By BAKANG MOKOTO
25 May 2025- One of the beneficiaries of 295 Shova Kalula bicycles said they will come in handy and significantly improve their access to education. This comes after the North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng donated 295 Shova Kalula bicycles to Mammutla Secondary School in Mammutla village, near Taung recently.
A Grade 10 learner, Olerato Nkosini said the bicycles will reduce their travel time to school as they sometimes arrive late. Nkosini said most learners travel almost 50km before they can reach their school.
“I would honestly like to thank MEC for giving us this chance of making things easier for us, especially to travel from our various villages to school.
“We have been experiencing some challenges and that did not only affect us, but teachers as well because learners will arrive late. So, the bicycles will make our teachers’ jobs easier,” she said.
Nkosini further said bicycles allow learners to travel longer distances, reducing the time and effort required to get to school, particularly in rural areas where public transportation may be limited.
Meanwhile, Morweng said bicycle donation programs can also foster a sense of community and pride, as learners and their families become more involved in their education and development. He added that long distance traveling learners of Mammutla Secondary School could not hide their excitement when they received these bicycles.
“With the furthest distance of 10km to and from school on a daily basis, learners from seven neighbouring villages appreciated the gesture by the department to shorten their travel time to school.
“It is the government’s responsibility to ensure that learners have access to education and provision of transport to those traveling long distances to school,” he said.
Morweng said they are handing over these bicycles to learners who travel between 3 to 5km to school as part of the government’s responsibility to ensure access to education. He said these bicycles are their tools to success and they must use them only for the purpose of going to school.
The Guardian 