Frontliner who borrows a kiddie bike just to get to work receives a surprise from UH

A woman who works at the Paranaque City hospital has been borrowing a kiddie bike from a friend just to get to work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Riding a kiddie bike on a public road is hard, but Cristina Alano endures it knowing her entire family is counting on her to pay the bills and put food on the table.

Besides, riding the tiny bike was the better option than the daily hours-long walk to and from the hospital, given the limited public transportation in her area.

But thanks to Unang Hirit's “Ligtas-Padyak” project, Cristina will not have to endure such a tough ordeal any longer.

The UH team first learned about Cristina's situation as they were giving 100 sets of safety gear along Ninoy Aquino Avenue last June 23.

“Pag hindi po kami pumasok sa trabaho, wala kaming bayad," she told UH's Mariz Umali. :Eh ‘yun lang ang inaasahan kong pambayad ng bahay namin, pambayad ng bills namin, at pagkain po.” 

The UH team came to see Cristina while she was working at the records office of a hospital a few days later, and presented her with a new bike.

The worker was unable to hold back her tears, saying she won't have to spend at least a month's worth of her salary just to buy a decent bike.

The UH team also presented a brand new bike to Ronron Suela who in spite of his disability, rode a bike to work from Cavite to Parañaque.

He revealed last June 23 that the bike he had borrowed did not have any brakes, so he had nothing else to control his bike with other than his affected foot. — Margaret Claire Layug/LA, GMA News