By Charlene Macaulay
A Hoppers Crossing man will cycle solo from Adelaide to Melbourne later this month to raise funds for orphans and widows in India.
Sean O’Keefe will cover 765 kilometres between September 24 and October 1 for his Ride to Empower to raise $20,000 to build refuges for orphans and widows.
Mr O’Keefe said as a father and grandfather, he was keen to make a difference.
“I can do a 100 kilometre ride without too much effort, but doing that for eight days in a row – that’s going to be the tough part,” he said.
“There are 20 million orphans in India, but only 0.3 per cent of them are children who have neither parent. The rest of them are orphans through poverty. We have to do something.
“The church [I go to] is working with people on the ground in India to set up these houses, these refuges, where orphan kids can come and have somewhere where they’re safe from sex trafficking, people trafficking, exploitation.”
Mr O’Keefe hopes to turn the ride into an annual event, and recruit more people to participate next year.
To donate, go to www.equipglobal.org/ridetoempower
