Samuel Akongel is 17 years old and was a senior 4 student at Buzaya secondary school in Kisozi in 2010. He is one of the students that had the chance to participate in the cycling to school program carried out by Hope Alive Uganda and Cycling out of poverty. Samuel Akongel is also one of the students participating in an essay contest organised by Cycling out of poverty. Students were asked to write about what the bike they were able to buy on credit means to them and if it has influenced their lives in a positive way. The essays were judged by students from the Citadel College in the Netherlands and the winner won a bike for free!

Samuel Akongel recounts:

"I am Akongel Samuel, aged 17, a student of Buzaya secondary school. I am in senior four, this year, 2010. I used to have problems in my studies and they have been overcome by Cycling out of poverty as follows:

I come from a far distance of eight kilometres from home to school and this problem is now solved in the way that I now use my bicycle for transporting myself to school. Before the coming of Cycling out of poverty to our school, I could perform very poorly in class. This is because I could always come late to school. I could be given punishment for being late to school and this became a routine in myself.

I am now very happy because my vision is now achievable through Cycling out of poverty. When I began studying in secondary school, I had a thought of being a doctor but when I began experiencing such problems, I lost morale and even began deteriorating in class. This bicycle is of great importance because it has improved on our family also. We used to be very poor in our countryside who could not be albe to own even a bicycle but this time we are also at a certain level.

The source of water of which we get water from, both drinking and for domestic use is also in a far distance away from home, of 10 ten kilometres. We used to walk that long distance carrying the water vessels on our heads, but this now has improved by Cycling out of poverty.

This bicycle is now a source of income in our family, because I can now use it for transporting other people within the countryside. Therefore, these days I have access to earn some money.

In our family, we could even take a week without getting even 1000 shillings, this is because before you can have access to get money, you have to cut down big trees such that you burn and you get charcoal of which you can take to town for sale and then you get money.

This time transporting food crops from the gardens to home is also easier, because we could use heads for transporting food crops.

These days, even if somebody gets any sickness, it's now very easy to take that person to the hospital, not as it used to be.

Earlier before the coming of Cycling out of poverty, it used to be a big problem when someone gets sickness at home because you could think of the way of transporting that sick person to the hospital and there could be no way because the sick person could not walk, and even carrying that person needed to collect the village people (neighbours) to help carry the sick person to the hospital. when the village people cooperate, we could then get papyrus mats, some polse, and then put the sick person on that and then tie him and carry on our heads.

Because of the great importance and changes being brought by Cycling out of poverty let me thank the project and the people who conducted it by saying: May God bless you".