By Elizabeth Mandala
Blantyre, September 23, Mana: Stewart ‘The Cyclist’ Kambewa has embarked on his long term charity project named ‘2 Wheels 2 School’ aimed at assisting underprivileged secondary school students from rural areas across the country.
Kambewa, famously known for his saddleless non-stop charity cycling, made the announcement as he is set to hike up and back Mulanje Mountain on October 24 and then cycle saddle-less 58km non-stop back to Blantyre to raise funds for the project.
He said for the project to successfully roll out, he is looking forward to raise K5 million before January 2021.
“Our main aim is to improve access to secondary school education, helping them excel in their studies and complete school successfully and in the long run reducing secondary school dropout rate.
“We will also be giving out bicycles and do repairs for best performing students who walk or cycle long distances to school,” Kambewa said.
The project is expected to reach out to 100 students in the first year. Beneficiaries will be identified through top class performance.
Kambewa said once selected, the students will be under the project in all three terms of each class from Form 3 and 4.
“For a start, we are targeting three districts of Nsanje, Neno and Blantyre Rural, in the southern region, four in the Central region targeting Dedza, Dowa, Lilongwe Rural, and three in the Northern region with Karonga, Mzimba and Rumphi benefitting,” he said.
Kambewa said the project will be closely monitored and evaluated at the end of each term by an independent team.
“We would like to see the project flourish and make a positive contribution in the lives of students in rural areas. It is the wish of our team to sustain the project for as long as we can and reach out to as many students as possible.
“We believe every student can excel in their studies if given the right support and mentorship. This project will go a long way in improving their performance in class, changing their lives and standards for the better,” Kambewa added.
Kambewa, therefore, appealed to the corporate world and other people of good will to financially support the project as it is set to commence in January 2021.
Meanwhile, the initiative has received sponsorship from Pamudzi Eatery and Bar and Nin9 Construction Company.
Blantyre Cycling Crew member, Goshen Chintu, who will accompany Kambewa on the excursion; hailed the project, saying it will go a long way in addressing some challenges faced by the young ones in rural communities.
“This is an important project that will make a huge impact in our society and I am glad to give moral support by participating in the hike and cycling. At the end of it I would like to see a better Malawi where access to education is not only limited to a few,” said Chintu.
Kambewa has from 2016 cycled long distances for charity six times. Among others, he cycled the full length of Malawi from Nsanje to Chitipa via Lakeshore in eight days together with a colleague, Kwame Kayira, during the Clean Water Cycle to raise funds for drilling of boreholes in selected districts.
On September 8, 2018 he cycled from Chileka Roundabout in Blantyre to City Mall in Lilongwe for 13hours in support of Nation Publications Limited initiative of Mothers Fun Run Safe Motherhood campaign.
