Missouri couple traveling up the East Coast raising awareness of human trafficking

SOUTHPORT, NC (WWAY) — Richard and Ronda Paist are almost halfway through their journey up the U.S. East Coast.

The Missouri couple began their trek in Key West, Florida, and reached North Carolina late last week, passing more than 1,000 miles biked on their ride in the Tar Heel State.

Their ride aims to raise awareness and support for a global nonprofit called A21, which works to fight human trafficking, including sexual exploitation and forced slave labor.

“If you think about human trafficking and the suffering that people go through, we thought maybe we should suffer a little bit,” Richard said. “And we do suffer, it’s not easy.”

And their suffering began April 25th, with the Paists riding between 30 and 40 miles a day, carrying everything they need on their specially-designed bikes.

So far, they’ve raised several hundred dollars, and Ronda said it means a lot to be riding this far, with a goal of helping others in need.

“And I just see that helping people is where it’s at,” Ronda said. “You can do so much more helping people than you can do looking at yourself. So when he wanted to do this, I knew I wasn’t going to be successful if it wasn’t bigger than me. It’s got to be about other people.”

The Paist’s will take the ferry over to Fort Fisher and then ride into Wilmington on Tuesday, before making their way north to Richmond.

Richard said he expects they’ll complete their more than 2,00 mile journey in early August.