Kenya youth takes up cycling to address racism

SHILLONG: A youth from Kenya will undertake a “Pedal for Peace” campaign from the city on Saturday, in an attempt to eradicate racial prejudice against Africans in India.
Addressing reporters on Thursday, Peter Goggi said he would be cycling a distance of 6, 700 km in about 180 days, covering 200 km a day.
“Along the way, I will interact with the Indian society to ascertain the root cause of racism, especially against Africans,” Goggi said.
His journey will culminate in New Delhi via Kanyakumari. Various cycling associations will join him in different states during his venture.
“We want to erase the perception that everyone in Africa is Nigerian. We want to create a platform where we can get to know a lot more about the Indian culture, Indian society and also inform people here about African culture. Through this we can remove some of the obstacles that currently exist,” he said.
Stating that it is going to be hard to completely eradicate racism, Goggi however said, “If we can find a system which can galvanise the sources of friction then removing racism from the society will become much more practical.”
Goggi, who has spent a few months in Meghalaya , was impressed by the natural beauty of the state.
“Meghalaya is one of the most beautiful places in India and racism in this part of the country is not very deep rooted,” he said.
He said that during his stay in the state he has been involved in voluntary teaching in English for three months at Nongjri village in Pynursla and later involved with Bethany Society for a couple of months.