Local couple hopes to fund bicycles in Kenya

ANCRAMDALE — Sometimes rising as early as 4 a.m. in the morning in order to arrive on time, students in the Kenya school that John and Jean Roccanova are working to support will get much-needed assistance if their current fundraiser is successful. 

The retired Webutuck teachers who live in Ancramdale have been helping the non-denominational St. Mary’s School in Nambale, Kenya, since 2014. They are hoping to raise some $10,000 to purchase 50 bicycles and accompanying equipment. According to John, the gear would significantly change the lives of students, some of whom must walk 6 miles each way in order to obtain an education. 

John explained that before beginning the trek, students often must help with chores in the morning. 

“Most of the families are subsistence farmers,” he said. “They might have animals to feed. Water is a big issue” as few have wells of their own and so must get their supply from a community well, which may be 1 or 2 miles away. 

Duties done, the students must then walk to the school over difficult roads. Recalling a visit to the area, John said, “We saw them in the dry season and they were horrendous. I can only imagine them in the wet season.  They are not paved roads at all. They are dirt roads with a lot of ruts.” 

The bicycle packages that the Roccanovas hope to lend to students in order to facilitate their trips will be given first to students who are “well motivated” and whose families subsist on less than a dollar a day. He hopes the bicycles will help students stay in school because, “if they get there late, they get in trouble, and nobody wants to get in trouble; so they don’t go sometimes.” 

To help with that issue, the Rocconovas started the project last summer when the couple was able to provide bicycles for 15 boys and girls at the school. 

The packages are particularly expensive because the challenges presented by the rough roads call for heavy duty bicycles, helmets and repair kits with pumps. The length of the school day requires that students leave before sun-up and return after dark, so reflective vests are also a necessity, with the combination costing $198 per set. 

While the Roccanovas often raise funds for the school by selling goods they create (John’s woodworking is much admired in the area), for this initiative they are making a direct financial appeal through the nationally recognized GlobalGiving program. If they are able to raise $5,000 by March 29, their program will become a permanent member of the organization, leading to additional funds provided by corporate sponsors. 

Toward that end, John and Jean have emailed requests to 300 bicycle clubs around the country, but since most of them are also nonprofits, John said, “It’s been slow going” with just over $1,200 raised as of last Friday. Although the initial fundraising phase ends on March 29, any funds donated in coming months will change a student’s life a half a world away.  

To help: go to www.globalgiving.org/projects/pedal-power-for-kenyan-education.