adminRay Bande Senior Sports Reporter
THIS is no ordinary cycling at all! An Indian youth who has been cycling around the world for the past 10 years on a tour to raise awareness on the Aids pandemic wound up his three-week stint in the country with a courtesy call on Minister for State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs, Chris Mushohwe, on Wednesday.
He has so far covered 91 countries in the Middle East, South and North America, Europe and 50 in Africa, covering 109 750 kilometres. In his mission, he still has 100 more countries to visit and plans to return home in India 2020.
Mozambique becomes his 92nd country to visit.
In this gruelling and adventurous tour, which is most likely destined to see the Indian cyclist in the Guinness Book of Records, Somen Debnath has been robbed six times, beaten up eight times, let alone spent about three weeks in Taliban captivity in Afghanistan.
Debnath (31), who comes from the largest tiger reserve in India, Sunderbans, West Bengal, arrived in Zimbabwe on his bicycle from Zambia through Victoria Falls on August 27.
He met Cde Mushohwe at his Mutare Government Complex offices last Wednesday, and was set to leave the country for Mozambique the next day (yesterday).
In an interview in Mutare Debnath, who is single and has no children, said he started his tour from India on May 27, 2004, when he was 20.
“I came through Victoria Falls and that was such a good experience, where I got to see one of the world’s Seven Wonders. In fact, I feel like the whole world is my home. Every human being in it is my brother and sister. I hope to break the barriers that exist socially, religiously or otherwise.
“The whole world is one family,” he said. On the way from Victoria Falls I passed through Hwange as well as Lupane and gave talks at some schools on Aids. The people there received me with open arms,” he said.
During his tour, he has been able to meet 21 presidents, 50 prime ministers and 186 ministers.
“Some might ask how could one put on hold all their commitments in life and embark on a cycling tour around the world?
Debnath says when he was 14 he read an article in a newspaper of a man from his village who was living with HIV and was abandoned by his family and left to die.
“That is the story that motivated me to go around the world preaching the gospel on HIV prevention and care for the infected. I also try to live what I preach. Apart from the message on Aids, I also promote the Indian culture during the tour and teach yoga.”
Debnath’s trip is funded through donations in which well-wishers pay for the kilometres he travels and get certificates of recognition from him and become part of his global family while on the trip.
Part of the donations will be used to fund his dream of building a “global village” in his home country after the completion of the 200 000-kilometre tour covering 191 countries in 2020.
“My idea is to build a complex of houses on an area of eight hectares to provide visitors from around the world with an opportunity to live and interact with each other. It will be a self-sustaining and self-sufficient venture where guests would have the opportunity to cultivate their own crops and fruits on a four-hectare farm,” said Debnath.
Online Reporter