Go Help, plain and simple.

Every rally has a start line and a finish line. And the Mongolia Charity Rally is no exception but the first thing I thought when I saw this through my car window was: ‘Hey, they copied us!” For me, this was of particular interest because in a way I have lived this event and have done so for the last six years. Also because the Mongolia Charity Rally had this idea last year already (Finish Line at a hotel to receive our much worn out guests) AND a bit amusing as our hotel is called Kaiser and the other rally’s was Chinggis-rather well known emperors through history.


Yes, this is the time of the year when many Europeans, Americans, Australians to name few descend into Ulaanbaatar after almost 10 000km of rally across the world through Europe and Central Asia. The Mongolia Charity Rally is an event that is organised every year by Go Help, a UK Charity dedicated to raising funds to finance education and health care projects in Mongolia, in return for an adventure of a lifetime. This may sound a lot like Mongol Rally, a little better known rally event that also starts in the UK and ends in Mongolia, however what most people miss is the fact that theirs is a business model and the Mongolia Charity Rally is singular in a simple way that it is a charity event where funds raised are spent on local projects in Mongolia, as implemented by the charity itself.

When people make the decision to embark on a challenge like this over their summer holidays it’s understandable that they will do their research. Having more choice and the freedom to select a rally based on the fees, conditions, services etc is the basic expectation for most people.  And in the spirit of a market economy, the event that has most people joining, has most media presence and more people talking about it tends to be the more popular. In that sense, the Mongol Rally continues to operate with over 300 teams a year, whilst the Mongolia charity Rally has a few over 30.

But what seems to be overlooked is what happens when a team arrives at their destination in Mongolia, and in Go Help’s case this is when it becomes even more interesting because those 30 odd teams making it get to see what their funds are doing, meet the students who are receiving scholarships, the children who are reading books off the back of a mobile library, and meet doctors who are using the ambulances for check ups and emergency services throughout the vast Mongolian countryside. And I think this is when a Mongolia Charity Rally team gets the sweeter deal.

And gentle marketing aside, Go Help also benefits as the people who choose our rally brings so much more than just their vehicles and their money raised. We have worked with teams who came and stayed for weeks volunteering in a local hospital, then setting up a charity to partner with Go Help for medical student exchanges; donated hundreds of books and study materials to our Book House project; have taken part twice already with a third planned next year; stayed in contact and in support and have become our trustee; and even raising money for our Mobile Library project despite not doing the rally but honouring their friend’s memory from a distance, and many more. These connections make our rally and our charity special. The people who are involved enhance our work and give ideas for our future projects. And they understand that although our Finish Line may not be as large or as expensive as the other rally, once they get here there is a team of people waiting for them, ready to get to work and show them what this rally is all about.

Team leoYlou

Team Alpha Badger

the Go Help family of staff, students and volunteers

Book Ger project