The vehicles had all gathered to launch the 2012 Go Help Charity Rally, which included the ‘Dental Express’ team, father and son Reinhard and Alex Steiner from the Nürnberg area of Germany, setting out on their epic 10,000 mile pan-continental road trip for charity, across numerous mountain ranges, deserts and even more barren and inhospitable lands. They have started out from the safari park in Bedfordshire towards their final destination - the ancient Mongol capital of Ulaanbaatar.
Go Help operates Charity Rallies, an event platform which fundraises for charitable projects in Mongolia by challenging people to undertake incredible adventures which includes the Mongolia Charity Rally. Teams drive to Ulaanbaatar by any route they decide using vehicles of their choice, including ambulances, which are then donated by Go Help or used in its charity projects. Go Help is run by a team of volunteers and professionals and operates a local office in Ulaanbaatar, which manages and implements their Mongolia-based projects.
Reinhard Steiner, a recently retired dentist was first approached by his son, Alex in December 2011 with the idea of taking part in the rally. After some deliberation, they decided to participate together as a team.
The very first step on their journey was to buy their vehicle, a 1984 Volkswagen LT40, part financed by Adidas, whose headquarters are close to their home town. Next they needed to acquire the dental equipment necessary to convert the vehicle from metal shell to mobile dental surgery, the elder Steiner had previously used A-dec equipment in his dental surgery and so approached a local dealer, Sico dental, with the possibility of sponsorship. Sico dental, along with A-dec, donated a ‘Porta Chair’ portable dental chair and ‘PAC1’ portable delivery unit with a value of around $5,000 to enable the team to succeed on their worthwhile mission, Sico have also provided a compressor and smaller dental instruments integral to the project. After obtaining entry visas for Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, as well as a license to practice dentistry in Mongolia, the team was ready to begin.
In one of the rare periods of sunshine that Britain has enjoyed this summer, the ambulances took their place at the launch site from their various bases around Europe. The teams busied themselves with getting to know their fellow voyagers, they will be seeing each other at various points along the way, they also set about adding the finishing touches to their vehicles’ decor, final paintwork stickers and hand written good luck messages, and, most importantly, stocking up on basic necessities such as cheese and onion crisps.
An introduction, thank you and advice speech was given by a representative of Go Help before the teams headed to their vehicles for the official launch, just as the heavens opened in traditional British summer style. Luckily, the shower didn’t last for long and, 10 minutes later with the sun making a welcome reappearance, the ambulances made their departure through the starting arch to a fanfare of sirens to begin their journey – promptly followed by the return of one team taking the journey by dune buggy who, for some reason, were not allowed to drive a non-enclosed vehicle through a safari park crawling with wild and carnivorous animals.
The journey will take a total of around six to eight weeks to arrive in Mongolia, the route chosen by most of the teams involves driving from London to France, then on to Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Azerbaijan, then a ferry across the Caspian sea to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Russia, topped off by some difficult off-road driving across Mongolia to eventually arrive at the capital of Ulaanbaatar
After their arrival in Ulaanbaatar the Steiners will remain in Mongolia to practice dentistry locally for a time before flying home. The ambulance and mobile dental unit will be donated to the "Dentists without Limits Foundation" who give free dental treatment to people in the most remote areas of Mongolia. Go Help will also assist in maintaining the ambulance once it has been donated.