As part of a $150k grant, bicycles are now on their way to indigenous children in Bristol Bay. This program is supposed to help control diabetes in villages by reducing one of the factors thought to lead to the disease, obesity. The idea is to get kids riding bikes instead of four wheeled off road motorized vehicles.Any child, up to seniors in high school, are eligible for this bike giveaway. Some will get Trek 21-speed bicycles, while younger ones will receive single speed bikes. 735 bikes are on their way.
The Perspective is a big fan of bicycling, with several thousand miles of road gone past, and applauds the good intentions of this program.
The Perspective does have a few questions though. Is this just a one time, feel good, project, or are there provisions for maintenance and repairs? Will there be any data collected to see if this effort has any effect on diabetes rates in the villages? Will the program continue for kids who reach bike riding age over time?
The biggest question: Isn’t this the responsibility of the parents, who have means enough to have ORVs, but don’t provide bikes for their kids?
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