Sri Lanka: Back on track with bicycles
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As part of a broader recovery programme for Sri Lanka, bicycle distributions to affected communities enable them to travel to markets, meet their friends, and commute to and from work |
Dressed in a bright yellow sarong weaved with fibers of orange, Upali Thirimadara (45) arrives at his family run shop totting a bag strapped to the back of his bicycle filled with green beans, rice, eggplant, and fresh cabbages.
As he arrives he wipes the sweat from his brow and dismounts, planting both feel on the ground to carefully balance his load of groceries intended for resale. He jokes about having to “push his bike up big hills at his age” but becomes serious when he says, “vegetable sellers like me need a cheap and easy way to transport wholesale market goods. In fact, I couldn’t operate my business without a bicycle.”
In rural Sri Lanka, bicycles are the most common form of transportation. After the 2004 Asian tsunami struck Sri Lanka’s coast lines, more than 30,000 people were killed, 40,000 homes were destroyed and an even high number of personal effects were washed out to sea – which for many, included bicycles.
“I had a bicycle before the tsunami,” said Mr. Thirimadara. “I found it in the wreckage when I was clearing a spot to rebuild my house. It looked like a twisted knot of rust.”
As part of a broader recovery programme, World Vision Lanka (funded by World Bicycle Relief) distributed over 24, 000 bicycles to assist small business people, civil servants and school children to once again be able travel to markets, meet their friends, and return to and from work.
Mr. Thirimadara has two daughters – thirteen and fourteen years old. “My bicycle saves me $1,600 Rupees (USD $16) per month on their school transportation,” he said. I carry the girls in front of me and send them to school. Two kilometers is too far for the girls to walk.
As his girls grow older, Mr. Thirimadara has plans to buy them a bicycle to share. “My shop has been running successfully for two years now. My wife and I have agreed it’s time to let our daughters travel to school on their own bicycle.”
In most rural villages, people have to travel substantial distances to access essential services such as hospitals, schools, markets and banks, which are mostly situated far from their villages. Public bus services, vans, and trishaws are not regularly available and often too costly to hire.
In urban centres where road conditions are often poor and traffic is heavily congested, Sirisantha Havage (56), a member of the Cycling Federation of Sri Lanka, believes that cycling is a practical alternative to motorized transport: “bicycles reduce traffic, improve the health of the population, and save time when compared to riding a bus.”
