Man Recycles 10,000 Bicycles From Malaysia And Singapore For Children In Myanmar
200 children have benefited from Lesswalk so far.
By Selena Chua — 21 Jun 2019, 06:05 PM
Thousands of bikes were left abandoned ever since bike-sharing companies such as oBike, Ofo, and Mobike ceased operations in Malaysia
Thankfully one man took the opportunity to put them to use by shipping the unused bicycles to Myanmar school children.
Mike Than Tun Win is a Mandalay entrepreneur who bought 10,000 bicycles as a means to help Yangon children get to school
His initiative called "Lesswalk", aims to keep children in schools longer so they can get an education and escape poverty.
"I saw students walking for many hours to get to school and I felt really sorry for them," the 33-year-old told AFP.
The founder shared how recycled bicycles have gone a long way to help the children
11 year old Thae Su Wai will no longer need to walk 10km for two hours to and from school.
"I'll have more time to study and play with friends", she told AFP as she wheeled her new bicycle away.
So far, 200 students have benefited from Lesswalk.
UNICEF estimates that 55% of children in Myanmar live in poverty
Most children in Myanmar do not even have umbrellas. "They just they just use pieces of plastic to cover them when it rains," said Ni Ni Win, headteacher of Thae Su Wai's school.
Lesswalk hopes to hand out 100,000 bicycles in the next five years. They also plan to expand to Mandalay and Sagaing later this month.
