Rotary wheels lead to better future

By Tonya Weger
 

For girls in south Asia, having a bicycle can mean the difference between going to school or not. Without an education, girls face illiteracy and the inability to support themselves.

The 26 December 2004 tsunami in south Asia destroyed major structures, such as schools, and washed away bicycles. Many students — but especially girls — then faced the possibility of a bleak future without an education.

After the tsunami, students had to travel long distances to the area’s remaining schools. Without bicycles, the long commute by foot meant that the children walked home at night, says Dr. Rekha Shetty, past district governor of District 3230. For girls, the walk was not an option. “Families would not allow girls to go to school if they had to walk through remote areas after dark,” Shetty says.

In January 2005, Shetty and Dr. Peter Patel, of the Rotary Club of Birmingham, United Kingdom, took a trip to assess damage along the coast of Tamilnadu, south India. While at the Cuddalore District collector’s office, the Rotarians saw three girls petitioning for bicycles to replace those they lost in the tsunami.

The assistant collector asked the Rotarians to purchase bicycles for the girls “so they could continue their studies and not face a life of misery and drudgery,” according to Shetty.

She realized then what a difference a bicycle can make. “A bicycle changes a girl’s whole life pattern and determines her future,” Shetty says. With bicycles, the girls would be able to commute to and from school much faster.

Patel agreed to buy bikes for the girls at the office, but he and Shetty were informed that there were almost 800 more girls in need of bicycles. The Rotarians agreed to raise the necessary money and began the Rotary Education on Wheels project.

“We really didn’t know if we had bitten off more than we could chew,” Shetty says.

But in typical Rotarian fashion, districts worldwide contributed. The Rotary Club of Jerusalem, Israel, funded 100 bicycles, and Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Katmandu Mid-Town, Nepal, a country being torn apart by civil war and poverty, rallied to raise money for 95 more.

In India, members of the Rotary Club of Pune Central raised money for 100 bikes. The Rotary clubs of Madras Temple City, Ambattur, and Cuddalore Midtown pitched in by coordinating and distributing the bicycles.

“The bicycles are moving promotions for Rotary,” Shetty explains. Each of the bikes has the Rotary wheel on the fender and the name of the club that donated it.

The girls who received the bicycles have dreams of having careers as teachers, policewomen, or working in the medical field. “I was surprised by their ambitions,” Shetty says. “Not one said they wanted to be a housewife.”

Shetty believes women should have a choice of whether they want to stay home and raise a family or pursue a professional life. And education is the key that can open many doors.

“Illiteracy is a problem,” she explains. “Girls are the first to drop out of school in families.”

Rotary Education on Wheels is a long-term effort with 2,000 bikes planned for distribution in the coming year. Shetty hopes to expand the project to include more countries.