Africa-Press – Uganda. During her primary school days, Monica Namatta, 15, a resident of Kiwanguzi Village in Kiboga District used to trek for about 2km to Bright Kingdom Primary School in Kiboga Town Council.
This year, Namatta joined Philadelphia Secondary School, Kagobe and treks an additional 2km to the school.
According to Namatta, she faced several challenges while walking to school and on many occasions, she arrived late.
“Boda boda riders wanted to take advantage of me in the guise of giving me free transport,” she said.
Zabroon Mushabe, 21, a Senior Three student, says some of his peers dropped out of school after completing Primary Seven because they could not walk an additional four kilometres to Philadelphia Secondary School, which is the nearest secondary school in the area.
“When I joined secondary school, I was walking to school alone because there was no other person coming from my village, I would find my colleagues already in class yet I used to wake up at round 4:50am or 5am,” he says.
Faroq Kidawalime, 17, a Senior Two student, said he used to walk for about two hours to school, which affected his studies.
Mr Charles Lukuuya, the head teacher of Philadelphia Secondary School, says some of his students were dropping out of school due to the long distance they were trekking to school.
However, the students have a reason to smile after the Friends of Germany Organisation donated 150 bicycles to the school to help students who were trekking long distances.
Namatta, Kidawalime, and Mushabe have all benefitted from the donation.
“It used to be a nightmare to connect from home to school on foot, but these days, it takes me like 30 minutes on a bicycle,” Namatta says.
She says her academic performance has also improved ever since she received the bicycle because she manages her time well.
“My only challenge now is the fees. Since my parents are farmers, they sometimes fail to pay fees on time,” she adds.
Mushabe says ever since he got the bicycle, his life has changed.
“I now wake up at 6am and by 7:20am, I am already at school,” Mushabe says
Meanwhile, Kidawalime says it now takes him only 30 minutes to get to school.
“Even if I first fetch water for home use, it takes me just a few minutes to ride to school –a distance that was previously taking me two hours on foot,” Kidawalime says.
Mr Lukuuya says their friends in Germany were touched when they learnt that many learners trek long distances to attend school.
“Our friends found it necessary to support them with bicycles. The donation also included five solar cookers for the school,” he says.
He adds that ever since they rolled out the free bicycle programme, the school has not recorded any case of students dropping out.
“This was a pilot project but the results are impressive. We have had a discussion with our friends and they have promised to provide 72 more bicycles for learners in December,” Mr Lukuuya said.
He adds: “The bicycles are for helping them reach school on time. We don’t expect the beneficiaries to use the bicycles for fetching water or carrying firewood. Parking them at drinking joints or carrying non-students are also prohibited.”
Repairing of the bicycles remains the responsibility of the school, according to Mr Lukuuya.
The school currently has a population of 400 students and has been in operation since January.
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