Enda’s 3,500km cycle trek in aid of people of Gaza

A Cork man is in the midst of a marathon cycling trek with his friend, to raise money in support of the war-torn people of Gaza and Palestine.

Enda Francis-Devine, from Innishannon, has embarked on a charity mission to pedal from Ireland to Istanbul in Turkey, a distance of more than 3,500km.

Enda was moved by the plight of the suffering people of the Middle East region, which has been racked by war for almost two years.

He and his friend, Conor Kavanagh, both 26, set off from Meath on July 6 on their mission they have called Gears For Gaza, and by last week had reached Frankfurt in Germany, having pedalled through the UK and Netherlands so far.

They have already raised more than €3,000 for their chosen charity, Doctors Without Borders, and hope to reach Istanbul by the last weekend in August.

Enda grew up in Innishannon, attending Scoil Eoin primary school before completing his secondary school education in Hamilton High School in Bandon.

He has grown up in a family dedicated to helping others.

“I studied Social Work in university in Dublin, which is where I met Conor Kavanagh, my friend who I am cycling with,” said Enda.

“After graduation, I returned to Cork where I worked in a resettlement service, supporting people in direct provision centres to find secure housing.

“Both of my parents are also in the caring profession, and they and my two older siblings have all been incredibly supportive of this journey.

“The Gears For Gaza project was originally Conor’s idea, and when he suggested I join him, I didn’t need much convincing.

“A long haul bike-packing trip like this has always appealed to me, but when we decided to do it as a fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders, that was when we both got really excited about it and Gears For Gaza was born.

“We are both eager travellers and adventure-seekers and being able to use those interests and skills to support such an important cause felt really meaningful.”

Enda said one of their biggest highlights so far was seeing how much money had been raised before they even began their challenge.

“We raised €1500 before leaving, having only set up the donation page five days earlier.”

He added: “Another massive highlight was when we first arrived in England, having crossed the Welsh-English border. This was our first country down!

“We naturally had heard a lot of questions and concerns from family and friends about how we would pull off such an ambitious journey, so we were full of nerves and apprehension setting off, but entering England proved to ourselves that we could do this.

“This was when we knew Istanbul was possible.”

Their biggest physical challenge so far has been crossing the Peak District in the UK, Enda said.

“It was full of steep, rough terrain, making it impossible to cycle, which meant we had to push our bikes across the district. Although the gratification of making it down the other side made it worth it.”

Enda said another large challenge both he and Conor have faced individually is developing a social media presence for the sake of their charity Doctors Without Borders.

“We post daily update videos - where we talk to the camera, explain the struggles and encourage support,” explained Enda.

“All of which we feel has massively benefitted the cause, but also put myself and Conor a little bit out of our comfort zone in the social media world.

“All of this while managing the daily challenges of finding food and clean water, charging our devices, and finding a camping spot!”

As for choosing the suffering people of Gaza for their charity drive, Enda explained: “I wanted to raise money for this cause because I know so many people who come from Afghanistan, Iran, and Syria and have had to leave due to conflict, so I recognise the struggle of the people in Gaza and have known stories like theirs before.

“I have not been directly impacted by the conflict in Gaza in any way but I don’t want to live in a world where a genocide is taking place and people aren’t taking action.

“It was important to me to feel like I was making as much of a contribution as I could, and Doctors Without Borders seemed to be having a huge impact on the ground.

“So fundraising for them felt like the most useful thing we could do.

“I am proud, as an Irish person, to stand with Palestine.

To donate to Gears For Gaza, see https://linktr.ee/enda_moving