Born in Uganda and raised in Britain, Deo first took up running to manage his health. Over time, that personal discipline grew into a purposeful journey, connecting endurance with identity, protest and hope.
Turning point
In 2020, a moment of global reckoning around racial injustice – the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis – became a turning point for Deo. He realized that his running could serve a purpose beyond endurance.
“I thought, ‘I have to do something about this. Whether it’s small or big, I want to use my running to create change and speak out against racial injustice,'” he explained.
That belief led him to run six miles every day for 381 days, marking each day of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement in the United States.
He said to himself, “I’m going to keep doing this as long as I can because this is how change happens.”
© IOM/Joe Newman
Day after day, Deo went further, turning physical endurance into a form of activism aimed at fighting racism and amplifying conversations about migration and justice.
Mapping migration routes
From this promise, Deo began running from Cape Town to London, symbolically retracing humanity’s earliest migration routes from Africa.
The road ahead was long and difficult. Deo climbed mountains, crossed deserts and ran through nature reserves, through landscapes that constantly changed around him.
“It feels incredible just to be moving. Then suddenly I see elephants and children running next to me,” he said.
Barriers and limitations
Along the way, Deo witnessed how complex and restrictive migration can be, especially for people displaced by climate impacts, economic pressures or conflict.
He saw how limited regular routes and restrictions on movement leave many people effectively unable to move within their own region, putting them in unsafe or precarious situations and cutting off routes to safety.
“Some people end up being arrested because they try to flee conflict or because they are seen as outsiders. Even if they have the right papers, they can still be detained.”
Deo himself faced similar barriers. At one point he was detained despite having the correct documents. In other areas, he had to reroute his journey due to conflict or limited access.
As he traveled north toward Europe, surveillance intensified.
“The further I traveled along the migration route, the more I was seen as an illegal migrant. People would call the police simply because they saw someone they thought did not belong walking through their area,” he explained.
© With thanks to Deo Kato
Traversing some of the most spectacular and unforgiving terrain in the world, Deo experienced Africa on foot, where nature and movement defined every kilometer of his journey.
Community support
Despite the challenges, Deo’s journey has been buoyed by community support. Local runners, strangers and online supporters joined him along the way. Those moments of shared effort and solidarity kept him going.
“Without the support of the community, I wouldn’t have completed this journey. It’s what really gave it meaning,” he said.
His journey was never just about endurance. It was about reclaiming the story of migration – a story rooted in resilience, human progress and development.
“People move for so many reasons, and every journey tells a human story,” Deo emphasizes.
Looking ahead, he plans to continue using his platform as a form of activism, continuing to speak about migration, belonging and shared humanity. As he puts it: “Don’t limit yourself. Believe in your power to create change.”
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