Kenyan Cyclists to Pedal to Hajj
This is the first ever group of Muslims from Africa to try to undertake the road trip to the holy city of Mecca.
Speaking at the Kenya Coast Tourist Association (KCTA) headquarter officers, Mombasa, the cyclists said that they were determined to complete the grueling ride journey in a record 45 days where they shall traverse Kenya, Ethiopia, North Sudan before crossing by boat ferry through the Red Sea to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and head to Mecca from Jeddah for the annual Hajj Pilgrim.
“We are raising funds for a worthy cause. It is to complete construction works of the Al Furqan Towers located in Namanga and our target for the construction of the building is $ 250,000,'' Team captain Mohamed Zahir said.
The other budding cyclists in the group include Mombasa based Anwar Mansur, Mohamed Salim Mohamed and Osman Idrissa.
Farouk Owuor, representative of KCTA who presented the group with detailed maps of Kenya and booklets on destination hailed the group for the noble initiative and wished them well in their endeavors.
“We took it up upon ourselves to volunteer to rise instead of flying to Mecca to help raise funds for the education of needy boys in Kenya through the Al-Furqan Training Institute (ATI),” Zahir said.
He said that the entire journey from Nairobi to their final destination covers a distance of over 3,500km.
ATI is an integrated boarding school with both secular education and deen (religious teachings).
“The aim of the institute is to provide Islamic guidance and counseling, quality education and training, social welfare services and heritage awareness and conservation through partnerships. It has approximately 160 students fully equipped with a computer lab,” Zahir said.
He clarified that they are not raising funds for the trip but are appealing to the general public to sponsor a needy child for education instead.
“The Pedal to Hajj team aims to raise Sh.5, 000,000 to help meet that target,” he said.
Apart from the riders, they will have support crew rising in two Land Cruisers with a doctor and a mechanic among them Ibrahim Kassim, Zakir Khilan and Ismail Said.
As part of their preparations for the grueling road trip that will see them traverse rough patches and terrain, they have ridden to Arusha, Tanzania, done routine training at the Karura Forest cycle and rode to Malindi.
The team has been training for this trip for the past 9 months.
Pedal to Hajj partners includes Maahad Daawah institute, Al-Furqan Institute, and Al-Furqan Towers.
Other sponsors who have come on board include Halal Safaris Africa and several other well-wishers and volunteers.
Source: standardmedia.co.ke
