Update: We are pleased to announce that Shreeyanka Luitel is the winner of our $1000 Scholarship. Please read her entry below.
Ms. Luitel is currently a junior at The Ohio State University dual majoring in Psychology in Marketing. After completing her undergraduate degree, she plans to continue her education and attend law school to earn a JD. Her goal is to specialize in immigration and entertainment law and open her own law firm. She hopes to help struggling immigrants, and work with world leaders in the International Criminal’s Court.
Ms. Luitel’s Prize-Winning Entry:
HOW CAN MOTORCYCLES AND BICYCLES BE USED TO CHANGE THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN IMPOVERISHED OR REMOTE AREAS OF THE WORLD?
As the daughter of immigrant parents that grew up in rural Nepal, I thought that I had heard of all the hardships in the world. My parents would tell us about carrying buckets of grass and hiking through the mountains. I’ve heard about my parents reminiscing about traveling through every climate before reaching school. I heard about the lack of shoes, running water, and food. I have also visited Nepal on several occasions and have seen school children walk through the mountains to attend school. I must admit, it never crossed my mind that the use of motorcycles and bicycles would make travel easier for a large population of the world. As Americans, we don’t see bikes as a necessity rather we see it as a commodity. We learned in junior high that roads and the highway system was built because President Eisenhower wanted a way of evacuating cities if the United States was attacked by an atomic bomb. Defense was the primary reason as to why roads and the interstate was built. Nowadays, bike lanes are built to be more environmentally conscious, and biking is seen as a form of exercise and not a mode of transportation. In fact, not a single American Metropolis made the top twenty list for the world’s most bike- friendly cities. Most Americans, including myself, do not understand the importance of bicycles and the effect they have on economic growth and reduction of poverty.
A majority of the transport time of rural people is spent on paths that are close to the village that are used to access water, and other basic necessities. The problems are exacerbated by the poor footpath condition, and lack of bridges that allow for people to cross rivers safely. A study conducted in 2003 by Gibson and Rozelle found that “increasing access through road construction, reduced poverty and increased enrolment in education and literacy. Bringing people to within two hours walk of a road, reduced poverty by 5.7 percentage points and reduced severe poverty by 10.9 percentage points.” There are various uses of bicycles in rural communities. For example, transportation of products such as bananas, coconuts, raw materials, and the delivery of water to various parts of the village. Doctors and other health care professionals can use bicycles to reach their patients, families could use it to start businesses in the city center, and students can use bicycles to travel to school. After a deadly Tsunami hit Sri Lanka, the World Bicycle relief provided bicycles to those hit hardest by the disaster, and ninety percent of the families used bicycles to produce income for their families. The simple act of donating a bike is not helpful to people living in rural areas. For one, the bikes made for the western world would not be able to withstand the road conditions of Sri Lanka. The bicycles developed in Uganda would not be last in other parts of the world, so it is absolutely necessary to build bikes that cater to a particular environment. It is also important to provide education about maintaining and repair a bike in the event that a bike breaks, or a tire gets punctured. There are dozens of organizations that are currently focusing on providing bikes to everyone in rural areas. They are also focusing their efforts on educating people on proper bike maintenance.
Public transportation is a necessity that we all take for granted. We as a society have forgotten to look at the implications of poor and failing transportation system in the fight against poverty. It is hard for us to imagine that a simple bicycle has such a life changing impact in a family’s lives and their revenue. There are many organizations that we can donate to or volunteer for, and that may be the least that we can do to help people in poverty. The problems of transportation are often overlooked in the discussion of poverty. The proverb “give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. Teach a man a to fish, he will eat for a life-time” explains this situation perfectly. It is fantastic to build schools in impoverished nations, but it does no good if students cannot reach those schools. We as a privileged society must shift our focus and take the time to understand the needs of people living in impoverished nations before we jump into action for the sake of social validation.
Source citation
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Starkey, Paul, and John Hine. “Poverty and Sustainable Transport.” Sustainabledevelopment.org, Oct. 2014.
As the costs of higher education rise, a free scholarship can help students defray the costs of attending college. The team at Kass & Moses recognize that the high costs of education can create an obstacle for a number of students. We believe the costs associated with school should not deter youth from pursuing further education.
We are again offering a $1,000 scholarship to college, university, and trade school students. We believe that this is a small way to play a positive role in the life of someone who is working towards a bright future for our country.
Applications for this scholarship due by Friday, December 18th, 2020. The winner will be chosen and notified by December 31st, 2020.
For a free legal consultation,
call 1-800-668-6729
What are the free scholarship qualifications?
· Students must be enrolled in or planning to attend college or graduate school during the Spring 2021 semester.
· The school must be located in the United States.
· Applications are due by December 18th, 2020.
ESSAY TOPIC:
Submit a 400+ word essay on this topic:
How can motorcycles and bicycles be used to change the lives of people who live in impoverished or remote areas of the world?
After the application period closes, Kass & Moses will determine the winner and will notify the winner by December 31st, 2020.
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Scholarship Application Process for College Students
Your application should include the following:
- An essay of 400 or more words answering our topic question.
- A short bio about you and your educational goals.
- Your contact information, including email address.
Please email your entry to wendy@kassandmoses.com.
Any questions about the scholarship or the application process? Contact wendy@kassandmoses.com.
Call or text 1-800-668-6729 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
