ROTARY WHEELS FOR LEARNING

Posted by Mike Cole on Jun 13, 2023
The Rotary Wheels for Learning (RWFL) Program is an international humanitarian project which is led by Mike Cole from the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst, Ontario. 
 
RWFL has been making a difference in Cambodia for more than 11 years, thanks to the efforts of our supporters. Together, we have provided 10,694 bicycles, distributed hundreds of pounds of school supplies, renovated complete schools, built wells, wash areas, latrines for schools, and as of last year built more than 150 family latrines in villages throughout Siem Reap Province.
 
We continue to achieve this in two ways:
 
First, we build, repair and then distribute bicycles to impoverished rural children so they may have the opportunity to attend school. As many of the impoverished children in Cambodia have to walk three to five kilometers to school, they simply cannot attend without the aid of a bicycle. Shortcuts through fields and jungle offer the prospect of encountering long forgotten landmines, unexploded ordinance, or poisonous snakes.
 
Secondly, we identify and fund critical Education, as well as Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects at the rural schools so the children can remain healthy and stay in school. School infrastructure in rural Cambodia is either very old, in a state of disrepair, or non-existent. Without wells, latrines, and wash areas, the children have no way of using the washroom, cleaning their hands, or having water to drink during the day. This lack of critical infrastructure further disadvantages adolescent girls, who generally drop out of school once they start to menstruate.
 
For more information > RWFL 2022 Post Trip Report.
 
RWFL Team 
If you would like to become a member of the RWFL Team that deploys to Cambodia, please contact Mike Cole at rwflteam2018@gmail.com.

We have more to achieve, and have set our goal for 2024 of another 694 bicycles, as well as the projects outlined below:
 
Financial Support Needs

Fundraising for the construction projects has already commenced.  Our goal is to complete the fundraising for the projects by end August so that we can begin the projects in October, with an anticipated completion date in early January.  Fundraising for the bicycles will begin in September and will continue until the first week of January, so that the bicycles can be purchased ahead of the team’s arrival.

One hundred percent of donations goes towards the projects/bicycles, our team members and local Cambodia volunteers are not paid.  Only the actual workers (local contractors) that are hired to construct the projects and our Project Managers are paid.  

If you or your Rotary Club can support the funding, or partial funding of any of these projects or bicycles it would be very much appreciated. Individual donations are tax deductible as RWFL is a registered charity with CRA.

Should you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact me at rwflteam2018@gmail.com .  Alternatively, you can view our past distributions on Facebook, simply type in Rotary Wheels for Learning (RWFL) under search and then request to join the group.

For any questions you may have on these projects, as well as provide an online briefing to your club, contact Mike Cole, Chair, Field Coordinator Rotary Wheels for Learning - 613-883-4660 / rwflteam2018@gmail.com  /  mikejamescole@gmail.com.
 
Rotary Wheels for Learning is a registered charity, created by the Rotary Club of Gravenhurst, which supports sustainable education in Cambodia.  Charitable registration # 891556847RR001.