Started the 15th of January from Budapest, arrived in Bamako, Mali on the 30th. Drove over 9000 km on highways and motorways; on sand on the beach and in the desert; off road, as well as on some of the most horrible roads you can imagine. We even drove on a minefield! Met with 500 young people in Italy, Tarragona, Valencia, Tangier, Fez, Quarzazate, Kayes and Bamako. Distributed over 4000 donated bednets to the needy, represented 12 companies on a business mission to Morocco and Mali. Slept 16 hours over the first 7 days of the drive; visited garages in almost every city we touched. We were offered receptions and night activities at 9 locations; meanwhile other teams were resting. Made it, being proud to be among the 120 teams that finished out of the 176 that started. We made the largest impact on the Budapest Bamako rally for this year with our donations. The JCI Mali contribution was to organize the final welcome ceremony. Had fun with two Hungarian, a Belgian and two Latvian JCI teams. We lost 2 teams right at the beginning.
It’s not the end; it’s the beginning. I hope with our action we have highlighted again that everyone can have fun and do good at the same time. Everyone can have their own rally mission, everyone can take that necessary step to feel their life was not wasted, you did your part. There are no excuses, only regrets. If I/we could do it so can you. Go for it.
