In 2009, a group of adventurous fundraisers travelled through India on motorbikes. Some were lucky enough to witness UNICEF's work to wipe out polio. Alyrene Rosser from our fundraising team rode along with them.
I love my job. It allows me to take supporters on awesome adventures while raising vital funds for the world's children.
In 2009, I was lucky enough to visit southern India on the back of a Royal Enfield bullet. What an incredible feeling, sweeping up mountain roads, through tea plantations and tiger reserves, eyes peeled to catch a glimpse of India’s wildlife.
The whole trip was memorable, but one particular day stuck with me.
We set out at sunrise for a long day's ride. As we swept down the mountain the mist cleared and I could feel the sun beating down and smell jasmine in the air as we drove.
Royal Enfield Bullets in southern India © Iain Crockart
We stopped for some chai (a refreshing, sweet tea) and met UNICEF health assistant, Miss Indrani. She was distributing polio drops to children in the area.
Back in 2009, India was one of four counties that hadn’t managed to eradicate polio and its devastating effects. UNICEF works with India's government on a large-scale immunisation programme to wipe out polio and other childhood diseases for good.
Talking to Miss Indrani was utterly inspiring, and to see UNICEF’s work in action was just incredible.
Now, in 2012, we've had the news that India has reached a major milestone in the history of polio eradication – 12 months without a single new case!
UNICEF health worker Miss Indrani shows us a map of the village that she'll be visiting to immunise the children against polio. © UNICEF UK/India/2009/Alyrene Rosser
Our ride continued through mountains and busy towns, where we carefully negotiated traffic. I can still taste the lunch we enjoyed from a basic but delicious local restaurant. We watched women below washing their beautiful saris in a vast river before laying them on the rocks to dry, and boys playing games in the water, laughing and splashing, as we tucked into a delicious south Indian curry.
Southern India © Iain Crockert
I'm going back to India this year with another group of fundraisers for our Classic Indian Adventure. It runs from 30 November to 9 December. This time around you can choose between riding a classic Royal Enfield Bullet motorbike (or going on the back like I did in 2009), or driving (or being a passenger in) an Ambassador car.
Whichever you go for, it'll be an amazing experience. Do you fancy coming along?
Find out more
Alyrene Rosser is fundraising initiatives manager at UNICEF UK.