Operation South America

Operation South America (OSA) is a UK based charity working in Paraguay to help shelter and feed children from poor households. The charity offers housing, clothing, food and assistance to homeless children, and those whose parents are unable to afford to feed their family.

“I wanted to understand the feeling of true starvation and desperation.”

This often means that some of the children at the shelter eat every other day, and are unaware that a normal balanced diet generally involves 3 meals per day. It’s for this reason, and for this cause the Laura decided to dedicate her adventure to this wonderful organisation. Rather than just raise awareness and funds, she told me: “I wanted to understand the feeling of true starvation and desperation. Unknowing where to sleep, or where and when the next meal would come.”

It was for this reason, Laura decided to embark on a 6 month cycling mission across South America without any money whatsoever. Loaded with only her bike, bags, camping kit and essentials, she set out.

“I became weary of eating guavas and potatoes as they would usually be ridden with maggots”

As Laura made her way through Ecadour, she felt a warmer reception from the locals in Peru and Bolivia, but still feeling like a burden when it came to donations.

Burning roughly 3000 kcals per day, Laura was forced to find food wherever she could. This would often result in foraging for fruit, nuts and berries although the guavas and potatoes were almost always riddled with maggots. Being that hungry lead Laura to resort to finishing off scrap foods and asking for donations.

She recounts one particular moment of desperation: “I cycled into a small village, being so hungry that I could barely hold myself up straight. I walked into a bakery and just cried. The baker was sympathetic and kind enough to give me  two bags of stale bread. I was so grateful that I hugged him, even though I could tell he wanted me on my way. With those bags of bread, I had to carefully ration them because I had no idea where the next bit of food would come from.”

How to manage your hydration levels on the bike

When you experience true hunger and starvation like Laura, you begin to develop a different relationship with food. Being so unsure where the next meal would come from, Laura found herself holding onto every morsel, and telling herself at points of hunger, “You could still get worse. Save it for then”.

As Laura made her way through Paraguay, she explained that the atmosphere was so much more supportive with locals being more willing to offer bread, biscuits and cookies as she cycled by. Having the support of the local community cheering her on did a great deal for Laura’s mental state and provided a much needed boost of motivation.

As she reached Argentina, her final country, spirits were high and the amount of support was overwhelming. With the boost of morale, additional food donations and the nearing end of the trip, Laura was able to cover almost 140km per day.

After 164 days and 7000km, Laura finally made it to Buenos Aires where her journey came to an end.

The aftermath

Since coming back from her incredible cycling adventure, Laura has shared her experiences with many organisations, speaking publicly abut the journey. Living without financial or social support, she was able to understand the true meaning of starvation, something that many people live with everyday of their lives.

Upon returning home in July 2016, Laura was thrown into making final wedding arrangements which lead her to marrying Ed Stafford in September. Laura and Ed are about to embark on a whole new adventure: parenthood. Being pregnant isn’t stopping her from making plans for January 2018 though – stay tuned to see where her next journey takes her.

Feeling inspired to set yourself an incredible cycling challenge? It doesn’t have to be across countries, and without financial support, but you can do something to challenge your limits and work towards this year.

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