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As the bikes are stacked, care is taken to ensure the pedals and handlebars fit into the adjoining bike so no damage is done during the trip. The final tally showed that 231 bikes, 200 new tires, 325 new tubes, 35 new bike wheels, a complete set of bicycle repair tools, several bags of basketballs, four baby strollers, five boxes of baby hygiene supplies and three computer systems all fit into this 40 foot container. |
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Bicycle Repair Centers
The bikes are repaired by the staff and students at the orphanage. All parts, tools for repairing the bikes (including an air compressor) and repair manuals are shipped. At one time One Family volunteers repaired all bikes before sending them. As you can imagine it was a very labor intensive, time consuming project and it made it difficult to plan shipment dates. We asked the administrators at the orphanages if they would be interested in setting up repair centers and use them to teach bicycle repair to the students. It’s one more useful skill for these young people to develop. The program in Nicaragua has been a resounding success which has led to repair centers being started in Honduras and El Salvador. Over 500 bicycles from the county reuse program have been shipped to these countries in the past two years. |
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Employees from Pacific Rim Recycling and the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse help load bikes into the container. With each bike it is easy to imagine the happiness it will bring the child who will be riding it. |
