Little did he know that he was at the forefront of an evolving movement, which, almost a decade on, is taking the world by storm.
Cycling the length of Chile
By using his gap year to cycle the length of Chile - raising money for Cystic Fibrosis along the way - Steve earned himself the title of the “Original CHAD” - charity adventurers who use their gap year to undertake a fundraising adventure, in return for a voyage of a lifetime that will make their CV not only stand out, but gleam from the crowd.
‘Chads is the cutting edge of travel nowadays,’ says Tom Griffiths, founder of Gapyear.com. ‘Years ago they used to be called explorers but now we have Chads - a young person who comes up with a charity they want to raise money for and highlight and then come up with an incredible trip.’
Chads
The latest Chad recruits are graduates Will Gayner, Ed Hawkins and Henry Coaker, all 22. In July last year, they completed the trip of a lifetime when they drove 92,000 miles, from London to Cameroon, in a 1989 VW Polo, as part of the Africa Rally.
Over 28 days they experienced extreme conditions and testing times - raising over £25,000 for youth charity Fairbridge, finishing in second place.
Raising over £25,000
Now back home in the UK, Africa and its many amazing sights and people seem very far away. But what still bubbles over is the pride they hold at raising over £25,000 for Fairbridge - money that will enable disadvantaged young people, to gain the skills and motivation to re-engage with training or employment.
‘I cannot tell you how amazing it feels to have made our dream a reality,’ says Will. ‘The reception we got throughout Africa was quite extraordinary - many families were unbelievably charitable and hospitable along the way giving us food and a place to stay.
It is an experience we will never forget - and one we would recommend to anyone wanting to do something adventurous and eye-opening as part of their gap year. The fact that we could, in addition, raise a huge amount for Fairbridge made the journey even more worthwhile.’
Hard work but hugely enjoyable
Will has some words of wisdom to any aspiring Chad. ‘Do it! Don’t expect the most comfortable holiday, but it is the most rewarding experience that I have ever hard, one that was hugely enjoyable and one you will never forget.’
But as Tom warns, the charity adventure is not for the faint-hearted and cannot be achieved on a whim. He says: ‘It is not the sort of thing that should be taken lightly - you will know if this is you or not - you have to be a certain type of person.
These things generally can’t be organised in a couple of weeks. You generally need a minimum of six months to two years for these things to happen - it takes a lot of doing.’
Steve Fabes is now 27 and a doctor in general medicine. ‘I started planning my Chile trip at 16,’ he says. ‘I wanted to do something different, to take on a challenge I thought I might not finish and as a result get a huge sense of achievement.
It's great to see so many young people take up Charity Challenges. It's tough to do which is why I admire their achievements and it certainly makes you stand out from the crowd.’
