Bicycle Project

The distances between the outlying communities in the municipality of San Francisco Libre, and the school in the town of SFL, means that many children must catch the bus into school, or walk long distances (perhaps 10 km). As buses in the area are very infrequent, children often find themselves unable to return home after lessons. Some end up staying with relatives, or other families.

The mayor of San Francisco Libre thinks that bicycles could be an answer to this problem. In a pilot scheme, the mayor's office lent out a few cycles to children, giving them the opportunity to buy them by hire purchase. The initial trial proved very popular, and some students from outlying villages have started to cycle to and from school every day (see photos). More students wish to benefit from this scheme and the Mayor of San Francisco Libre asked whether Reading could assist with this project.

The RSFLA decided that this is a project we would like to support, and when Paul Starkey visited SFL in February, he handed over $1,000 to enable a further twenty bicycles to be purchased. The scheme will work on a revolving fund basis, so that when the 20 beneficiaries pay for their cycles, new ones will be bought to allow the scheme to continue. RSFLA hopes to be able to give a further boost the scheme, to allow more children to benefit, and will welcome any donations towards this project.