Peter Ngugi, a Kenyan man living in India, impressed many after he cycled for over 5000 Kilometers in India to promote the fight against racism.
As published by Bird Publication, Ngugi traveled to India in 2013 to pursue a course in Computer Science. In 2016, an incident happened that warranted Ngugi's drive to fight racism. What began as an alteration powered by racism ended up with the death of a young African man from Congo.
Two Indian men in a hurry approached a rickshaw they wanted to board but there wasn't enough space in the public transport vehicle. Their solution was to ask an African man who had already boarded to alight to make room for them.
This led to a heated argument which quickly escalated to a physical altercation. The Indian men overpowered the African man, pushed him to the ground, and then brought down a huge rock on his head, which led to his death.
The case attracted the attention of many African men living in India including Ngugi. At the time, Ngugi picked up his bicycle and cycled across the country to combat racism.
According to Ngugi, the incident felt like someone was stripping off the dignity of Africa and not just a person. The incident drove him to open a platform for discussion where Africans and Indians could live together in harmony.
That's when the idea of cycling through India, hosting programs in schools, and meeting with Indian politicians and police to promote open dialogue to better understand racism and find answers struck him.
As a result, Ngugi cycled over 5,000 kilometers (3,107 miles) across seven states in India opening the conversation about racism, status, and identity that could make life in India better, and an act that changed Ngugi’s life as he encountered it.
Ngugi's time in India was characterized by ups and downs from the inception of his traveling in 2013 when he couldn't even raise funds for his travel. His community in Kenya raised funds for him and enabled him to travel to pursue a course in computer science.
This however did not last long as he dropped out of school and was forced to look for a job and sustain his stay in India.
Through help from the Kenyans in India, he enrolled in school again for a coding course. He thrived there and became a top-performing student. He entered into a Hackathon by IBM and finished as the second runner-up. Impressed by his performance IBM invited him to pitch his business idea, liked it, and funded it.
He became rich, but this was not for long. Alcohol, girls, and a lascivious life attracted the then-21-year-old. His IBM boss was not impressed and he was fired and moved back to grass.
Now, his act against racism has made him popular again. Many have praised his efforts to fight racism.