Amid
a throng of well-wishers, Muslim and Ayesha
Harji, concluded their extraordinary
11,900-kilometre cycling trip through Africa
at the World Partnership Walk on May 28, in
Mount-Royal Park.
Dubbed Pedal for Hope, the father-daughter
cycling duo encouraged friends and family to
pledge their support to their
four-and-half-month journey, by sending
donations to Aga Khan Foundation Canada.
The outpouring was impressive. On Walk day,
the Harjis presented Dr. Karima Fazal-Karim,
the Montreal convenor, with a cheque for
$50,000.
“It would have been
very difficult, if not impossible, for us to
achieve this without the help and
encouragement of each and every one of you,”
Ayesha wrote in an email to supporters.
“None of us ever imagined such an outpouring
of generosity!”
Traveling through
deserts and mountains, they endured
scorching heat and bitter cold as they
cycled through Egypt, the Sudan, Ethiopia,
Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana,
Namibia, and South Africa.
While in Tanzania,
Ayesha, a recently-graduated international
relations student at Mount Allison
University, took time to visit a teacher
training program supported by AKFC. “I was
so impressed,” she said. “I was able to put
a face to the cause we were raising money
for.”
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