way to end the festive season than to donate generously to a fundraising drive (literally) for the Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre (SIRC)?

The Centre is organising a Volkswagen Beetle rally from Kathmandu to Peshawar and back to raise more than $100,000 to fund the care and rehabilitation of poor Nepali patients who are paralysed by spinal injuries. The sky blue Beetle will take two weeks to cover the roundtrip distance of 2,000 km and will pass through Lucknow, Delhi, Amritsar, cross the border to Pakistan at Wagah, Lahore, Islamabad and turn around in Peshawar.

The 1973 model VW beetle will be driven by the Centre's founder and editor of Himal Southasian magazine, Kanak Mani Dixit, who himself suffered a spinal injury during a trekking accident in Manang in 2000. The fundraiser through three SAARC countries marks the tenth anniversary of the Centre and will support the expansion of its bed capacity from 39 to 51.

The organisers hope to attract supporters and donors before flagging off on Friday, 4 November from SIRC in Sanga at 10AM, and at stops along the way in Nepal, India and Paksitan. Segments of the trip can be "bought" at $100 per mile.

[email protected]
[email protected]

Donate online at www.sirc.org.np through the BigGive project in cooperation with Livability Ireland, partner of the Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre