Helpcode continues to work on the “Pink Bicycle” project, established with the goal of encouraging girls from vulnerable families to continue attending school by providing them with bicycles.

The distance between home and school and the condition of the roads, often hard to walk on – especially during the monsoon season – are among the many reasons why so many girls attend irregularly or drop out of school. Other reasons include the social and economic vulnerability of their families, requiring school-age children to stay at home and look after their younger brothers and sisters or even go out to work themselves.

The crisis caused by the pandemic, land-grabbing for speculative purposes and the intensification of severe weather phenomena are causing cyclical migration among vulnerable households, who often move several times in the course of the year, with clear negative consequences for children’s access to regular schooling.

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The “Pink Bicycle” project encourages girls to continue attending school every day, offering them an opportunity to receive an education and build a more stable future for themselves.

Over the past year, Helpcode provided 200 bicycles to girls from highly vulnerable households in Cambodia, selected with the assistance of their school principals and the leaders of 40 villages in Sihanoukville, Kampot, and Kandal provinces and on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

Despite the slowdown due to the pandemic and long school closures, the Helpcode team has never stopped working to ensure rapid delivery of bicycles to the selected girls.

When the first 107 bikes were delivered, complete with helmets and locks, it was really exciting to see the joy of the young students and their families’ gratitude for the assistance received. The remaining 93 girls on the list will be given bicycles in the next 6 months, and will finally be able to go to school safely, pedalling toward a safer, more tranquil future along with their classmates.

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