Features
-
Personalities
Biker with a mission
By Ramya Kannan
Charity work is fun. - Photo: M. Moorthy
YOU CAN do a lot of things to help people. But does it not seem that riding a bicycle all alone across seven countries, striding deserts and mountain in temperatures between 40 Deg C and -20 Deg C a lot of effort? You bet it is. That, however, is the way Christoph Von Toggenburg likes to do it.
The creator of the Bikeforhelp concept, Christoph, also called Barli, is planning to spend five months on two wheels across deserts, tropical areas, mountains, just so he can raise money to support two organisations working with the leprosy afflicted in Asia: Ciomal (Order of Malta) and the Gerhard Fischer Foundation.
For a painter, photographer and a not so `athletic person', it would seem a rather unusual thing to do. But not for Christoph. He has already run from Switzerland to Italy in order to raise money for homeless children in Bucharest, managing more than 50,000 Swiss francs. But why leprosy now? ``I choose my own projects carefully. In most of the Western world, there is very little awareness about leprosy - they still look at it as a disease from the Middle Ages,'' he says.
And once he narrowed down on the idea in August 2000, he began building up a network, spending hours on the internet and telephone everyday, trying to get people interested.
``None of the money raised as part of the project will fund my travel expenses,'' he says. That also meant he will have to spend his own money for the entire trip. ``I was willing to, but a number of companies have come forward to finance parts of the project.''
The trip will begin in New Delhi on January 1, 2002, after which Christoph will go on to Pakistan (close to the Afghan border), Iran, Turkey, Greece, Italy and finally wind up in Toggenburg in Switzerland, riding in along with spring to a beautiful country. Toggenburg, incidentally, is named after Christoph's family, who, he says, are descended from a long line of Counts.
Meanwhile, in preparation for the trip, he has been touring Asian countries, visiting leprosy centres, studying the disease, its socio-economic impact and writing about the issue. Through his journey, he will be writing periodic reports and to post on the site www.bikeforhelp.com, armed as he is with a satellite phone, laptop and digital cameras. Yes, all of them strapped onto his 24-geared bike, that can carry 25 kg of equipment and 25 additional litres of water.
Christoph, who must first cross the deadly roads of India and the subcontinent, hopes to raise around $ 70,000 for the mission and until he finishes the tour, all he gets are `pledges' from different organisations. However, considering he has already gathered assurance for at least $ 45,000, it certainly looks like he will exceed the target. Besides, this 25- year old traveller actually loves what he is doing, ``Charity work is fun. You don't give up anything for that, you know, yet, derive a lot of satisfaction.''
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Features
|
