The Erakor Bridge Enviromental Fighters[EBEF] put on a fundraising activity at Samu Nakamal to encourage more people to go into cycling last Friday.
A member of the EBEF, good friend and mentor to a lot of the young people in the Erakor Bridge area, Carlos Noronha says, cycling is a great mode of transport as it is healthy for the human body, it is carbon neutral as it doesn’t pollute the air and best of all it is cheap. Mr Nornonha says in the past six months he has not spent any money on a single drop of diseal.
The Portugese man says more people should ride bicycles, however he says there needs to be rules in place as safety is important. Noronha says a lot of people of all ages and walks of life, especially kids are ridding bicycles,however they don’t have helmets and they also do not have any safety lights especially when ridding at night.
Mr Noronha says there also needs to be proper cycling tracks in Port Vila like other cities have. He is calling on the Vanuatu Police Force Traffic Unit, the Port Vila City Council, the Ministry of Health, the Department of Public Works and the Ministry of Climate Change to join in as stake holders and work together to imporve the wellbeing of the people.
Apart from health, Mr Noronha says the EBEF are in the process of registering themselves as an association with the Vanuatu Fincancial Service Commission and he is appealling to young people from other areas as well to do the same.
Noronha says should there be at least three cycling associations, there is a possiblity for a national cycling federation for Vanuatu to be formed. He says with a national federation, cycling races can be organized, the sport can be further promoted and grown and Vanuatu can even participate in international cycling competitions in future.
Mr Noronha says it is also a dream to see the Vanuatu Institute of technology run courses on bicycle repairs in the near future.
By Charles Hakwa for Daily Post