By Jabali Media
Buffalo Bicycles Kenya’s Kibos warehouse in Kisumu, on Monday hosted World Bicycle Relief (WBR) 20th anniversary celebrations, marking two decades of solving the challenge of mobility poverty.
Maureen Kolenyo, Buffalo Bicycles Regional Director, East Africa in an address to the press during the celebrations said solving the challenge of mobility poverty entails ensuring access to education, health and broadening economic opportunities, a mandate they have religiously discharged for 20 years in collaboration with WBR.
She said they have a footing in over 20 countries, with over 800,000 bicycles having been distributed so far.
“As an organization, we have distributed 850,000 bicycles across 21 countries. In Kenya we have distributed just about 90,000 bicycles. The bulk of these bicycles have been distributed in the Western, Eastern and Coastal areas,” she stated.
Distribution of the bicycles, she said, majorly centers around helping girls to easily access school and focus on their education.
“We understand that there are millions of children who do not have access to education. They do not have access to education because the distance between their homes and the schools are far and wide, especially with secondary education. We know that for the child, especially the adolescent girl to go to school, she needs to be given some form of transportation. And that is why it is important for us that not only does she access school but stays in school,” emphasised the regional manager.
Going forward, she added, they seek to deepen partnerships with various agencies including the County government of Kisumu, geared towards solving mobility poverty.
The celebrations were graced by Kisumu County deputy governor Mathew Ochieng Owili, who said Buffalo Bicycles being assembled in the Lakeside City have gone a long way in bridging gaps previously available in the education, health and transport sectors not only in Kisumu but in the region.
Buffalo Bicycles. Photo/JM
“If you go to Alego, for example, I think probably half of the schools there, the kids are, you know, riding to school and riding back. So, a kid can ride, go back for lunch and come back,” said the DG.
The County government of Kisumu, he concluded, has worked on the non-motorized transport pathways, enabling those willing to ride bicycles to do so in a conducive environment.
