Tom Hashemi, CEO of Cast From Clay, which operates in London and Lviv, wants to make a bicycle trip across Europe to raise funds for demining the territory of Ukraine.
“I’m going to do a bike ride from London to Lviv. It is about 2000 kilometers. I will do this in order to raise funds for demining the Ukrainian territory. My company works in both London and Lviv, so this route is not accidental.
During the year of the great war, we repeatedly supported Ukraine: donated funds, sent medicines. Cycling is another step that I can and want to take for Ukraine. I heard from the Ukrainian deputy Lesya Vasylenko about the problem with landmines, from which children often suffer and die. I have a 5-year-old son, so this problem has affected me personally.
My idea has several purposes. The first is to collect 20 thousand pounds, which is enough to remove about 40 unexploded mines, shells and avoid the damage they can cause. These funds are collected through a fundraising platform (half of this amount has already been collected). Another goal is more political, because I want to draw the attention of British officials and politicians to Ukraine (in particular, I plan to bring letters from them for the mayor of Lviv, and accordingly, to hand over a letter from the mayor of Lviv to the British authorities, and in this way strengthen cooperation at the local level between the authorities Great Britain and Ukraine).
The bicycle that Tom will ride from London to Lviv and back will be painted in Ukrainian and British colors. Several local British companies were involved in the process of creating this bicycle, which also has a certain symbolism of uniting for the sake of helping Ukrainians.
The trip will start on April 28. Tom plans to cover this distance in 14 days.
You can follow all the details of the arrival and preparation for it here.
