“Today we got up at 4am. As usual, it was tough.” Terry Fox, Canadian Hero
“That keeps me going, day after day. What I am doing is miniscule compared to what Terry went through, day after day after day,” says David Knoppert, a 68 year old Rotarian from the London Hyde Park Rotary Club. On October 1st, 2020, David started his ride across Canada, starting from Victoria, BC. By riding 40 km a day (the same daily distance that Terry Fox ran on one good leg) he estimates that he will arrive in St John’s at the end of April 2021.
So why is he doing this, obligating his aging body to a daily routine of 65 minutes on a stationary bicycle ? “Our outreach team, called COMMIT, is committed, literally, to helping the poorest people in rural Nicaragua.” COMMIT (Canadian Outreach Medical Mission Team) is affiliated with the Rotary Club of Stratford, ON. While the team does hold 4 or 5 community clinics in various villages yearly, it is also involved in many ongoing projects, including water, garden, sewing cooperative, stove, and textbooks for schools. Funds that might have normally been targeted to COMMIT from Rotary clubs have, this year, been targeted for local charities. A Guinness World record attempt (number of golf balls hit in 3 minutes) in July generated over $10,000, which was to have been directed toward the stove project. However, the money was directed to COVID RELIEF in Nicaragua (food, masks, sanitation stations for hundreds of students).
Now David is on another fund raiser to help fund the various projects, with a special emphasis on stoves and tree conservation to improve health and fight global warming. “Right now most people in the rural area cook on an open flame, inside or just outside the home”. This is dangerous for children and the inhaled smoke causes inflammation and difficulty breathing. Building energy efficient safe stoves with vented stacks and growing trees in the villages to replace those used is his goal.
As he travels across Canada, Knoppert is visiting various Rotary Clubs across the country to tell other Rotarians the COMMIT story and to try to raise money for many worthwhile causes. He is asking interested Rotarians to sponsor him for 1 cent / km. The distance from Victoria BC to St John’s Nfld is 7,176 km, so the total commitment would be just $71.76. David will be ‘passing’ through the provinces and is interested in speaking (5 min or a 20 min Power Point presentation) at your club. You may contact him directly at davidknoppert@sympatico.ca
