I wanted to give a heartfelt thank you to ENIL, the European Network on Independent Living, before finishing my official fundraising campaign for them today (Thursday, August 29, 2024). It has been a huge honor and pleasure to support ENIL as part of my ride, and working with ENIL has been perhaps the most personally meaningful part of this first section of my journey from Helsinki to Paris. It’s been incredible to meet with so many amazing ENIL member organizations, to learn about their important work, the progress that’s been made in disability rights and independent living throughout the countries I’ve visited, but also the challenges and barriers that still remain, and to have the opportunity to hear the personal stories of so many inspiring, well-spoken, interesting, smart, funny, humble, and profoundly human activists fighting for independent living through my ride. To be honest, I knew nothing about the independent living movement before the start of my trip, and I’ve learned so much about independent living, disability rights, personal assistance, the segregation, barriers, and prejudice people with disabilities continue to face, and how we can all support this movement and help to break down these barriers enabling everyone to flourish and live independent lives. It’s been truly illuminating for me, and has ignited a strong passion within myself to do all I can to support and promote the movement as an ally!
Meeting with the ENIL team in Brussels, and exploring the city with my bike
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I reached out to ENIL before my ride. I’m sure it was unusual to receive an email from a guy wanting to ride his bike from Finland to South Africa with the request to partner up and try to use the ride to promote disability inclusion and independent living… But I was so excited when ENIL enthusiastically accepted my proposal to partner up and find ways to use my ride to support them and the independent living movement. It was a privilege to be able to talk about my ride on ENIL’s podcast (check out the episode here), and I am so grateful for all ENIL has done for me to promote my ride and my mission. This absolutely isn’t the end of my partnership with ENIL, and I plan to continue to meet more independent living organizations through Europe, and promote their work, telling about the current situations for people with disabilities in the different regions I will be riding through, and sharing many more personal stories of people with disabilities (and people connected with the independent living movement), to display their unique perspective and experiences, and show that we’re all just human and deserve the right to freedom, independence, and self-determination. For now, this just marks the finish of my official fundraising campaign for ENIL, but all other aspects of our partnership and collaboration will continue throughout my ride through Europe and hopefully beyond. In total, we’ve raised over $3,000 US dollars over these last three months to support ENIL’s work and the fight for independent living. Thank you all so much for your donations and support! My fundraiser page for ENIL will remain open for the rest of my trip, so you can still donate if you haven’t already to support this fight for independent living for everyone. Here is the fundraiser link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/riding-for-enil-and-independent-living-across-europe
Remember, independent living for all benefits everyone, and we can all be allies to create a world where everyone, abled or disabled, are seen as equal human beings, have the same rights and access to participate in society as equal citizens, and have the same opportunities to be free, independent, and strive for their dreams. Thank you ENIL!
At the European parliament building, where change can be made
Tomorrow, In celebration and connection with the beginning of the Paralympic games, and promoting inclusion in sports and exercise, which is a topic very close to my heart, I will open my fundraising campaign for my new partner organization. No spoilers yet, but I hope you are also excited to support this new organization!
Thanks for reading, and as always…
Pedal with Soul,
– Max