In 2018 our beloved friend, brother and son Suanu Saro-Wiwa tragically died from a heart attack while playing football in Canada when he was just 18. Suanu was a charismatic bloke, his own man, loved to push boundaries, and always sought adventure. An intelligent individual and extraordinary sportsman he is fondly remembered by all.

This March we will be attempting to drive from London to Lake Balkhash, Kazakhstan and back to raise money for the charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young). We will be: driving 20,000 miles, traversing mountain ranges, deserts, tundras, grasslands and forests all in our 1988 VW T25, a 4x4 van.

Motivated by Suanu’s love of all things arctic, we adopted a polar bear through WWF in his memory which they will take with them from beginning to end. For the same reason, we were originally planning on travelling to Siberia. Regrettably the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has made the Russian border a boundary we don’t want to push, however a drive to Kazakhstan will be testing nevertheless.

We appeal for your donations to support CRY in their fight to reduce the frequency of young sudden cardiac death (YSCD).Your donations will help CRY fund: a new ECG machine (£6,000), ECGs for 200 people (£10,000), the training of a bereavement support volunteer (£3,200), and a cardiac event monitor (£800).

To pay homage to the 624 young people who die each year as a result of undiagnosed heart conditions way we will embark on personal challenges to raise even more money for CRY.

- Alfie will run 624 Kilometres 

- Ben will do 624 meters of sport climbing

- Meurig will swim 624 football pitches

CRY work with cardiologists and family doctors to establish good practice and appropriate screening facilities to promote and protect the cardiac health of our young. By supporting CRY you will help save young lives from these potentially fatal cardiac conditions. See how your support can help by visiting www.c-r-y.org.uk.

We are proud to be undertaking this odyssey in our friends memory any donations are welcomed.

Love from Ben Yonge, Alfie Shankland, Meurig Shotton and Hugo Flower.