The 8,262-mile journey took him by way of 21 nations, reworking a unprecedented bodily feat into a robust act of activism, aimed toward confronting racism and reshaping how migration is known.
Born in Uganda and raised in the UK, Deo first took up operating to handle his well being. Over time, that private self-discipline grew right into a journey of objective, connecting endurance with id, protest and hope.
Turning level
In 2020, a second of worldwide reckoning round racial injustice – the homicide of George Floyd in Minneapolis – grew to become a turning level for Deo. He realised his operating might serve a objective past endurance.
“I believed, ‘I’ve to do one thing about this. Whether or not it’s small or massive, I need to use my operating to create change and converse out towards racial injustice,’” he defined.
That conviction led him to run ten kilometres day by day for 381 days, marking every day of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal second in america civil rights motion.
He instructed himself, “I’m going to maintain doing this for so long as I can as a result of that is how change occurs.”
© IOM/Joe Newman
Day after day, Deo pushed ahead, turning bodily endurance right into a type of activism aimed toward confronting racism and amplifying conversations round migration and justice.
Retracing migration routes
From this dedication, Deo got down to run from Cape City to London, symbolically retracing humanity’s earliest migration routes from Africa.
The highway forward was lengthy and arduous. Scaling mountains, crossing deserts, and operating by way of wildlife reserves, Deo moved by way of landscapes that continuously shifted round him.
“It feels unimaginable simply to be shifting. Then, abruptly, I see elephants and youngsters begin operating beside me,” he shared.
Boundaries and restrictions
Alongside the best way, Deo witnessed how advanced and restrictive migration will be, notably for folks displaced by local weather impacts, financial stress, or battle.
He noticed how restricted common pathways and motion restrictions go away many individuals successfully unable to maneuver inside their very own areas, trapping them in unsafe or unsure conditions and reducing off routes to security.
“Some folks find yourself detained merely for attempting to flee battle or as a result of they’re seen as outsiders. Even once they have the right paperwork, they will nonetheless be held.”
Deo himself confronted comparable boundaries. At one level, he was detained regardless of having the right paperwork. In different areas, he was pressured to reroute his journey due to battle or restricted entry.
As he travelled north in the direction of Europe, the scrutiny intensified.
“The additional I travelled alongside the migration route, the extra I used to be seen as an irregular migrant. Individuals would name the police just because they noticed somebody they thought didn’t belong passing by way of their space,” he defined.

© Courtesy of Deo Kato
Crossing a few of the world’s most spectacular and unforgiving terrain, Deo skilled Africa on foot, the place nature and motion formed each mile of his journey.
Group assist
Regardless of the challenges, Deo’s journey was sustained by neighborhood assist. Alongside the best way, native runners, strangers, and on-line supporters joined him. These moments of shared effort and solidarity saved him going.
“With out that neighborhood assist, I might not have succeeded on this journey. It’s what actually gave it which means,” he stated.
His journey was by no means about endurance alone. It was about reclaiming the story of migration – a narrative rooted in resilience, human progress, and growth.
“Individuals transfer for therefore many causes, and every journey tells a human story,” Deo emphasised.
Trying forward, he plans to maintain utilizing his platform as a type of activism, persevering with to talk about migration, belonging, and shared humanity. As he places it, “Don’t restrict your self. Consider in your energy to create change.”





