Over £12,000 raised with charity bike ride

14 cyclists have raised over £12,000 with their 'Ride for the Rohingya'

Over £12,000 has been raised by 14 cyclists, including three from Rochdale, who cycled from Manchester to London in July.

The cyclists set off on 21 July, completing a 240-mile ride for Human Aid UK over four days in support of the Rohingya Muslims. They have so far raised £12,485.

https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/138/community-news/120617/two-young-men-cycling-from-rochdale-to-london-to-raise-money-for-rohingya-refugees

The cycle challenge was split into four days, cycling to Stoke-on-Trent on the first day, Birmingham on the second, Oxford on the third before reaching London on the final day.

Abdul Khalik, from Rochdale, commented: “We had never challenged ourselves like this ever before. We were scared and nervous, but this will be a ride I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Dewan Choudhury, also from Rochdale, added: “We reached London: first and foremost, all praise is due to god for keeping us safe and sound. I’m in pain, but nothing compared to what the Rohingya minority are going through. Thank you to everyone who supported us.”

Human Aid UK will be building The Wellbeing Centre, a centre to provide care and healing to the Rohingya to help overcome the tremendous trauma they have been through. The Wellbeing Centre will be an essential part for the distressed Rohingya to adapt themselves in this new environment and rehabilitating them. The centre will aim to help them re-constitute their lives in Bangladesh in respect to education, therapy and medical programmes.

The Rohingya refugees

Over 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled their homes in Myanmar (formerly Burma), with huge numbers crossing the border to Bangladesh, where refugee camps are full, and tens of thousands are trapped on hillsides without access to food, water or medicine.

Many Rohingya say that Burmese government security forces have torched their villages and killed civilians.

In 2013, the minority group - who make up 1.1 million of the South East Asian country’s 53 million population, but who are not recognised as full citizens - was described by the United Nations as 'one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.' The upsurge in violence perpetrated by the Burmese army against the minority group has been likened by the UN as ‘ethnic cleansing’.

To donate, visit:

https://www.muslimgiving.org/rise4rohingyaAK