Fundraiser to drive old banger around the world

8:42am Thursday 26th April 2007

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AN optimistic charity fundraiser is set to drive a battered 46-year-old banger through politically unstable countries to take part in a 15,000 mile road trip across the world.

Samantha Rose, of Blind Lane, Flackwell Heath, will take along a spare engine as she takes part in the road trek through 20 countries with a team of other drivers from across the globe in a 1961 Trabant -dubbed the "world's worst car".

"These aren’t the most politically stable nations either, so there’s a slim chance we’ll end up in an Uzbekistan jail."

Samantha Rose

The main aim of the journey is to raise $300,000 (£150,000) for homeless Cambodian children. Samantha, who is a trained accountant, is giving up her job to help drive the 46-year-old motor on the trek, which is expected to take four months to complete.

The 28-year-old said: "We're quitting our jobs and throwing all our savings at this so we hope it works. Either way it will be a testing but worthwhile trip."

Countries that the team, made up of Americans and Brits amongst others, will visit include Germany - where the Trabant was manufactured - Kazakhstan and Cambodia.

Samantha added: "No one's ever tried this before. The Trabant isn't renowned for its reliability, and we've heard some of the Kazakh roads could do with a little work so we're not sure how it's going to go. We're packing a spare engine. These aren't the most politically stable nations either, so there's a slim chance we'll end up in an Uzbekistan jail."

The smoke-spewing car, which has a top speed of an impressive 50mph, was first introduced to the world in East Germany in 1957, and was designed to rival the Volkswagen Beetle. It is made mostly of plastic.

However, Samantha remains hopeful that the trip will be a success and all the cash raised will go to the M'Lop Tapang and Mith Smalanh charities.

She said: "It's a wonderfully imaginative way to raise funds and awareness for the street children. It's going to be a massive challenge but we're a determined bunch and very optimistic."

The team is still searching for corporate sponsorship to help underwrite trip expenses, although a grass roots campaign to raise awareness and money is also underway.

For more see www.trabanttrek.org