The bikes were presented to the beneficiary school at a ceremony held at Gunjur village, Kombo South, West Coast Region.
The recipient schools included Somita Upper Basic School and Senior Secondary School, Keneba Upper and Senior Secondary School, Kwinella Upper and Senior Secondary School, and Karantaba Basic Cycle School.
The chairman of Bikes for Gambian Schools, Roman Pofolda, said it is a pleasure for him to donate the consignment of bikes to school children in The Gambia.
Mr Pofolda said he first came to the country in 2011 during which he visited lots of schools in the provinces.
“During this visits, I realised that there are many constraints and difficulties most students encounter especially those in the up-country: most of them walk some kilometers before reaching their schools,” he said.
“When I returned, I approached so many donors for assistance and fortunately we were able to start the charity in 2013, and were able to donate more than 5,000 bikes,” he added.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Pateh Jallow, principal of Bakadaji Upper Basic and Senior Secondary School in Upper River Region, expressed appreciation to the donors saying the gesture is “very timely”.
He said the bikes will be given to “the rightful students” and serious monitoring will be put in place to ensure that the bikes are used for the right purpose.
However, Mr Jallow added that it is the responsibility of both the parents and teachers to help in making sure the bikes are maintained properly for durability.
He said the bikes can go a long way towards improving performance of students in schools as it eases their difficulties in travelling to school.
Nabani Darboe, senior official at the Regional Education Directorate, region 2, also applauded Bikes for Gambian Schools for the donation while calling on the school authorities to help the children in the maintenance of the bikes.
He implored the donors to bring more bikes and also help with wheelchairs for people with some walking disability who are in school.