The Power of Bikes
This is Maureen Zalira, a form 1 student at Mankhaka Community Day Secondary School. Maureen used to live in the city of Blantyre but following the death of her parents in a car accident 2 years ago, she moved to live with and care for her frail grandmother in Mukhalepo, 300kms away.
As well as dealing with the loss of her parents and friends, Maureen has had to handle moving from an urban environment to a remote region of Malawi. As a teenager she is now expected to help with farming so that she can pay for school fees. For Maureen, however, the biggest challenge has been the distance from her grandmother’s house to school. It can take 3-4 hours out of her day, often in 35-degree heat.
In January 2025, Malawi Schools Trust provided Maureen with a Bursary and a Bicycle to help her get to school. In March Oscar visited the school and spotted Maureen, cycling to school with a smile on her face. She told Oscar that getting to school late is a thing of the past.
Oscar said “A Bicycle can be life changing for pupils. Maureen was one of the first 25 pupils at this school to get a bike and working with World Bicycle Relief we plan to extend the programme to all children who have long commutes.
According to her Class teacher, Maureen is one of the girls who is really doing well in class, attributing the support of school fees and mobility to have assisted a lot. “