Geilston Bay High students restore and send 400 bikes to Africa

BIKES TO AFRICA SEND OFF – 2013 EVENT DETAILS

· Wednesday December 11th 2013, 12:00pm – 12:30pm
· Geilston Bay High School (271 East Derwent Hwy, Geilston Bay)
· Special guests: Premier of Tasmania Lara Giddings, Liberal Member for Franklin Jacqui Petrusma, Alderman Sharyn von Bertouch (Chair of Clarence City Councils Bicycle Committee)
· The event will include short speeches from the school principal, program coordinator and the Premier of Tasmania, with students
being recognised for their contribution to the project.

COMMUNITY BIKES PROGRAM INFO

The Community Bikes Program (CBP) is a youth mentoring program where workers and volunteers restore old bicycles alongside young people
between 10-16 years old. The aim is to help young people in the community develop life skills, see positive changes in attitude and an increase
in self-reliance. We believe by giving young people the opportunity to grow in these areas, we will be providing them with a chance to further
their job opportunities, increase their self-esteem and contribute more positively to society as a whole. As the program is also designed to give
participants a sense of contributing beyond themselves, the bikes are put aside to be given away. This teaches the young people the positive
experience of giving—especially giving away something they have laboured long and hard for & provides an avenue to celebrate their
achievements.

BIKES FOR AFRICA PROJECT

Program Coordinator Mr Anthony Edler said that after 4 years and 450 bikes been given away locally, we thought it was time the Community
Bikes Program (CBP) contributed to the global community.

“After extensive research, we decided to partner with the Bicycle Empowerment Network (BEN) in Namibia. So from the beginning of 2012,
participants in the CBP have been hard at work restoring donated bikes to send to Africa,” he said. “The bikes will be sent in a large shipping
container and once reaching its destination, the shipping container will be converted into a bike shop run by the BEN, Namibia.”

“The best thing about it is that these bikes are giving twice. In Hobart in the last two years, it has empowered 60 young students to learn new
skills and contribute in a really positive way. In Africa they’ll impact so many lives: creating jobs, enabling orphaned children easier transport to
school, and supporting nurses to care for people suffering with HIV/AIDS,” Mr Edler said.

A grand total of 400 bikes plus a significant number of spare parts will be officially sent to Africa on Wednesday Dec 11th 2013.
The cost to buy the container, restore and ship the bikes was broken down and calculated at $30 per bike. So the CBP asked the broader
community, community groups, politicians and local businesses to “Sponsor a bike for $30”. Through this $7 000 was raised and along with
other donations a total of $10,000 raised for the project.

GENERAL FACTS

· Third Place Communities has been running the Community Bikes Program for the past 6 years
· The bikes have been sourced as donations from the local community and unclaimed bikes from Tasmania Police.
· In the 6 years the Program has been running, it has restored and given away over 850 bikes and worked with over 200 young people.
· The Program is run 2 days a week at Geilston Bay High School and the Risdon Vale Neighbourhood Centre.
· The CBP has raised $10,000 to restore and send the bikes
Third Place Communities Coordinator: Anthony Edler