Some of us have difficulties riding our bikes a couple of miles.
But for University senior Greg Krupa, riding is not only a way of life, but a means to a greater end of social justice.
On June 19, Krupa will begin his 3,500-mile journey from Eugene to Zacapa, Guatemala, to raise awareness about and money for heath care of amputees and people with disabilities in developing nations for the Range of Motion Project (ROMP).
“(This trip) allows us to bridge this gap where ROMP serves its patients and America,” Krupa said. “I view it as a neighborly gesture.”
To help bring attention to the feat, a send-off ride is being organized on the same date from Eugene to Florence, and will be comprised of bicyclists around Eugene, including amputees, the UO Cycling team, avid bicyclists and state Sen. Floyd Prozanski. U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio will speak at the kick-off party at Skinner’s Butte at 9 a.m., from which Krupa and others will begin to bike from. From Florence, Krupa said people will bike with him at various points on the journey to Guatemala.
“It’s a Forrest Gump-esque endeavor where we encourage people from all walks of life, (from) novice cyclists, children, Paralympians, physically challenged athletes (to) professional cyclists, and in doing so, not only are we promoting health and wellness, but we’re also raising awareness of this incredibly important mission,” Krupa said.
However, Krupa will not make the journey alone. Along with bike riders joining in on the journey for an hour, a day or even a week, Krupa will ride with friend and fellow bike enthusiast Pat Mathay, who he met while attending the University of Kansas.
“Pat and I did work in New Orleans post-(Hurricane) Katrina,” Krupa said. “This is when we started our social justice working relationship. Ever since then that’s all we’ve done together. It’s been pretty cool.”
ROMP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing prosthetics to those in need in developing nations. Krupa became involved with ROMP when his brother, an amputee and a prostheticist, created the organization. ROMP is headquartered in Chicago and currently operates in Guatemala, Educator and Haiti. Krupa’s goal is to raise $50,000 for the organization; currently, he has raised $17,000.
In order to engineer the trip, Krupa and ROMP solicited donations from individuals and companies from around the U.S. Krupa will be staying at donated hotel rooms along the way in order to avoid camping, which lessens the need for equipment.
Sponsoring companies include Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics, a company that provides services to more than 650,000 patients a year. Krupa approached John Robert, the manager of the Eugene office, about sponsoring or even donating artificial limbs to the ride. Robert said that he and managers in Californian offices were impressed with Krupa’s mission and signed up for sponsorship.
“He’s worked really hard to get sponsors to all the way to Guatemala,” Robert said. “There’s a lot of dedication here.”
Robert also spoke about why Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics took interest in Krupa’s ride.
“There’s such a huge, huge need for anything prosthetic or orthotic,” he said. “So (Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics) decided … that this was a really good event and a really good cause and we wanted to help him.”
ROMP Assistant Eugene-area Coordinator Ted Sweeney is excited for Krupa’s ride to Guatemala and is happy to be involved with the process.
“What I’m looking forward to most of all is raising awareness about this great cause about helping people with mobility issues,” Sweeney said. “I’m secondarily excited about the opportunity to strengthen the bicycle community here in Eugene.”
Sweeney, who is also a member of the UO Cycling team, encourages community members to come out and join the 75-mile ride from Eugene to Florence.
“We’re going to be going at a reasonable pace,” Sweeney said. “We feel this is something that people are definitely physically capable of.”
Prozanski, who describes himself as an avid bike rider, is also looking forward to the ride to Florence. He said that last year, he logged over 8,000 miles riding his bike around Oregon.
“(Krupa) is a young man with a lot of energy, and he’s dedicated to making the world a better place,” Prozanski said. “My portion and my participation in is very small in the overall picture of what he is doing and I feel honored to be part of the ride. (Krupa) is trying to help (amputees in developing countries) regain something that was lost and help them regain their mobility.”
[email protected]
University student bikes for social justice
Daily Emerald
June 2, 2010
0
More to Discover