The group has a simple plan: Collect as many old bikes from the city as available, get them repaired and give them to the kids from villages. So far the group has distributed around 150 bicycles to villages in the Wada and Vikramgarh areas. “Every society in the city has hundreds of unused bicycles as kids have simply outgrown them,” says Hemant. They either buy these for a small price or seek them as donations, recycle them and donate them to the village kids. “Not only do these bicycles get a new lease of life, but underprivileged children also have a sure way of reaching school.”

The bicycles are repainted and re-designed by professional artists. “We give a whole new look to a decrepit bicycle by painting it in spunky colours and designs. In fact, in November we tied up with an Italian artist, Dyana Linda, who painted several bikes along with some school kids from the city,” says Simona.

The group doesn’t want to stop their work only with bicycles.

“We want to bridge the gap between urban waste and rural need. We want these kids to slowly enter the mainstream. Next in line is to expose them to English and computers. We will collect old computers which cannot be upgraded and take them to the villages. Our idea is to give basic knowledge on computers and how they work. We will also tie up with various NGOs across the country and take volunteers to villages who can teach kids basic English. This way we will make our movement a truly pan-Indian one,” says Simona.