Young Lewisham aims to help orphaned children in Malawi. Pic: khym54

A group formed with a mission to donate reclaimed bicycles to a Malawian orphanage has sent its first consignment to the African country.

Some 40 bicycles which were fixed up by teenagers from the Young Lewisham Project will be shared between children from the orphanage, other disadvantaged Malawian children and people setting up small businesses. They are due to arrive at the end of April.

The project began in 2014 and the teenagers spent a year and a half meeting up every Saturday to learn basic bicycle repair skills.

A spokesperson from YLP said: “Our young people have learned new mechanical skills as they work on bikes of all shapes, sizes and conditions. Not only have they gained practical skills but they have found out about how children and young people live in Malawi.”

The repaired bikes were originally donated by local people, Somerset House, Rosemead School and Finches Shop. The Metropolitan Police also donated stolen bikes.

The spokesperson added: “The young people from our Saturday Community Group and the Youth Offending Service Reparation Group have spent about a year and a half repairing the bikes and getting them ready to be sent off to Malawi for three different projects.”