Yearly Archives: 2011

Mankulam, a town in Northern Sri Lanka which was devastated by the recent civil war, lasting for three decades.  In 2011 the violence is now finally over, villagers are returning to repair their homes, tend their abandoned farms and gradually rebuild their lives. This task is an arduous and demanding one, with little access to water, food, electricity and public transportation, life is hard and children walk up to 10km daily to continue their education at the local school.

The bicycle has been an integral part of the landscape and a popular mode of transport for many years in Northern Sri Lanka.  Economically viable, requiring a third of the energy of walking and moving at four times the speed, the bicycle is a prized family possession shared by all. It enables women to access essential food and vegetables from the local market, allows men to seek employment far from their homes and assists community members in taking their home grown produce to the town market. Known as a “Veerayah” in the local Tamil dialogue, the sturdy bicycle often transports the entire family – a child on the cross bar and another on the back behind the rider.

Recognizing that bicycles are an expression of self freedom, a contributor to the alleviation of poverty and a symbol of empowerment to the whole society, three British volunteers are embarking on a ride from Seenigama to Mankulam to raise money for new bicycles for the northern communities. They start on October 21^st from Seenigama, a village in the rural South, devastated by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and cycle over 400 km in less than 5 days to Mankulam in the rural North. Both of these rural towns have deep links with the charity, the Foundation of Goodness, headed by local entrepreneur and humanitarian, Kushil Gunasekera and international cricket star, Muthiah Muralidaran, the organization helped rebuild Continue reading →