Bikes

My husband and I want to be involved in international health - eventually - meaning after he finishes his medical residency.  We have thought about living abroad, or traveling every summer with our kids and living in a developing country for large chunks of the year - later.  But we are always on the lookout for something we can be involved with right now.

My husband is an avid cyclist (both road biking and mountain biking).  I was curious about ideas for recycling bikes or donating bikes to people less fortunate in our community and stumbled upon this website: Bicycle Aid for Africa.  They recycle bikes and send them to Africa.  This seemed like an incredible idea.  A simple but powerful one - but also a very expensive one.  I brought it up to my husband, seeking his mental capacity to help me think of something we could do, but in our own city.  He belongs to a riding club.  He told me that the club chooses a specific charity to sponsor every month.  The club uses cycling to raise money or bring in donations for the charity, whether through races the club does or through the donation of bikes and/or money.  The club sometimes competes against other clubs in the area in order to motivate the members to give generously.  I was totally amazed.

I love the idea of recycling bikes because it is incredible what having a bike does for someone's confidence, the feeling of freedom and power it provides - even at the age of three.

There is so much out there that people are doing for others.  It is impressive.