Triathlete couple give away bikes to help others amid pandemic

Published September 16, 2020 9:13pm

A couple have been giving away bicycles to help people in need amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Mariz Umali’s report on “24 Oras,” Roy and Roann Maceda set up the Facebook page “BeSeekLeta For EveryJuan” to gather donations from Good Samaritans.

The husband and wife are both avid triathletes, so they thought about using their passion for bicycles to extend some aid to others in these trying times.

“Since maraming scrap or unused na bike parts, kino-collect namin siya and pinagsasama-sama namin siya to build one functional bike para magamit ng isang nangangailangang tao,” Roy said.

The couple started the project even though they are also facing hardships after losing their businesses and having reduced pay at work.

“Naisip namin na kung kami naapektuhan, pano pa ‘yung mga brothers and sisters natin sa community na hindi naman ganun ka-privileged?” Roann said. “So dun nag-struck sa ‘min na siguro mag-give back tayo kahit little by little.”

So far, Roy and Roann have given away 26 bikes to beneficiaries from Luzon and Visayas. They plan to distribute over 100 repaired second-hand bicycles as long as they receive donations.

One of their beneficiaries was Cecilia Africa, a 58-year-old street sweeper in Manila who supports her children.

“Marami hong salamat kasi kahit papaano, may taong nakatulong sa akin. Mababawasan na rin ‘yung pinamamasahe ko, mapupunta na rin kahit papaano sa pangkain sa araw-araw,” she said.

Another beneficiary is Jannifer Cabaya, who previously used an improvised bike made from scrap wood.

“Tumulo ‘yung luha ko. Kakapasok lang po ng ber-month pero ‘yung natanggap ko sobra-sobra na po,” he said. “Hindi ko po in-expect na makatanggap ako ng totoong bike. Maraming salamat po sa lahat-lahat.” —MGP, GMA News

SOURCE: https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/hobbiesandactivities/755894/triathlete-couple-give-away-bikes-to-help-others-amid-pandemic/story/