Some years ago, several countries tried to implement the bike sharing concept. It’s similar to a ride-sharing system where you get to hail a ride using an app, yet this one lets you find an open bike to use.
Photo credit: Mike Than Tun Win / Facebook
While the concept was great and had really worked for some months, the craze didn’t last long. Soon, people turned to simply buying their own bikes or just ditched the concept of using bikes in favor of other, faster modes of transport.
Photo credit: Mike Than Tun Win / Facebook
A guy named Mike Than Tun Win, who spent 18 years studying in rich Singapore, went back to his home country of Myanmar, only to see the difficult plight of thousands of poor students who simply walk to school every day.
Photo credit: Mike Than Tun Win / Facebook
Knowing that thousands of bikes are simply being sent to the recycling plants from failed bike sharing companies, Mike had the brilliant idea of saving these still-new bikes from being crushed and recycled to provide rides for the kids walking to school in his home country.
Photo credit: Mike Than Tun Win / Facebook
Launching non-profit organization Less Walk, Mike imports discarded bikes from Singapore as well as Taiwan, Japan, and the Netherlands. The bikes were checked and repaired for any damage, outfitted with an extra back seat so the kids could let a friend or sibling ride, and had the digital locks changed to regular locks.
Photo credit: Mike Than Tun Win / Facebook
For now, Less Walk gives out the bikes for free to students from Grades 7 to 10, but with more bikes coming in, they might be able to provide more bikes for the other students.
Photo credit: Mike Than Tun Win / Facebook
“It’s probably sad that richer nations might not know how to treasure such a simple necessity but to people in need, it can be a huge impact and even life-changing,” Mike said.
Since it was launched, Mike has gotten more than 10,000 bikes using money from the profits of his start-up tech company and from generous donors who believe in his cause.
Photo credit: Mike Than Tun Win / Facebook
It’s also amazing how one man’s action can create a beautiful ripple of change in the community…
