Who We Are
Pedal Sri Lanka Charity Ride was initiated by Kieran Michael, a physiotherapist at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Kieran’s father, Wesley, was born in Colombo, and over the years Kieran has developed a strong connection to Sri Lanka through family visits, travel, and a period of work in 2016. Throughout these years the country has endured a civil war, the Boxing Day tsunami, terrorist attacks, and an economic crisis that has led to severe shortages of fuel, food, and medicine.
In 2023, during a visit to Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, Kieran and his mother Christine — a retired nurse — were invited into an operating theatre, where they observed open-heart surgery being performed on a three-month-old child using outdated equipment. This moment, combined with Kieran’s lifelong connection to Sri Lanka, is the inspiration behind the Pedal Sri Lanka Charity Ride.
Kieran solidified his vision for supporting Sri Lanka in 2024 with the input of his parents, Wesley and Christine, as well as his brothers, Aidan and Luke. He developed the idea of a charity ride. His family not only helped organise the event but also joined him on the ride.
Experiential Journeys, a specialist eco-tourism destination manager based in Sri Lanka, played a crucial role in transforming Kieran’s idea into a reality. They helped design a route that covered 1,350 kilometres, circumnavigating Sri Lanka by bicycle.
What started as a solo plan soon grew when Kieran shared the idea with family and friends. Ultimately, 27 participants—including several nurses from Monash Health—joined the journey.
'Initially, I thought it was going to be something that I would just do myself and have my family come with a van for support, but to share it with family and friends has been unbelievable,” - Kieran
To ensure the funds raised had the greatest impact, Kieran and his family chose AUSLMAT (Australia Sri Lanka Medical Aid Team) as their charity partner. With extensive experience in delivering medical equipment and supplies to Sri Lanka, including to Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital in Colombo, AUSLMAT was the ideal organisation to help direct support where it was needed most.
The Pedal Sri Lanka Team raised AU$ 62,500 - more than double their initial goal. These funds were used to purchase two transoesophageal echocardiogram probes and a cardiac monitor which are now being used in lifesaving surgery to children in need.