DESPITE a downpour of rain, the children from Ikhethelo Childrens’ Village in Botha’s Hill couldn’t wait to try out their donated bicycles at a bike handover at Giba Gorge.
This initiative was made possible by Hillcrest Rotary Club, Empangeni Rotary and Bikes 4 Humanity (B4H), who were further assisted by KZN Cycling and Giba Gorge Mountain Bike Park.
Hillcrest Rotary was approached seven months ago by B4H, a north American NGO that found that between 200 to 250 thousand bikes went to the landfill every month.
B4H decided to collect, disassemble, pack and send them off to deserving charities around the globe, specifically aimed at getting school kids to school in a more effective manner as well as teaching them safety, the value and general maintenance of the bikes.
Hillcrest Rotary facilitated the process of getting the container of 427 unassembled bikes of all shapes and sizes, including tools and basic spare parts, from Canada to Giba Gorge. Empangeni Rotary also helped handled the paperwork.
Giba Gorge Mountain Bike Park and KZN Cycling came on board to assist with the assembling and distribution of the bikes.
At the bike handover at Giba Gorge, bicycle mechanic, Zolisa Nono, showed the children how to look after their bikes properly before they were allowed to try out the bikes.
Other bike handovers are planned for Hillcrest High School’s Interact Club and the Lilly of the Valley Orphanage as more bikes become available.
