Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Cycling with a mission

NOBLE DEED: Prakash P. Gopinath plans to cover the length of the State from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram in eight days.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In this age of the cars and more cars, the humble cycle has ceased to be a popular mode of transport. Today, the cycle is mostly the toy of the young adult, who is only too eager to graduate to the motorbike. But even in these times of breakneck speed, the cycle can perform a social role, perhaps as a vehicle that can fetch a little support for a noble cause.

Prakash P. Gopinath, a cycling enthusiast and member of the Indian Cyclists Network, is about to embark on such a mission.

He will embark on an eight-day all-Kerala cycling campaign from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram covering a distance of 625 km from December 20 to 27 to raise funds for Chilla, a place for sex workers’ children, in the capital city. Chilla, in existence for almost a decade now, offers shelter, education and care to the children of sex workers, helping them to overcome the stigma, discrimination and stress with confidence.

Chilla is not an orphanage and the children there are not orphans. They have mothers who are concerned about their well being, but are poor and do not have a home or shelter.

They are on the streets earning their livelihood. So the children of these mothers are forced to be in the streets with them. What Chilla tries to do is to bring up the children as confident individuals closely linked to their mothers.

Over the years, Chilla has been functioning with the help of friends and well wishers from within and outside the country.

However, running this home has all along remained a challenge. That is where Prakash stepped in, with the offer of his cycle expedition which could also focus public attention on such wider issues as global warming and the need for sustainable development models besides campaigning for a space for cyclists in urban planning.

“This is an expedition to tell everyone that all of us on the face of the earth, plants, animals and humans, have the right to live with dignity,” says Prakash as he gets ready for the long journey.

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