As many as 37 girl students from Class IX and X make their way to Zilla Parishad High School in Chintalcheru, Telangana. All of them undertake the long, arduous journey on their feet — while some of them walk from Kothagudem, which is 3 km away, a few make the journey from Chidruppa which is 7 km away. And this is just one-way. A few girls had been complaining of being teased by strangers and hence, after discussing the issue with Headmistress Anees Fatima, senior teacher Kulala Dattatri reached out to the Lions Club who, in turn, reached out to 'Bicycle Mayor' of Hyderabad Santhana Selvan. And that's how the efforts of cycling group Happy Hyderabad's ongoing Project Diya were directed towards accumulating cycles for these girls.

Chintalcheru is 25 km from the industrial municipality of Patancheruvu. There are no schools near the village and bus facilities are scarce. "Most of the students studying in our school come from families that are below the poverty line. Added to that, transport is already scarce. These girls have tried hitching rides, but that is not always safe for them," says the Math teacher. The co-educational school has 164 students from Classes VI to X. "The boys somehow manage to come to school, but for the girls, it's getting difficult hence, we approached Lions Club and with the help of Happy Hyderabad, they have agreed to provide 37 cycles," he shares.   

Started six months ago by the cycling group Happy Hyderabad, Project Diya calls citizens to donate cycles so that they can refurbish and donate them to the needy. Since circulating posters asking for 37 cycles for these girls a week ago, they have managed to accumulate 13 cycles. "Before this, with the help of an NGO, we arranged for 10 bicycles for students of a government school in Vikarabad. This is the second school we have taken up under Project Diya," says the Bicycle Mayor.       

Happy Hyderabad is leveraging their mechanic network, who agreed to charge them only for spares for the cycle and not for the labour, and with the help of relocation services offered by Flytta, they will be transporting the fully-refurbished cycles to the school in Chintalcheru soon. "We hope that once these girls pass out of the school, these cycles will be passed on to other girl students who will be needing it," he shares.

To donate, call on 9629557866