Rev Nick Korir is a motorcycling enthusiast. His thrill is not the lightning speed but riding to go far.
The Nairobi Chapel senior pastor sets out on Thursday to ride around Africa for the next six months - a journey of 45,000km.
His mission? To raise awareness and fees for high school students from poor families.
Korir will ride alongside six other enthusiasts who share his passion and purpose in what promises to be an adrenaline-shooting adventure.
“Alongside being the lead pastor at Nairobi Chapel, Ngong Road, I have always had love for adventure,” he says.
“Around Africa on Motorcycle was born out of my desire to see children not just educated but also transformed by the power of knowledge and faith.”
For 15 years, Nairobi Chapel has run an education sponsorship that has seen over 1,000 needy students through secondary school. Pastor Korir aims to make the fund more sustainable and effective.
“Covid taught us that life can be disrupted and there is a need to create a self-sustaining arrangement that does not affect the lives of the beneficiaries,” he says.
The clergyman and his team hope to raise Sh50 million seed money for a Sh150 million scholarship programme.
The fund already has commitments to about 250 students every year.
Korir’s passion for biking stemmed from his father, an agricultural extension officer in the tea estates in Kericho who rode on a motorcycle doing his work.
Once in a while, Korir would try his hand on his father’s bike as a teenager. And once he became an adult, buying himself a bike was his chief ambition.
“From the time I was born, there was a motorcycle at home and, as you know, every mischievous teenager at the end of the day wants to try the motorcycle.
“Whenever dad came home, the highlight of the evening was seating me on the bike and giving me a ride around our home. It created some passion and excitement around motorcycles without me or me knowing.”
Korir’s life revolves around three points of purpose, passion and physical fitness, and his current mission allows him to live all of them at once.
The seven-member riding team targets to reach the four furthest points of Africa, a feat the pastor believes has not been achieved.
The team of five men and two women belongs to the Private Bikers Association of Kenya.
They will start the trip in Nairobi on Thursday as the country marks Jamuhuri Day and head to the easternmost tip of continent in the Horn of Africa.
They will ride through Ethiopia, Djibouti and then Somaliland - avoiding Sudan due to political conflict.
They will head to Tanzania, Mozambique and then all the way down to Cape Town in South Africa.
“After that, we will continue through Namibia to Central Africa and then to West Africa. Our target is to go to Senegal, which is the westernmost point, then from there we’ll go to the northernmost part of Africa, which is Tunisia. At that point we’ll have accomplished reaching the four corners of Africa.”
But they are not just riding for fun. The purpose is to support high school students who struggle with raising fees.
“The reason we’re doing this is because we are all passionate about providing opportunities for education for needy high school students in Kenya. For the past 15 years we have educated about 1,000 high school students through the Logos Scholarship Fund,” the pastor says.
“We want to build financial stability in the fund, so we can educate more and reach more because we are limited right now in our capacity. We want to establish the Logos Endowment Fund to make the programme self-sustaining.”
The government has given the team full support, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs providing visas as the riders will be crossing numerous borders.
Kenya has branded the team as goodwill ambassadors as the country marks 60 years of diplomacy.
The ministry has asked all the foreign missions where the bikers will cross to receive and support them.
“I’m grateful the government has come on board and we are riding under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as they’re the ones who actually flagged us off from KICC this week,” Korir said.
In every country they will reach, the Kenyan embassy will gather the Kenyan community to interact with them.
“They are sending us as goodwill ambassadors to Africa. The Kenyan missions in every country will host us as we go through the different nations as part of our courtesy call, not just giving us accommodation but also gathering the Kenyan community.
“Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi handed us the Kenyan flag that we’re carrying around Africa. We’ll bring it back home at the end of the tour. So, we’re on an official mission representing our nation and that is an honour.”
Pastor Korir urges Kenyans to not only wish them well but also contribute to the scholarship.
“This ride across Africa is more than just an expedition; it is a mission close to my heart. Together with my fellow riders, we are taking on this challenge for the children of Kenya, riding for education and building a legacy that will last a lifetime.”
