A Penticton couple has organized a 215-kilometre bike ride this weekend to the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

Paul Varga and Linda Goff decided they would ride to Kamloops, after hearing the news of 215 unmarked graves at the school.

They’ve also organized a fundraiser for the Indian Residential School Survivor Society. At time of posting, a GoFundMe by the couple has raised close to $3,000.

The couple spoke to NL Newsday, and Linda says this ride is meant to bring awareness to the story.

“For me, I was just in shock and disbelief. And I’m still having a hard time believing all that has happened. And what the future’s going to hold. What else will they find?” she says.

The group will start their trip at The Peach in Penticton on Saturday and ride to Vernon, then travel from O’Keefe Ranch to Kamloops on Sunday.

“We thought we’d break it up into two days and do two long rides. But then we looked at the map and realized it was just a little bit more than 215 kilometres from Penticton to Kamloops, and that number seemed to just jump out at us. And that’s we had to do, ride from here to Kamloops to pay our respects,” Paul says.

“These are children. Somebody’s brothers and sisters, and somebody’s children and grandchildren. They’re people who need to be mourned, and they haven’t been able to. And we’ve been hearing stories about residential schools as to the treatment they received, First Nations received there… A lot of times people haven’t really believed what they’ve heard. But these are true stories.”