PROJECT MALAWI
We are very excited about this project. The goal is to provide bikes to schools in rural Malawi. These bikes will be used by the students that need them most.
|
 |
| Malawi May 2009 |
|
|
There are several reasons why children in Malawi might not be able to attend school regularly. The primary reason is extreme poverty and with this poverty comes increased responsibilities on the children. Consequently, school-aged children are responsible for such activities as caring for younger siblings, tending to the crops and fields, and collecting water and wood. These responsibilities become priorities over attending school. Another reason is due to the distance between home and school. In many instances, this distance can be several to a dozen miles, or more. The commute time often leaves little time to complete their household responsibilities-not to mention the exhaustion factor. For these reasons, many Malawi children stop going to school while still in the early elementary grades.
If the child has access to a bike however, he or she can reduce the amount of time commuting to and from school to a fraction of the time it takes to walk. Thus, allowing the child to keep up with his/her responsibilities, get to school in less time and with less effort. The bottom line is that the bike allows the child access to an education and a chance to succeed and we at Pedals for Africa believe that education is the foundation to a life without poverty.
"Our best seed and our dearest field-those are our children"
-Cheikh Jamidou Kane
|
|