Young Cyclists Ride From Kanyakumari to Khardung-la To Educate Girls

Hailing from Navi Mumbai, Sumeet Paringe (26) and Prisiliya Madan (22), two young cycling enthusiasts have set their feet on a journey. They have paddled across the length of India with their cycles earlier. But this time, the journey is different.

Paringe and Madan have blended their passion with a social cause. The duo is cycling from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu to Khardung-la in Jammu and Kashmir to raise funds for girl child education. While they travel across the length of India, raising awareness on girl child education, an online campaign on crowd funding platform Fuel A Dream is raising funds to educate girls. They aim to raise Rs 50 lakh to support education of 1500 girls for one year.

The ‘Cyclists for Change’ journey that started on July 14, is expected to travel 11 states and conclude in 70 days. While Paringe and Madan have both paddled on long routes previously, this is their first trip together.

The expedition is supported by Godrej and IIMPACT, a non-government organisation (NGO) will be felicitating the girl child education. IIMPACT works to mobilise and motivate non-school going girls, between the ages of 6 and 14, from economically and socially backward rural areas of India, and put them firmly on the track of literacy through quality primary education.

“Our previous rides were purely out of our passion for cycling. But this time, when we were approached to ride for girl child education, we happily agreed. I am cycling because I am passionate about it and I believe every girl should drive towards her passion. Education will help this and thus we undertook this journey,” said Paringe who is an engineer by qualification and a passionate mountaineer and cyclist.

Madan recently finished her Masters in Computer Science. “During my journey, I come across many people who have a pre-conceived notion that if I am a passionate cyclist, I may not be educated well. But when I tell them about my educational qualifications, they start respecting me and my decisions. I believe education makes a girl independent and gives matured sense to make decisions. Thus, we want to advocate and work for it,” said Madan while explaining her reasons to have joined the ride. She is also an avid classical dancer.

Unlike the usual cycles, the ones used for this ride are made of bamboo, making them eco-friendly and light-weight.  The cycles are manufactured by Godrej especially for the journey.

Individuals can contribute towards girl education by visiting the Fuel a Dream website, which has already raised over Rs 27 lakh.

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