Wheels of change

Four cyclists to tour four schools to understand alternative education

Four cyclists are on a mission: to sow the seeds of change. Not just that, they are also going to celebrate 200 years of the bicycle.

Gobinath Mounissamy and Vimal Kumar, both cycling enthusiasts with a keen interest in alternative learning and teaching, will cycle along with Karthick Ruban, a triathlon athlete from Puducherry. A. Niranjan from Hyderabad will join them to document the journey.

The four cyclists will then visit four schools to explore alternative education, run by not-for-profit organisations in several districts in Tamil Nadu.

Nomad Walks and Pondicherry Citizen’s Action Network (PondyCAN) are organising this cycle tour of nearly 600 km.

Beginning Saturday, they will cycle 600 km visiting a school for differently-abled children in Sristi Village in Thiruvakarai, a farming school called Marudam in Thiruvannamalai, Cuckoo Forest School in Singarapetai and Poovidam in Dharmapuri.

Mr. Mounissamy said that they are travelling to explore a new methodology of teaching that would connect children with nature and make them aware of their environment.

Natesa Iyer, Volunteer at Natura Ashram and PondyCAN, said that the cyclists will begin their journey from Gandhi Statue on Beach Road on Saturday at 6 a.m. “They will visit the schools and spend two days in each school, volunteering and observing the teaching methodology and exchange ideas. They will also be symbolically carrying seeds to distribute them to the schools and plant them in the schools,” he said.

Sunaina Mandeen of PondyCAN said this was the first time they were organising such an event and PondyCAN’s ‘Seeds of Change’ programme will be taken up in different schools in Puducherry.

‘Seeds of Change’ is a programme that works with youth enabling them to realise their potential and become the seeds of change for a better tomorrow. The two-day stay at each location will be used to experience and understand the alternative education methods of these schools, exchange ideas and plant the seeds the cyclists are carrying with them from Puducherry.

Vimal Kumar added the experience they gained would be shared with students of a government school here.