Indian cyclist on global mission to spread HIV/Aids awareness

By Joseph Varghese/Staff ReporterIndian cyclist Somen Debnath, who is in Qatar as part of his mission to pedal around the globe, says he wants to visit 191 countries by 2020. He has so far visited 79 countries and Qatar is his latest stopover. He started his ‘Around the World on Bicycle’ tour in 2004 to spread awareness on HIV/Aids.Debnath will be in Qatar until August 15. He plans to cover 200,000km and reach up to 2mn people by the end of his journey in 2020. He claims that all the expenses for his trip are funded through donations from people he comes across. He comes from a small village in West Bengal, India.Speaking to the media yesterday at the Indian Cultural Centre (ICC), Debnath said right from his childhood he wanted to do something different. “When I was 14, I came to read an article about Aids, which narrated the pathetic condition of a man who was left behind by everyone. This made a huge impact on me as I underwent special training on the subject and started an awareness campaign on Aids,” he said, adding that this became his mission first in his village, then in his country and finally all over the world.From Qatar, Debnath will travel to Saudi Arabia and cover all the GCC states and other Middle Eastern countries in the coming months. His aim is to cover the entire Middle East and Africa by 2015 and then proceed to the South Pole, Antarctica, and South and North America. He aims to complete the mission with visits to Australia and New Zealand and return to India by May 2020.Debnath said he spends about a month in every country that he visits to learn about the place and its culture. “I interact with the youth of the countries I visit. I also go to schools and colleges in every country and conduct workshops on Aids awareness. Besides, I am keen to promote India and Indian culture through the seminars,” he recalled.The young adventurist said he was captured by Taliban and kept in their custody for 24 days. “I was robbed six times during the journey, beaten eight times by miscreants and my cycle was stolen once. All through my journey, I am supported by the people I come across. Many people have contributed to the expenses and I do not have any corporates supporting me in this venture,” he added. Debnath explained that 40% of the contributions he got from people was spent on travel expenses. The remaining amount (60%) will be used to build a “global village” that he has planned at a village near Kolkata, West Bengal.He said one of the most striking experiences during his travel was meeting an elderly Bangladeshi gentleman who earned one quarter of a US dollar per day. “ It was a great inspiration for me and he was the happiest man I have seen so far in my life. This kept me going on in my mission and gave me a lot of strength,” he said.During his journey, said Debnath, he has met 75 ambassadors of India in different countries, presidents of 17 countries, 48 prime ministers, 160 ministers and top government officials. Speaking at the press conference, ICC president Tarun Kumar Basu and vice-president Girish Kumar K R appealed to the Indian community and organisations affiliated to ICC to support the young hero from India. Sunil Thapliyal, head of chancery at the Indian embassy, was also present on the occasion.