Cycling without borders, for a legacy
Published 10:34 am Thursday, July 19, 2018
- Cyclist Martin Frank Wong is riding from Mexico City to Toronto, Canada — a journey of more than 3,500 miles — to honor his girlfriend and to raise funds for a Doctors Without Borders project helping migrant and refugee victims of violence. (Lorenzo Salinas/The News)
By Lorenzo Salinas
Martin Frank Wong rides to remember his girlfriend and to honor the legacy she helped promote.
The 35-year-old cyclist is riding from Mexico City to Toronto, Canada by a route that would cover a distance of more than 3,500 miles. He is doing it to raise awareness and funds to help migrants and refugees who are victims of violence and sexual abuse.
This is done through a project operated by Doctors Without Borders, the humanitarian and non-governmental organization in which his girlfriend, Carina Valdespino Villeda, was a member.
“My girlfriend was a doctor with Doctors Without Borders. So I’m cycling to raise money for the project she was working on,” Wong said. “She did a lot of good in this world and I want to continue it on.”
Villeda died earlier in the year due to complications from surgery.
“I’m looking to honor her legacy,” Wong said.
Wong originally hails from Toronto and currently lives in Mexico City, where he works as an IT recruitment consultant, operating remotely for the Toronto and San Francisco markets.
He started his journey June 19 and has since traveled about 1,100 miles by the time he reached Southeast Texas.
“I do about 75 miles a day,” Wong said. “And my biggest day was 104 miles. That was my first century ride. My next goal is to do a double century ride.”
Cyclist Martin Frank Wong is riding from Mexico City to Toronto, Canada — a journey of more than 3,500 miles — to honor his girlfriend and to raise funds for a Doctors Without Borders project helping migrant and refugee victims of violence. (Lorenzo Salinas/The News)
In highlighting migrants’ plight in crossing borders, Wong said violence, both sexual and otherwise, disproportionately affects women and members of the LGBTQ community.
According to him, an estimated 68 percent of refugees become victims of violence and other crimes, and an estimated 90 percent of refugees who are women become victims of sexual violence.
The DWB project offers services like counseling, STD tests and suggestions for less dangerous routes to these individuals.
“Doctors Without Borders are good people doing good things… especially when it comes to migrants and multinational problems,” Wong said. “It’s tricky for governments to deal with these problems. So it makes sense for NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to come in.”
Wong broke down his awareness-raising journey into three phases:
- Phase 1: Connecting with coworkers, friends, family and social media
- Phase 2: Connecting with different newspapers through the areas he’s riding in
- Phase 3: Connecting with corporate sponsors in order for them to make tax-deductible donations to DWB
“A lot of people find what I’m doing challenging,” Wong said. “But I’m pretty boujee with my setup. I could carry two gallons of water and I could go through immigration checkpoints without much trouble.”
Wong said his friends and family have been very supportive of him and his cause.
“A lot of people connect with what I’m doing, carrying on my girlfriend’s legacy.”
Wong’s path will take him through New Orleans before he has to be in Charlotte, North Carolina by Aug. 11. There, he intends on meeting with two other friends who will join him on his journey north.
“Cycling is my psychology,” Wong said. “It’s the way I’m dealing with my grief.”
People could follow Wong on a variety of social media by using his name, “Martin Frank Wong,” on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
People interested in donating to the cause could go to: www.msf.mx/crosscontinent4cari.
