Dakar Challenge

North Okanagan Hospice Society is being represented in the 2025 Dakar Challenge (also known as the Plymouth-Banjul Challenge)!  The team includes Lisa Matthews, former Executive Director of NOHS,  and Jen Pace, NOHS’s Financial Officer.

This three-week trek will take them from Plymouth, England, all the way to Banjul, The Gambia—a journey of about 4,400 miles through the strait of Gibraltar, Morocco, the Western Sahara, down to the jungles of The Gambia. And it’s all for a great cause! Their goal? To raise funds for NOHS and while also supporting the amazing work done by a Rotary club in The Gambia.

“This is a charity run; it’s not a race,” says Lisa Matthews. “We buy an inexpensive vehicle—there’s a limit on how much we can spend—and hope it makes it to the finish line. Once we get there, the vehicles are auctioned off, and the money supports 18 different charities, including healthcare and women’s organizations in The Gambia, all coordinated through Rotary.”

Lisa first heard about the Dakar Challenge while living in the Middle East, when a friend shared their experience. After nearly ten years of wanting to take part, now is the time—and she invited Jen to join on what promises to be the adventure of a lifetime.

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