The Atlas Challenge 2020

Atlas Trek 2020

Join Jason Leonard, Simon Shaw and other rugby legends from around the world on a mad cap adventure to deliver a Double Decker Bus converted to a mobile classroom and clubhouse for the kids in the Kibera Slum in Kenya.

The Story of Shawsey's Big Adventure

In January 2019 Simon Shaw met the kids we support from the Kibera Slum in Nairobi.

Talking to the project leaders from the Kings Rugby Development Academy he realised that there is a big issue transporting the kids from their slum homes to the green fields of the British School. 

When he talked to the kids he realised that many couldn't even afford to go to school. 

So it just came to me. I said I was going to get a London bus and fit it out to be a mobile classroom, and drive it to Nairobi for the kids to use. 

Thus the Atlas Annual Challenge Event became a Trek across Kenya, with the added impediment of a double decker bus.

Jason Leonard, Atlas Chairman, will again lead the team, along with Simon Shaw, and we hope we will be joined by other rugby champions, Atlas supporters and new friends for the 2020 adventure.

The Itinerary 

5 days, 4 nights: Thurs 23rd April to Mon 27th April 2020

June - December 2019

Be a part of the Trek Squad, sourcing a bus and fitting it out as a connected classroom. Fill the bus with essential kit and equipment and ship out to Kenya. 

Thursday 23rd April 2020

Arrive in Nairobi for a detailed briefing and a first night at the stunning Hemingways Collection hotel in the exclusive Karen district of Nairobi. Enjoy "sundowners" watching the sun set over the Ngong Hills, made famous by "Out of Africa". Meet some of the project workers and kids from the Kings Rugby Development Academy in the Kibera Slum.

Friday 24th April 2020

A charter plane awaits for your flight to the coast and the stunning Hemingways collection Beach Resort at Watamu. Here you meet your bus which will have been extracted from Customs by the Hemingways management (solid rugby people). Familiarise yourself with its ride and facilities (limited), elect your drivers, and take an inventory to ensure that all kit and equipment has survived its sea voyage. 

Saturday 25th April 2020

Set out with the bus across the Tsavo National Park. If the bus is full you may find yourself having to follow in the camel train. This is a stunning national park full of big game. Finish the long driving day with a night in a tented village near natural springs. Watch the hippos wallow while you unwind around a traditional campfire feast.

Sunday 26th April 2020

Deliver the bus! Transport your first load of kids from the brown slums of the Kibera to the green fields of the Hillcrest British School for their weekly training session, showers and hot food. 

Then go back to school, this time as teachers. Help the children access online lessons in their mobile classroom, making direct contact with undergraduate volunteers in international universities, who have committed to one-on-one tutoring sessions with the kids. This simple innovation will provide essential language and number skills to get the kids through critical exams at 16.

Have a final stunning evening back at the Hemingways Hotel in Karen. An evening drinks reception with friends, family, rugby players and coaches will be followed by a long lazy dinner under the lights by the pool.

Monday 27th April 2020

Make the most of your final day in the "World's Wildlife Capital". Start with an early morning game drive looking for black rhino, lions and leopards. Finish with visits to the giraffe centre and the elephant orphanage. Or set your own agenda. Take a well earned rest at the hotel, play golf or spend time with the Atlas project team on a behind the scenes tour of the capital.  

All the Details

See the full itinerary, maps and important travel details by clicking on our bespoke tour brochure

The Film

There will be a film crew following the adventures of Jason, Shawsey and their mates as they navigate their way through the technical, emotional and logistical issues of getting a bus to Kenya. Be a part of celluloid history by joining us for the ride. You might even find a famous SOS face with us.

The Cost

The direct cost to Atlas is £2,000 per person. If you raise £10,000 for Atlas we would be delighted to host you for free. Alternatively you can pay for the trip yourself and then raise £8,000

The Real Cost

If you are a higher rate tax payer, and you raise £8,000 (from eligible sources) then the government will add £2,000 in gift aid making it up to £10k. If you donate £8,000 yourself then you get an additional £1,200 back on your tax bill. 

There really is nothing like it. The rugby banter, the camaraderie, the amazing feeling of doing good for kids with so little. Take your seat on the bus, you will have a ball.

INFO & BOOKING

Contact Sally Pettipher for more information or to book your place

Email Sally

Hemingways Foundation

The Hemingways team are much more than our travel partners. The Atlas Foundation works alongside the Hemingways Foundation to fund rugby and education programmes in Kenya. The hotel group was founded, and is still run, by the Evans family who have deep roots in rugby, as players, owners, and supporters from grassroots to the professional game.

We are proud to be returning to Hemingways, our friends and natural home in Kenya

For more information on the Hemingways Collection please see the brochure below