Rodion Wikanto, 60, rides about a thousand kilometers in August to raise funds for a Church-run COVID-19 isolation facility in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Photo supplied)
Sep 28 2021
A 60-year-old Indonesian cyclist recently took his bicycle and rode about a thousand kilometers to raise funds to support a Catholic Church facility that housed COVID-19 patients in the capital Jakarta.
Rodion Wikanto enjoys “nggowes,” or bicycling, which has become a popular activity in Jakarta. He would ride from his residence in North Jakarta to places in the capital, and even in nearby cities.
“Nggowes” has become Wikanto’s daily activity for both leisure and sport. He has been doing it since 2007. He would even ride up to 100 kilometers a day.
One day, in the midst of the pandemic, Wikanto learned that the Archdiocese of Jakarta has turned its pastoral center and retreat house — Wisma Samadi Klender — into an isolation facility for COVID-19 patients.
On July, 21, he visited the center and saw how Catholic priests, nuns, and volunteers, even non-Catholics, tried to help those affected by the disease.
Father Roy Djakarta, former treasurer of the archdiocese, briefed Wikanto about the situation. The priest said the center needs financial assistance.
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