Manso-Adubia (A/R), Nov. 28, GNA – Thousands of Senior High School Students in deprived communities who trek long distances to access education are expected to receive bamboo bikes under a five-year project aimed at promoting inclusive education.
The project dubbed “Cycling to School” is being implemented by Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative (GBBI), the social wing of Envirotech Bamboo Limited in the Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region.
Forty (40) students selected from three Senior High Schools in the District received the first set of bikes at a colourful ceremony to launch the project at Manso-Adubia.
Mrs. Bernice Dapaah, Chief Executive Officer of GBBI, said the initiative was also aimed at using bamboo to create employment for the youth while protecting the environment for sustainable development.
She said education was an inalienable right of every child and that it was important for all stakeholders to work towards eliminating all barriers impeding access to education of children.
She said creating access to education was the first bold step to building a solid future for children, adding that, tackling social inequality and limited access to education must be a priority for stakeholders.
“For a child far away in an unknown community, a bicycle could be the difference between success and failure in life,” she pointed out.
She was hopeful that the launch of the project would mark a turning point in the lives of the beneficiary students as they dreamt of a better future.
The long-term goal, she noted, was to facilitate the creation of greater opportunities for industrial employment for technically equipped trainees, especially in the bicycle industry.
Mr. Yaw Frimpong Addo, the Member of Parliament (MP), applauded the organization for the laudable intervention to secure a brighter future for the students.
He said such private initiatives complemented government’s efforts aimed at improving access to education through the Free Senior High School Policy.
Mr. Alex Yaw Peprah Bediako, Headmaster of Manso-Adubia Senior High School on behalf of all the schools, thanked GBBI for addressing one of the critical problems adversely affecting standards of education in the District.
GNA