Posted: 14/10/2009
On Tuesday, 13th October, Simon Chegwyn could hardly see the road for the sea of people who were waiting to celebrate his arrival after his 11,000 km motorcycle journey from the UK. The British citizen beamed as he reached the crowd waiting outside the headquarters of Asha Society in RK Puram. Asha is one of two NGOs for which Simon was raising money. The other is Weston Hospicecare, a UK-based organisation providing care for people with life-threatening illnesses.
Hundreds of people clamoured to reach Simon, placing garlands around his neck and feeding him sweets as the drumbeats of two local musicians heightened the excitement. The buzzing crowd included many men, women and children from local slum areas who benefit from the slum development work of Asha, as well as Asha staff members and Dr Kiran Martin, Asha's founder and director.
After just under 5 weeks travelling through heat, dust and rain, and over gravel and sand as well as tarmac, Simon completed his journey around 3 weeks earlier than he had anticipated. He crossed France, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan in order to reach India and ultimately Delhi - much of the time in Pakistan spent with a police escort due to the unstable political situation in some parts of the country.
The trip didn't go completely smoothly - Simon's finger was dislocated when a taxi reversed into him in Turkey, and his original travelling partner, Richard Evans - also from the UK - had to ship his bike home due to serious mechanical problems, and continue his part of the challenge by teaching English in Delhi slum areas for Asha.
It is the longest and most adventurous fundraising activity ever undertaken on behalf of Asha. Simon funded all his own expenses for the trip, so all money raised will go directly to Simon's two chosen charities.
"I'm hoping to stay in Delhi for a few more months if possible, and do some volunteering for Asha", said Simon - not showing any signs of needing a good rest after such a gruelling journey.
You can read the article on Hindu Newspaper by clicking here
The challenge website is http://www.delhibikechallenge2009.com/
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I've been involved with Asha for years now. I hardly used to go to school, and had no direction in life, but since Asha encouraged me to study I've realised how important it is. This July (2010) I was admitted to Delhi Technological University to study Engineering - Asha supported me a lot during my exams and the application process. Now I know that I can succeed, and all my hard work will be worthwhile.
Mahesh, Dr Ambedkar Basti
