Matt Lawrey
Fourteen children from former refugee families received bicycles as a gift over the weekend as part of a program to help them become more independent and active.
Fourteen Nelson children from former refugee families have been given their own bicycles and a path to greater independence.
As part of a pilot project between Nelson City Council, Sport Tasman and Bike Hub Nelson, the refurbished bikes were given to Victory Primary School pupils at a pizza lunch event on Saturday.
The municipality provided helmets, locks and lighting for the bicycles.
Bike Hub Nelson coordinator Matt Lawrey said the kids and their families were over the moon.
“The best part was that the kids couldn’t wait to start riding. It rained a little, but they completely ignored it. They just jumped on their bikes and went for it, racing around the playground with big grins on their faces,” he said.
One of the students, Sui Tha, said she was very happy with her new bicycle.
“Now instead of just sitting at home, we can go cycling,” she said.
Matt Lawrey
Alis loves her new bike, which she and 13 others donated as part of a program to help children from former refugee families become more independent and active.
Her sister Alis was also enraptured: “I love it.”
Their mother, Mangmang, said she had five children and spent much of her day driving around with them. She is looking forward to Sui Tha and Alis getting on their new bikes.
“I’m very happy for myself,” she said.
Before receiving the bikes, the students took cycling skills sessions with Sport Tasman and rode to Bike Hub Nelson’s Saxton Field workshop to learn about bike maintenance.
The council has applied to Sport NZ’s Tu Manawa Active Aotearoa Fund for Sport and Active Recreation, managed by Sport Tasman, for 30 bicycles from the hub and funding for cycling lessons, helmets and locks. The remaining 16 bicycles will be distributed later.
The bikes were donated by the public and repaired and maintained by the hub’s volunteer mechanics.
The idea is to encourage tamariki to participate in sports, active recreation and cultural activities in their community by providing them with a way to get there.
Matt Lawrey
The rain didn’t stop Biak Chin from going for a ride on her new bike.
Lawrey said Bike Hub Nelson was “extremely grateful” to everyone who made it possible for the nonprofit to provide the bikes to the students.
Bike Hub Nelson is supported by the council and his plan is also supported by the police, who also provide him with bicycles that end up in their possession but are never claimed.
“Not only was it great to get them on the bikes, but the delivery took us to a new record of 34 bikes returning home in one week,” said Lawrey.
Alec Louverdis, group infrastructure manager for the municipality, said he was delighted to be part of the initiative.
“Being able to travel under your own power is such an important part of growing up. The municipality is always happy that we can support young people who choose to travel with active transport.”
If you have a bike you don’t need, Bike Hub Nelson is happy to find a new home for it. Contact Matt Lawrey on 027 406 3434 or [email protected].