Deserving pupils on their bikes

Thirty Tauranga children were rewarded for being a good role model at school with new bikes from Variety. Photo / John Borren

Thirty deserving children were presented with shiny new red bikes by Variety - The Children's Charity at a special assembly at Greenpark School yesterday.

The children, all aged between 7 and 9, were nominated to receive the bikes and matching helmets by their teachers or principals.

Bikes were given to children whose families could not afford to buy a bike, for those who were going through difficult situations such as sickness in the family or those who were facing some sort of struggle but all were also good role models, Variety events manager Carly Thomson said.

Children could be nominated for a bike by anyone, but most nominations came from within their school, Miss Thomson said.

"We usually accept most of the applications. If they fit the criteria, if we can make it work we will."

The children were from Gate Pa School, Kaka St Special School, Te Kura o Matapihi, Tauranga Primary, Greenpark School, Maketu School, Merivale School, Brookfield School and Pillans Point School.

One excited new bike owner was Malachi Ngamoki, 9, from Brookfield School. Malachi's bike got stolen in winter last year so he was happy to have a new one to ride.

He will be using his bike to ride to school and visit his nana who lives nearby. He said he would be making sure it was locked away each night.

Malachi said he knew how to ride a bike with no hands but it had been a long time since he had been able to try it.

Comedian and Variety ambassador Mark Wright hosted the presentation of the bikes. Mr Wright said the Bikes For Kids programme had given out thousands of bikes in the years it had been running.

Tauranga was the first stop on the tour and they would also be visiting schools all around the North Island to present more than 400 bikes to children.

"The kids get a bike in any colour - as long as it's red," Mr Wright joked.

"We ask schools to nominate kids who have been real role models in their school community and are setting a good example for their mates at school and helping them out."