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I rode for a cause

Santosh a 12 year old boy cycled 75 km on 20th July. A father and his 10 year old daughter finished their 50 km ride at 7pm – better late than never. Our guard, Suklal Tamang 23 completed the 50 km kora in a gearless cycle – a tremendous feat. While I gave up half way and hitched a ride home in a taxi. “I saw many of you today, are you cycling to put pressure on the government to develop cycling pavements?” enquired the taxi driver.

There are a lot of issues and important decisions that our government must act on to improve the lives of millions of rural people. But Kathmandu Kora cycling event was much more than pressurizing the government. The cause was owned by every individual cycling on 20th July – raise 1 million rupees to build a model eco friendly birthing centre in Baitadi. This event has made the general population realize that little contributions can help make a difference.

The event witnessed more than 900 online registrations with around 700 riders showing up on the D day. The meeting point at Patan Durbar Square was packed with happy riders by 7am. I cannot describe the sense of belonging every rider must have felt on that morning because everyone was happy to wait in long lines whether it was for a banana and an egg or to donate their money. The crowd listened intently to the instructions provided by the organizers while at the same time readying for the flag off. By the time the race was flagged off by the government health officer based in Baitadi District I realized when people come together for a genuine cause nothing is impossible – we didn’t need the government to act, we could accomplish on our own.

“People in Kathmandu who don’t know what is happening in Baitadi are gathered here to help the new and expecting mothers of Sharmali VDC – the pouring support here today has overwhelmed me,” said Lalit Dhami, District Health Officer, Baitadi District.

While 20 SCI staff attempted the race around 10 completed the whole 50 km challenge. Our Country Director, David Wright was one of the first riders among the leader riders to complete the race. With so many riders riding for a common cause the 2013 kora event will be remembered as one of the biggest cycling event in the history of Nepal. But alas it won’t be the last because everyone in and outside the office are already talking about the 2014 event.

 

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