44 special-needs youths get a chance to ride a bike at OCBC Cycle
Illustrator Kenneth Lee is excited that he’ll be able to take a spin around the Singapore Sports Hub on a two-wheeler this Saturday (May 5).
SINGAPORE — Illustrator Kenneth Lee is excited that he’ll be able to take a spin around the Singapore Sports Hub on a two-wheeler this Saturday (May 5).
Even though the 26-year-old, who has mild autism spectrum disorder, had looked longingly at the colourful shared bikes and asked his mother for permission to ride one, he never had the opportunity. He does not own a smartphone, and his mother did not download the relevant mobile app.
But this Saturday, he will join 43 other special needs youths in riding customised bikes at OCBC Cycle, albeit in a slightly different programme.
Called Teach A Special Needs Youth to Cycle, the initiative is an extension of bank’s community engagement programme for its annual mass-cycling event, which aims to teach different disadvantaged segments of community to cycle.
Through it, more than 60 underprivileged children had been taught to cycle since 2015, said the bank's head of corporate communications Koh Ching Ching. And this year, OCBC decided to extend the programme to special needs youths.
"This year, we decided to teach special needs youths to cycle, to give them the opportunity to learn a life-long skill and to enjoy the experience of being included in a community event. While special needs individuals may suffer from different degrees of developmental disabilities, there are many higher-functioning ones who have the required motor skills to cycle and we want to empower them to do so," Ms Koh added.
Mr Lee is excitedly looking forward to the experience, along with participants from SG Enable, the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore, and The Spastics Association of Hong Kong.
“Cycling is like good exercise for my legs, especially when going up the slope,” added the TODAY Enable Fund beneficiary.
Even though Mr Lee already knows how to ride a bike, having taught himself to do so when he was around 12, his mother, Madam Jennifer Suet, said he has not ridden much for the past eight years due to a combination of his busy work schedule and the family not owning a functioning bike.
“Now, because of work, he’s quite busy and hardly got the time to cycle,” the 51-year-old said, adding that Mr Lee holds a full-time job with Holiday Inn hotel where he performs housekeeping duties.
The bicycle the family currently owns is also not suitable for riding, as parts of the bike are rusty and the gears are also broken.
This Saturday, Mr Lee is expected to be riding at the front of the pack so he can easily pull away from the others. Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, in his capacity as patron of TEF, will be flagging off the special needs youths.
To prepare for the event, he attended two training sessions with the bank last month, which taught the beneficiaries some safety tips while cycling, among other things.
The instructors, recognising his cycling abilities, also got Mr Lee to lead the pack at one of cycling practices to the Gardens by the Bay East area.
“It’s been so long since I cycled but I like it (since) I have fun doing it,” Mr Lee added.
* Members of the public not participating in the mass cycling event can also still do their bit by supporting the charity bazaar held at OCBC Arena this Friday and Saturday (May 4-5), from 10am to 9pm. The TODAY Enable Fund is one of the participants, and will be selling merchandise produced by TEF beneficiaries and other members of the special needs community.
