On Tuesday 16 February 2021, the first 66 bikes funded by donations via KUFL in the ‘Buy-a-Bike Mayoral Project’ were presented at a public meeting in Uyogo. Many Kenilworth people and further-flung friends of KUFL donated generously to this scheme and the money for 66 bikes was raised very quickly.
Each school girl in Forms 2 and 3 of Umiki Secondary School, Uyogo, now has a bike to cycle to and from school, in groups, for maximum safety. Frequently these girls travel long distances between their home and school, as the secondary school has a very large catchment area. The girls and their families are responsible for the maintenance and repair of the bikes, as long as they are using them. When they leave school, the bikes return to Umiki SS to be re-allocated to another girl student.
66 bikes for 66 schoolgirls in Umiki SS was our target when the project was first launched in November 2020. Since then, a new school year has started and more girl students have joined Umiki Secondary School, so this project continues until the end of Counsellor Richard Dickson’s mayoral term in May 2021. Please do continue to support more young secondary girl students to cycle to and from school safely!
At the same public meeting, involving school staff, parents, students and Uyogo villagers and their representatives, audio visual equipment including a computer was presented to Umiki Secondary School. This is part of a joint Kenilworth School – Umiki SS direct student engagement project, including a pen pal scheme with the addition of videos illustrating students’ lives in the two different locations, Uyogo and Kenilworth. The equipment allows Umiki students to receive and watch in classes or in large groups, the videos send by Kenilworth School and read the letters scanned to them.