Project donates 30 bicycles to pupils
The bicycles are donated to children attending rural schools from Umzumbe to Port Edward.
The Sweetbike Community Project recently donated 30 bicycles to deserving high school pupils at Mhlabuhlangene Senior Secondary School outside of Margate.
The project falls under Sweetdale Skills Centre established by Swiss entrepreneurs, Roland and Sibylle Wenger, alongside their children Sam and Connie in 2015.
Sam Wenger, now the Development Director for Serenity Hills, is ensuring this community initiative remains an integral part of this vibrant eco-development.
“The Sweetbike Community Project was established in 2018 as a way to positively impact the lives of South Africa’s most vulnerable school children by providing them with bicycles to get to and from school daily.
“The reality is that many children in rural areas drop out of school simply because of a lack of transport, and our NPO is aiming to address this one bike at a time,” said Wenger, adding that quality bicycles are imported from Europe and refurbished at the Sweetbike Workshop which forms part of the Skills Centre, employing and upskilling people from the local communities.
Once ready, added Wenger, the bicycles are donated to children attending rural schools from Umzumbe to Port Edward.
Ayanda Masengemi, Assistant Manager at Serenity Hills who oversees the project, said the Sweetbike team works closely with local principals and ward councillors to identify the children who would benefit most from the bicycle donations.
“We consider schools where there are no taxis and limited alternative transport, with children having to travel an hour or more for several kilometres by foot every day to get to school. To date, we have donated more than 2 000 bicycles to school children, and once they have completed school, these bicycles are then refurbished and donated to others who can benefit from them. It has had a massive impact on the lives of these deserving youngsters,” said Masengemi, adding that the project will grow within Serenity Hills as the philosophy of the Wenger family has always been to enrich the community through job creation and skills development.
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