NUK's Bicycles for Girls' Empowerment program has reached additional villages this year, distributing bicycles to adolescent girls for whom the daily journey to school had previously been a significant barrier to consistent attendance.
Why mobility matters
In many rural areas, the nearest secondary school can be several kilometres away. Without independent transport, girls often depend on family members for escorted travel — a constraint that frequently results in reduced attendance, particularly once a girl reaches adolescence and safety concerns around unaccompanied travel increase.
What the program provides
- Bicycles distributed directly to enrolled secondary school girls in participating villages.
- Basic safe-cycling training delivered alongside distribution.
- Coordination with school administrators to track attendance impact over the following academic terms.
Early indications
NUK's program staff report anecdotal improvements in attendance consistency among recipients, though formal attendance data collection is ongoing and will inform future programme design.