Angus

Uniraid 2025

8 days. 3500 km. Mountain passes, snow, desert, and sandstorms. 5am starts and countless finishes after dusk.  Temperatures ranging from in the thirties to below freezing. That’s what sat ahead of my teammate, Eloi, and me as we waited to board the ferry to Tangiers in Morocco. Even at quarter past six in morning with the rain lashing down on us and the other 270 teams, the excitement was palpable. This was a year’s worth of hard work, planning, and preparation that was finally coming to fruition: Uniraid.

Uniraid is car rally that puts students to the test in 20-year-old cars with just a map, compass, and logbook for navigation. And the whole point of this expedition? We would be delivering crucial supplies to schools and community centres in Eastern Morocco as we drove along the old routes of the Paris-Dakar humanitarian convoys. As a team we worked incredibly hard to deliver a meaningful and impactful project seeking to improve dental hygiene, a serious challenge in the region.

From the moment we drove off the ferry, the scenery that we encountered along the journey never ceased to amaze me. The vast and imposing landscapes of the Atlas and the Sahara made it feel like we were filming a Top Gear special, especially as we drove in convoy at high speeds across an immense dry lakebed. As a geography student I was kept more than occupied by commenting on various the rock formations and features that we came across, probably boring my co-driver in the process.

Whilst the 8 days of the expedition were both challenging and rewarding, it was the 12 months of preparation that taught me the most. There was no user manual or easy instruction guide for how to go about finding sponsors, running a humanitarian project, or repatriating our written-off car. The learning curve was very steep. From working with a wide range of partners and supporters to successfully deliver 50kgs of dental hygiene products, to digging cars out of the sand and repairing broken vehicles with strangers, teamwork and collaboration were the zeitgeist of this project and expedition.

My time at the Lycée and at the Section were crucial for this expedition. Of the 550 participants, I was the only British/French participant. The multicultural environment that I had grown up in was replicated and I found my feet with ease, making connections and friends across cultural and language barriers. Very quickly, I was established as a translator for my convoy, dealing with negotiations, asking for directions, and socialising with the mechanics who helped us along the way.

Uniraid would not have been possible without the incredible support of our sponsors and everyone from the Lycée community who contributed to our cause, helping us make a tangible difference. Thank you for believing in us and backing a mission that went well beyond the road.