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https://www.positive.news/society/getting-a-bike-was-a-resurrection-the-project-donating-bicycles-to-refugees/>
"Two wheels. A frame. Cables, brakes and pedals. There’s no earthly reason to
get emotional over a jumble of metal and rubber – however artfully it’s put
together – but that’s the magic of bicycles. They’re so much more than the sum
of their parts. To many, they’re the ultimate expression of freewheeling
independence, and to refugees and people seeking asylum they can be a literal
lifeline.
“For me, getting a bike was a resurrection, a second chance at life. It wasn’t
just a means of transport, it was a means of finding myself and starting all
over again,” says Comfort Adeyemi, an early beneficiary of UK-based charity The
Bike Project.
The charity has been refurbishing discarded and donated bikes, and gifting them
to refugees and people seeking asylum, for a decade now. What began as a one
man band in founder Jem Stein’s garden shed has become a sprawling concern,
with repair workshops in the capital and Birmingham. More than 11,000 bikes,
along with safety kits, have been distributed in almost 40 cities and regions
across the UK.
“Demand is huge, we don’t even touch the sides in terms of demand,” says CEO
Lizzie Kenyon, who hopes to alleviate some of that pressure through the
project’s winter appeal. Members of the public can buy a gift for a refugee,
such as bikes, accessories and lessons for as little as £10."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
