Yangon: The clangor of bells in the air, Myanmar kids race home from school on recycled bikes shipped from Singapore and Malaysia, donated to give them easier access to education in a nation where more than half live in poverty.
Thae Su Wai will no longer need to trudge 10 kms for two hours to and from lessons, she told AFP, beaming. “I’ll have more time to study and play with friends,” she said, as she excitedly wheels away her new bicycle at Nhaw Kone Village school near Yangon.
The 11-year-old is among the first 200 students to receive bicycles as part of “Lesswalk”, the brainchild of Mandalay entrepreneur Mike Than Tun Win. He grew up and was educated in Singapore before returning home eight years ago with a business degree.