I’m very excited to share my official fundraising page supporting the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) as part of my trip! A huge part of my mission with my bike trip from Helsinki to Cape Town is to raise money and promote amazing organizations fighting for the equal human rights of people with disabilities throughout Europe and Africa, and working towards a world where all people across the disability spectrum have freedom to choose and control their own lives and can participate equally in society. ENIL advocates for the principles, values, and practices of independent living, that people with disabilities should have the same opportunities to shape their own lives and be seen and valued as equal citizens. Working at the level of European policy and decision-making, ENIL ensures disabled voices are heard and accounted for throughout Europe. It is really an honor to be partnering with ENIL and promoting their important work as part of my trip! Please visit my fundraising page for ENIL at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/riding-for-enil-and-independent-living-across-europe and donating if you’re able as well as spreading the word about ENIL’s work and mission.
I also recorded my first ever podcast discussing about my trip and my mission with ENIL as part of their podcast (“On Our Terms”). This was a huge privilege for me, and I’m very excited to share it. In our discussion, we talk about my personal motivations for the trip, how my PhD working with children with Cerebral Palsy instilled in me a passion to support accessibility and equal human rights of all people with disabilities, and my mission to share personal stories of people across the disability spectrum that I meet throughout my journey in order to display that disabled people are also just human beings with their own strengths and flaws, interests and dreams, and deserve equal rights to live full, independent, and happy lives. Please check it out if this sounds interesting to you and share it with all your adventure-loving, socially-conscious friends: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pedaling-for-change/id1665881446?i=1000657405548
Thank you all so much for the support for the trip so far! As I began pedaling from Helsinki I felt so grateful to have such an amazing community of friends and family from around the world supporting and following me on this journey. I hope to showcase over my trip that we are all just people, no matter where we come from, what background or culture or tradition we are connected with, or whether we have some form of disability. Diversity is our strength, but we all share the core of being human, and all should be able to choose and control our lives and pursue our own dreams. Please help me in supporting ENIL and working together, abled and disabled alike, for a Europe and a world where there is independent living for all!