Pepe Goes Fundraising

There are many evils in this world. Some are within our control, others not, or not yet. People are very good at ignoring facts and threats that are not directly aiming at them as individuals. I guess, it's part of the natural, genetic traits we still share with our ancestors: react to concrete, obvious or imminent threats only. Forecasting, reacting to forecasts, prevention are not wired in our system, that's where thinking and education come in.

Our world knows quite a few diseases that kill people at a fast rate. Malaria, tuberculosis, and a whole variety of tropical diseases count among them. However, to us Westerners these mostly stay abstract. There is no name or face we can associate with any of them. Or hardly ever. Alas, many of us ignore these and the many issues related to them. And yet there's one illness that somehow stands out.

What makes cancer so different is that it strikes randomly - or apparently randomly - amongst us. All of us can put familiar names and faces next to it. And that makes it feel so much more scary.

My dad died more than 25 years ago. Most recently my mother-in-law died of cancer. During that timespan relatives and friends and relatives of friends and a lot of people I knew of have fought or fallen victims to this subtle enemy.
The number of people I know who have fought cancer, suffering directly or indirectly from it has multiplied in time.

My universe has expanded in many ways over the years, yet in other ways it has shrunk. There's less to explore but somehow more to fear these days.
Is it maybe just my awareness that has sharpened? I don't know. However, this and many other issues are of concern to me and I want to do something about it. And so, inspired by people who fought or are fighting the battle, I decided to participate in "The Ride to Conquer Cancer".

This is going to be yet another physical challenge for me. But, to be honest, apart from that, it is also another, more difficult kind of challenge for me personally. Asking for help and fundraising are not quite my thing. I feel embarassed and even writing this down took me a long while. Yet, I'm doing it.

My pledge today is for a cause that could be anyone's at any point in time. And I dare say that if, as Westerners, we may - wrongly - afford to ignore a disease like malaria, we should at least feel concerned about cancer. It's not something happening somehere in the 3rd world, in far away places we'll probably never ever get to, but it's something affecting us closely in surprising ways. Ask anyone who has suffered from it how it has changed their lives, ask their families and, eventually, ask yourself how cancer has affected yours. You may not even be aware of the impact it had one time or another on you.

The reasons why I join this ride for are numerous. I do it for my friends and family, for the families of my friends, for people I know and people I don't know but whom I'd like to be spared the suffering caused by cancer. Ultimately, I also do it for myself. You never know what the future has in store.

And Pepe, the funny soft-hearted traveller has decided to go fundraising, too.

To support our fundraising efforts please click here.