Rider humbled by Kiwi kindness
After 19 days riding a tandem bike named Kindness, Naresh Kumar has dispensed with handshakes in favour of hugs when making new acquaintances.
The generosity of New Zealanders, he says, has made him proud. ‘‘It’s been an extremely humbling journey,’’ he said.
Kumar is halfway through a 3000km tandem cycle journey from Cape Reinga to Bluff, raising money for Tearfund’s antitrafficking programmes.
He first made headlines in 2014 after walking the length of New Zealand in sandals specially designed for running.
More than two years later, his latest journey Freedom Seat involved Kumar picking up strangers and friends along the way to help pedal for a good cause. While ‘‘Kindness’’ was in St Arnaud after a mishap in the Wairau Valley, Kumar visited Nelson yesterday to repair a broken wheel.
It did not take long for the locals to offer their support.
‘‘I was just walking around with one wheel and telling people what I was doing – you wouldn’t believe it – but I walked out of the supermarket with $150,’’ he said.
As well as sharing the road with new-found friends, Kumar was speaking at schools, universities, churches and libraries to raise awareness about trafficking and encouraging others to fight and do their part.
Raised in the slums of Chennai, India, Kumar had witnessed firsthand the circumstances that led to exploitation of children.
However, it was an approach by a trafficker in Nepal touting girls as young as 12 that brought home the need to act.
With 21 million children caught up in trafficking and exploitation in places like India, Nepal, Cambodia and Thailand, the Auckland-based software engineer he said was driven to help.
‘‘Just because you’ve managed to climb out of that situation, it doesn’t make you entitled,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s really just the outrage – we read so many stories in the news and on TV and a lot of people say the world has gone to the dogs and they just keep going, but we want to respect that outrage and inner rebellion in a nice and friendly way,’’ he said.
Kumar said the public response had been overwhelmingly positive on and off the road. The spare seat on ‘‘Kindness’’ had seldom been vacant, with people aged 7 to 70 taking turns to ride with Kumar.
More $11,000 has been raised. For more information and donation details see https:/ /freedomseat.org.nz/.