Chris Evans, OM 1994 journey with Hoveraid covers three decades. Here he catches us up on what he has been doing.
“Thirty-one years ago, I was a sixth-former in a small room at Monkton when an enthusiastic Nick Cole (85) challenged us to a gap-year adventure: a hovercraft project in Nicaragua with Hoveraid. I signed up alongside fellow Monktonians Matt Dixon (94) and Alan Blake (91). We certainly had some adventures, racking up life experiences involving jungle rivers, alligators, storms, and giant mosquitos – stories / still dine out on today!
Years later, I reconnected with Hoveraid, this time with a new mission: updating the design of the “River Rover” hovercraft, originally created by Tim Longley (52) as a spin-out from Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). My career as a chartered engineer in the automotive and energy sectors gave me the perfect opportunity to use my professional skills in a hands-on way. I worked alongside a team of other volunteers – including Edward Chase (70) – to build and test a new craft here in the UK and connect the charity with others in the wider engineering community.
Earlier this year, we shipped the craft to Madagascar, and over the summer, I joined the local Malagasy team to help commission it. This trip delivered another round of adventures! Wild camping by the river, epic road-trips, untouched gorges lined with Baobab trees, working on a sand bank with the local mechanics to figure out why the engine had just cut out mid-river… crocodiles (of course)…
The trip culminated in a 180km expedition by hovercraft to the remote town of Beroroha, where the craft will now be based. The experience was thrilling, humbling, and life-giving.
The hovercraft will now be put to use on Hoveraid’s Madagascan Medical Safaris (MMS), taking medical teams to isolated villages around Beroroha. The charity, whose slogan is “Reaching the Unreachable,” does incredible work with very little, serving some of the poorest communities on the planet. I’m grateful to have had the chance to adventure with them again.”
