Meet the 37-year-old nomad on wheels — Joshuva Daniel Putti. To most people, a map represents a fuzzy of borders, boundaries and demarcations. But ‘Rider Josh’, a moniker he is known by, sees pockets of opportunity. His expeditions have taught him that borders blur in the face of kindness and there is no tariff on empathy.

The weather has seldom dictated Joshuva’s plans. He and his bike have sojourned from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, crossed the formidable Sach Pass in the Himalayas, made stopovers in rugged landscapes, eked out a living on some days, and braved the throes of untamed wilderness on others. Signposts don’t dictate his halts. His ‘good Samaritan’ gene does.

Joshuva is on an audacious journey to circumnavigate the world — “I’ve ridden through 12 countries, I want to complete 160” — intending to make it to the most insular communities, where there’s a critical need for of monetary aid and hope.

A quick scan of his rucksack reveals the rations tucked for those he might meet along the way outpace his own supplies — a few packets of food, a raincoat, a blanket, four pairs of clothes, a first aid kit, a bike tool kit, the permits to cross a country’s borders and his ‘Carnet de Passages en Douane’ (CPD), a customs document that enables crossing international borders (Think of it like a bike passport, he tells me.).

Joshuva’s learnings have been shaped by his chequered past; in 2013, during his time in Uganda, his heart went out to the children there, the troubling contrast to his privilege evident. “I saw malnutrition at its peak; their parents aren’t able to provide food for the children. Because of improper nutrition, most of the children are unable to walk. Seeing this shattered me.”

He underscores how a majority of the humanitarian assistance directed to Uganda was directed to the capital city of Kampala, leaving remote areas untouched. His first-hand accounts of the nutrition crisis in the country are backed by statistics: Uganda’s child stunting rate is 28.9 percent.

A UNICEF report revealed that between 2013 and 2015, an estimated 500,000 young Ugandan children died, with nearly half of these deaths associated with undernutrition.

These experiences formed the premise of Joshuva’s life and bike rides. He wanted to help underserved communities.

The recognition he’s received amplifies his zeal; Joshuva was the........

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