Cycling in Savannah

Zin Ko, a recently arrived Burmese refugee in Savannah, had been walking to his ESL classes because he did not have any other means of transportation. If he used public transportation from his apartment to his class, he would have to travel on several buses, since no bus would take him directly there. This trip would take him more than two hours to complete. He preferred to walk, which took him about an hour and a half. Although the walk was shorter than the ride, it cost him in other ways: the sun burned his skin, and he was tired by the time that he got to class. He did not know what to do about this problem.

On a recent morning in May, Zin Ko arrived at LSG’s office in Savannah for employment training as usual. However, Deidre Harrison, Program Manager for Refugee Services in Savannah, had a surprise for him that day. She told him to go out into the parking lot and look at her car. Resting against the side of her vehicle was a bicycle, donated to LSG by Virginia Huber, a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and sister of LSG’s Linda Larson.

When Zin Ko saw the bike, he was ecstatic. He knew that his commute to class would be only 30 minutes now. In addition, he could explore the city with the other recently arrived Burmese family who already had bikes. LSG thanks Virginia for helping Zin Ko get to work faster and know the city better!