Let's Goa fundraising campaign raises £120,000 for girls' education and vocational training for women in India

Tony Bryant

Costa del Sol

Saturday, 22 March 2025 | Updated 25/03/2025 13:10h.

Costa del Sol radio presenter Hannah Murray has recently returned from the Let's Goa fundraising campaign, a 1,200km adventure across India on a motorised tuk-tuk that took place during the first week of March. Murray, who has presented a regular show on Talk Radio Europe for almost 20 years, was part of an accomplished group of more than 50 women who navigated their way from Chennai to Goa on tuk-tuks to raise vital funds to provide education for young girls, vocational training for women, and crucial postpartum care for new mothers across India.

“It was incredible, although quite frightening on the roads. There is no such thing as lanes, vehicles just drive wherever there is space. It’s a free for all. In the beginning it was crazy, but you soon realise it is organised chaos, and it works. They are actually really good drivers. We never saw any accidents or road rage,” Murray told SUR in English.

The women, mostly entrepreneurs from the UK, completed the gruelling task, raising 120,000 pounds sterling during an initiative that tested their endurance, resilience, and teamwork.

The women took time off from their journey to visit the Valliammal Matriculation secondary school in Chennai, a school where part of the money raised will be used to build a new classroom.

“We thought it would be a good idea to visit the school. The children were seemingly all happy and smiley, despite the different issues they were coping with. They put on an adorable concert for us all,” she explained.

The women took turns navigating chaotic city traffic, rural landscapes, and stretches of open road with no clear directions. With no support vehicles, unpredictable roads, and the ever-present risk of mechanical failure, the team faced intense heat, breakdowns, and unfamiliar terrain.

“It was a lot harder than I had imagined. It took a massive amount of concentration. It wasn’t just vehicles, but people, cows and dogs just aimlessly walking across motorways. It was quite a challenge,” she said, bursting into laughter.

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The fundraising campaign will stay open until May, when Murray and the other women are hoping to hit their target of 350,000 euros.

Although she had never undertaken a fundraising task of this magnitude, Murray said she was ready to do it all again.

“It was very hot and humid the whole time, but I would definitely do something similar again. Having now, dare I say, mastered driving a tuk-tuk, I think it would be a much more enjoyable experience to do it again,” she concluded.