Max Hatzoglou
Ukraine Association Sunshine president Andrew Makohon will be riding 500 kilometres in four days to bring attention to the challenges Ukraine face today and to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the association.
Wearing both Australian and Ukrainian colours on his top, Makohon will take on the riding challenge to commemorate the cultural contribution European migrants have made to the Australian community.
He will start his ride at the Bonegilla Migrant Camp located just pass Wodonga which was the first point of call for many migrants and finish at Station Pier in Port Melbourne where the post-war migrants first landed and disembarked.
Raising money for R U OK and the Benalla Migrant Camp Photographic Exhibition, Makohon’s riding path will retrace the path of arrival of the first post-war Ukrainian and European migrants.
Makohon who is of Ukrainian heritage has been able to learn and experience parts of the significance of the European migration to Australia through his grandmother who is turning 98 this year.
Makohon said frustrations have been shared among the Ukrainian community through the pandemic and the current climate in Ukraine where the country is battling to hold on to its independence and freedom.
“I discovered very quickly that I found myself carrying mental concerns and frustrations, and that was shared by a lot in our community,” Makohon said.
“For me cycling was the way to be able to reset your compass and try to keep on top mentally without letting it get too much.”
This is what led Makohon to take on this bike ride challenge and raise money for R U OK, a non-profit organisation advocating for people to have conversations with others.
Makohon also wants to take on the ride to recognise the positive impact migrants have made to the Australian community.
“I have often been intrigued about the story of those post world war two migrants, in a family sense with my grandparents, but on a broader sense with all of the migrants and displaced people that found Australia as a new home,” Makohon said.
“It struck me that one of the ways I could pay tribute to the legacy of what they have established here in Australia and how they have interwoven their rich cultures with the Australian one, would be to re-ride their first footsteps in Australia.
“It resonates with generations of those early migrants especially in the western suburbs where so many of them might not have had higher education skills for reasons of war and other circumstances but they did form a big part of the community in the western suburbs.
“You could speak to anyone that went to school around Sunshine, Footscray, St Albans areas and you had many different cultures.
“It was quite enriching because each of us brought our culture to school whether it was via the lunches we ate or interests you had.
“From my ride perspective, my intention is to draw a reminder to an amazing history and the challenges the first generation had who didn’t have cousins that future generations were able to have.”
The back of Makohon’s top will say no one rides alone in hope that people can rally around the ride and support the cause and meaning behind it.
