“I was born in Avalon on the Sydney’s Northern Beaches. The family moved here to the Northern Rivers when I was 13 and I went to Alstonville High. After school I lived in different cities and spent 10 years in Sydney. I came back here when I was 29. I loved being back here. When I was in Sydney I had a big credit card debt, I was studying Environmental Science at the time. I moved back here and worked to pay off my debt and save money to travel.
I wanted to travel across borders without flying so I flew from Brisbane to Singapore and travelled through Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China all by buses and cars. Crossing from Thailand across the Mekong River into Northern Laos was an eye opener, going from a developed country to little houses with dirt floors. When I crossed some back wood border from Vietnam into China they x-rayed my bags and confiscated my guide books because they didn’t include Taiwan as part of China, even though it’s not. The Chinese Government was under instruction to confiscate Lonely Planet guide books. No one could speak English and they didn’t want to anyway. I was pleading with them to see the map because I didn’t know where I was and needed to get to a bus station. They were not interested, wouldn’t look at me and it was my first trip overseas. I started to cry and then I was like ‘Matt, pull your shit together, what are you gonna do? Just sit here and cry’ so somehow I found the station. Eventually a guy helped me and he found me a place to stay for the night and put me on the bus the next day. I went on to Mongolia and the Tibetan Plateau and saw amazing places for 2 months before taking a boat to Japan. I landed in Osaka and travelled around Japan. I then flew to the UK where I lived for a year with family.
I had this dream to go to India. I had met a guy on the boat from China to Japan who had cycled around Central Asia and I thought, what freedom to go on a bicycle, stop where and when you want, open skies and the idea of having that ultimate freedom really appealed to me. I left London as it is expensive, my health wasn’t great from the lack of sunlight and I suffer from Psoriasis. I was drinking a bit too much which is easy to do in London. Everyone always ends up in the pub. I came back to the Northern Rivers and saved again with the intention to go to India with a bicycle.
I bought a custom made bike online from The Netherlands, I put it together and did a bit of training around here. I flew from UK to England and my flight landed in Singapore but there was an interruption to my next flight. Long story short they put me up in The Sheraton for 3 days with amazing food. I had the best time. I met this local guy who was like my tour guide who showed me around. Suddenly the airline called and there was a flight I had to run too.
I arrived in Delhi at 4am with my bicycle in a box, a tent, a sleeping bag, multi fuel cooker and tools. First time in India, pushing a rickshaw with all my stuff and all the rooms were full. Finally I found a place and it took me a week to be brave enough to get on a cycle in the madness. There is no traffic rules at all. I called my Dad and he inspired me on. I got on the bike, had no idea where I was going but I headed west. I cycled through Delhi, out through the desert to Bikaner and from there I went down and then out to the West Coast. I missed the ocean and had to get to the water. I rode 140 kms on Christmas Eve which was the most I had done in a day. It took me 15 hours. All up I’ve done about 10,000kms. I cycled from Delhi to Goa which took me 5 months and that was 4,300kms. It was hot and I was breaking out so I left my bike in my friends house, went up to Kashmir and Varanasi for the last month of my visa and I fell in love with Varanasi. It felt like home. I made nice friends, swam in the Ganges and never got sick.
I came back to Australia for a couple of months and I missed India like I missed a family member. India was in my heart and under my skin. I was working in a cafe in Ballina and last minute I booked a flight at Christmas time to India. It cost me $4000 but I had to get there. I was in Varanasi and feeling a little bit lost…what was the point of my life? I asked myself….What am I here for? I was walking along the river one day and saw some medical students helping kids, doing health stuff. I don’t have any medical background but I decided I wanted to help kids and I thought….What can I offer to these people? I started searching and I received a random newsletter from the Kiva Spa in Mullum. I opened it and read the whole thing. At the end it said they were supporting “Forget me Not’ that month. I clicked on the link and there was a project on the cards in Varanasi. I thought it was weird as I was in Varanasi at the time. I emailed Andrea from Forget Me Not and told her my story. She said, ‘Have you thought about cycling as a fundraising campaign?’ and that became Cycle for Brighter Futures.
I came home then returned in 2013. I continued cycling from Goa all the way down to the very southern tip of India, turned around and came all the way up the East coast to Calcutta. My visa ran out so I left my bike in Chennai. I took a 38 hr train to Varanasi for my 30th birthday and then a 24 hr bus to Kathmandu to renew my visa and then all the way back. I finished my cycle journey in Varanasi. I set a target to raise $30,000 which I didn’t reach while I was on the road. I raised about half.
I wondered if other people would like to join me, I could bring a group of people and cycle as a fundraiser together. I called Andrea and told her my idea. I came back to Australia, the first year didn’t work, the second year I took 18 people. It’s a 10 day tour and runs from Kochi to Kerala. The 10 days include 4 days of cycling about 60 kms. We start early morning and reach our destination by lunchtime. We travel on small coastal roads through villages and it’s so nice. We stop in an Ashram for a night. I try and give people a taste of everything in those 10 days. It costs $1,600 and that covers cycle hire, support vehicle, accommodation, all food, all costs. You just need your airfares and you have to raise a minimum of $1600 per person. All money goes directly to the project which is Brighter Futures Study Centre. We raise about $20,000 a year and that has allowed the charity to grow from supporting 23 families when I first got on the road to now over 2,000 kids. From one small study centre there is now 3 more in different locations doing 3 classes per day in each of those centres. The first study centre I helped to fund was demolished by the government as they were building a fly over for a train metro. Their answer to that was to paint a blackboard on the metro pillar and now they are doing classes in the open in the slum under the metro learning Algebra, English, etc.
When I was doing my own fundraising alone I had an Everyday Hero page and people donated through that. I handed out flyers and would talk to people at the markets about the project. I copped some abuse from people saying ‘Why aren’t you helping Australian kids?’ That kind of thing and I would say well what are you doing for Australian kids? They couldn’t say anything. It’s hard. I’m an extremely sensitive person and I find it hard to not take it on board. I’m getting stronger as I’ve been doing this for years now. People are people. There is no difference between Indian kids and Australian kids. We are all in this together. Just help people where you are. If I was living here I would be helping Australians. Actually I am at the moment. I am working at a cafe in Ballina. It’s a social enterprise run by OnQ which is a not for profit cafe supporting people with disability in the community. Wherever I am I will help whoever I can.
My friend Evanna is here in Lismore. She has been on every tour and raised thousands of dollars. We got to see some of the kids in Delhi who had just finished their tests and were so proud. One of the boys pulled me aside to show me his work. It was brilliant. When it first started these kids knew nothing. They didn’t know why you wouldn’t shit in front of your own house because of disease. They were totally illiterate. Generations of living in the slum, the kids are supporting their parents in so many cases. The little kids are picking through garbage to find stuff to sell to support their family so taking the kids away from begging and garbage collecting and giving them an education is actually taking them away from supporting their family. It’s hard and it’s been a big challenge. Just getting the parents to allow their children to come to the centre has been mammoth. These kids would say….We don’t go to school, we are not like normal kids, school’s not for us.’ The people who run the project in India would say…’No you are all kids and you all deserve an education. You are no different.
These kids who are born in the slum aren’t eligible for birth certificates. The Laksha Aakriti Foundation has fought for the right for them to be born in hospital now. So now all the kids are being born in hospitals which makes them eligible for birth certificates which means they can go to formal schools.
The Cycle for Brighter Futures has raised more than $74,000 for the charity. I’ve been in India most of the time in the last 10 years. When I am in Australia I usually do a fundraiser or an event. For the last few years I put on an authentic Indian feast and we have one this Sunday 26th August at Clunes Coronation Hall. (See link)
I have son who is 4 years old now. Prior to my first solo charity cycle which was 9 months in total I was a sperm donor to a friend of mine. We had been friends since birth pretty much and neighbours growing up. My son was conceived just before I left and while I was cycling he was growing. I had his first ultrasound scan on the front of my bike. I live in India but we FaceTime and video call as much as we can. He knows I’m his dad and calls me Daddy. I come back every year for his birthday and stay with them. We had our first extended one on one time and went to the beach together for the day. His name is Ziggy. He said to me Dad, when I think of you I’m going to go to the sand. Our families are connected so Ziggy has a whole big family. I’m so blessed.”