A cyclist has completed a 928km ride from Moyale to Kisumu to sensitise Kenyans on the dangers of Covid-19.
Fredrick Ochieng embarked on the journey on August 6 even as the country continued to record more cases of coronavirus.
The 26-year-old father of two who is a shoe shiner in Marsabit town said he decided to take the ride to create awareness of Covid-19 prevention measures put in place by the government.
Ochieng said he was motivated to take the long journey because of the love for his country, which has been hard hit by the negative economic effects of the disease.
“It pains me to see people die while economic activities have ground to a halt, rendering millions of Kenyans jobless,” he said.
He was received on Wednesday by the Kisumu Central deputy county commissioner John Cheruiyot.
Ochieng said his journey from Moyale through Nairobi was a great success despite the numerous challenges he encountered on the way.
He said during the long stretch he spent the nights at police stations and Catholic missions in the various towns he stopped over.
On numerous occasions his bicycle would break down slowing his progress but he did not give up.
“It was not easy, but I am happy I did not give up,” he said. His bicycle carried Covid-19 messages and a loudspeaker mounted at the back with a blaring messages that the pandemic is real.
During his journey Ochieng distributed free face masks and hand sanitiser. He noted that people mostly from the Northern region still did not believe the dangerous disease exists.
He stated in most areas he stopped over, he found many people not adhering to the government directives of social distancing and wearing of face masks.
“I am happy that I was able to pass the message across to them on the importance of adhering to the guidelines to protect themselves and their loved ones.”
Kisumu Central DCC Cheruiyot lauded the effort, saying the initiative was timely to pass the message to Kenyans to cut the number of new infections.