Irishman Fergal O'Faherty embarked on an adventure that took him across 13 countries where he drove 13,000 kilometers. He shares with Arjita Mishra that the journey is a tribute to his late father who was to accompany him on the trip
We have heard stories of people who sets out to break a world record by either attempting to break an already existing one or by creating one of their own. But rarely have we heard of someone who has set out on an adventure for the love of his parents.
Fergal O’Faherty of Dublin, Ireland, drove his car for 13,000 km in 13 countries and that, too, in 13 weeks. He drove his father’s Toyota through countries like UK, France, Belgium, Czech Republic, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tibet and Nepal to fulfill the dream. “My father and I decided to go on a road trip in 2010 but that never materialised because of his sudden death,” he told us.
The incident did not deter him from embarking on the adventure himself. Through his solo journey across the world, he is paying a tribute it his father and the dream that they saw together. “Driving his (father) car reminded me a lot about him which sometimes make me blue and sometimes happy,” Fergal told us.
He also raised funds through participating in half marathons in these countries for the two charities — Child Nutrition Foundation (India) and On the Road Again (Ireland). According to him he has never run before in his life. “I started running in the streets near my house everyday and also participated in various races,” he said and added, “My wish is to keep my father’s willingness to help others, alive a little longer. That is the main reason that I started running.”
Not just that, he also asked his friends to donate to the foundations directly through the Internet so as to avoid middlemen. He sold his car and belongings to sponsor his trip around the world.
It took him two years to prepare for the trip. “For two years, I have struggled to get visa and took nine months training so that I could drive for long hours. Also, I had to get a bunch of injections,” he said.
Even though Fregal took every measure to make sure his journey goes smooth, he faced several problems like security issues, weather changes and bad roads. But he knew he had to overcome them. “There were several hurdles but I was prepared for them because I knew that I had to come out of it myself, as I was travelling alone,” he shared.
In his tour of India, also the last country in his charts, he met the students of an NGO, Aarohan. There he shared his experience of the trip with them. “It was a wonderful experience to meet the students and I hope my adventure will inspire them in some way in their life,” said Fergal.
Rani Patel, founderAarohan, “We are very fortunate that Fergal came here to encourage our students. We are happy that he shared his experience of his tour with us.” She added, “What Fergal has set out to achieve is not an easy task and to drive a car through so many countries is undoubtedly difficult as you know nothing about the place. But he has done a great job.”