Project Tandem Bicycle – Cycle for Change, is a project in collaboration with Challenges Media Malaysia, which aims to enable 30 children and youth with special needs from SJKC Sam Yoke to take part and enjoy cycling. 

Children with learning disabilities may face numerous obstacles in their daily activities but they are encouraged to engage in a healthier lifestyle through cycling, with the aid of volunteers.

However, as they require assistance while cycling, tandem bicycles are considered ideal for the project as it allows volunteers to look after the special child while cycling together. As buying tandem bicycles can be costly, the team decided to have custom-made tandem bicycles with elongated handles to enable the disabled child to sit in front, with the volunteer seated behind.

This project is comprised with three phases. Phase 1 and 2 are expected to be completed upon August 2015 whilst phase 3 will begins after the completion of Phase 1 and 2, probably the next semester. 

PHASE 1:

(1) ‘Recycling a Bicycle’ Campaign

To create awareness among the community in UM and to gather all used or abandoned bicycles in one location to ease the removal to the ‘Making of Tandem Bike’ workshop.

(2) ‘Meet and Greet’

To create awareness amongst the university or college students about different types of disabilities and needs of children with learning disabilities.

PHASE 2:

(1) ‘The Making of Tandem Bike’ Workshop

University or college students are invited to the workshop to learn producing Tandem Bike from Mr Akmal, the owner of The Basikal. The workshop is comprised with a few sessions which train the students (preferably engineering students) to learn some technical or welding skills in order to assemble a Tandem Bike.

(2) Meet the Needs

Our target is to produce 5 Tandem Bikes by Phase 2, and then are distributed to the special-needs students.

OBJECTIVES: 

• To collect the abandoned or used bicycles to be recycled into tandem bicycle
• To provide more tandem bicycles to the special needs children
• To increase the awareness of the needs of disabled children among the community

EXPECTED OUTCOMES:

Social Impact

a) Increase the confidence level of the special needs children

Through this project, the special needs children have the opportunity to have fun riding bicycle, like other children did. Besides, they will have more interaction with other people – the university student volunteers (so called ‘right captain’ which will take care of them at the back while riding the Tandem Bike); it might help them to boost confidence and have the courage to talk with outsiders.

b) Improvement of physical and health condition of the children

Riding a bicycle encourages the children to lead a healthy lifestyle, enables them to strengthen their physical and health condition such as a stronger muscle, better balancing skills and movement in faster pace.

c) Attention and caring to the special needs children

Often, people does not know exactly the daily life of the special needs children and what they really need. Through this project, awareness will be created and extra attention will be paid to these community.

Environmental Impacts : Recycling used and abandoned bicycle

Often, the old or used bicycles are abandoned around the University of Malaya campus, especially when the owners are graduating. It is possible to produce a tandem bicycle by processing and combining several parts of unwanted bicycles. This process not only making full use of the old bicycles, but can reduce the cost of buying a brand new tandem bicycle from the market.

Economic Impacts : Cost reduction in production of tandem bicycle by recycling bicycle

By recycling bicycles, purchasing costs of materials or parts can be saved. The customized tandem bicycles are more affordable compared to those which are sold in the market.

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