Great Heart Charity gives safety upgrade for senior cyclists

Elderly folks in Kampar had their bicycles upgraded over the weekend to make them safer on the road, thanks to Great Heart Charity Association (GHCA) who installed front and rear lights, an umbrella holder as well as an umbrella onto 200 bicycles over the course of two hours.

The senior cyclist event, which was supposed to run for four hours, wrapped up in half the time as many seniors were at the event venue, a public basketball court, even before the team arrived to set up.

GHCA's 13 volunteers spent the morning attaching lights to the bicycles that were brought by the elderly, which for most of them is their only means of transportation.

Many who had their umbrellas with them were greeted with a pleasant surprise when the team attached brand new umbrellas bearing the Great Heart logo onto the umbrella holders, with some requesting the team to attach their personal umbrellas onto their bicycles so that they could use their new umbrellas separately instead.

Event leader, Joshua Lim, mentioned that many of the senior cyclists have been seen riding around town with their umbrellas still attached from last year's event. "Even though many old folks end up just using the umbrellas, we still see many senior cyclists with their umbrellas attached even after a year.

"This year, we hope that they will be safer on the road because we've added rear lights and front lights to their bicycles, which we haven't done before," said Lim, who was giving out the safety materials to seniors who opted to install it themselves.

Among the many seniors at the event was 77-year-old Leong Pan Nooi, who like many others brought her bicycle to the event to have GHCA volunteers install the free safety features onto her bicycle.

"Every time it rains, even just a bit, I have to stay home; this umbrella will help me go places without getting wet," said Leong in Cantonese.

Established in 2010, Great Heart Charity Association is a non-profit charitable organization in Malaysia, and aim to provide substantial and meaningful assistance to people who face difficulties in life.