THE BICYCLE PROJECT - Let your old bicycle help a poor village kid get to school
THE SHORT VERSION:
A brief about The Bicycle Project
Known by the very simple and easy to recall name of The Bicycle Project, this charity initiative took birth just outside Mumbai city, the financial metropolitan capital of India. The brainchild of three individuals: businessman Hemant Chhabra, his ex-teacher wife Sangeeta and their journalist friend Simona Terron; the project addresses rural neglect with the approach of recycling urban waste. We have started off with refurbishing bicycles that are unused and lie rusting in the city and giving them to school-going tribal children who need to traverse long distances to get to school from their remote villages. The project eventually aims at expanding to old computers, disused books and other items in the future. Through a blog (www.thebicycleproject.blogspot.com), an upcoming website (www.thebicycleproject.in) and networking sites like Facebook, Orkut and cyclists.in, the project has managed to appoint collection centres where the bikes can be dropped off, and regularly organises quirky events to garner awareness about how this simple act of giving away something you don’t want, can change lives of people who don’t want much but need all the help they can get. THE LONG VERSION:
In villages located just outside Mumbai, there are several children aged 6-16 years walking an average of 2-7 km a day, one way, to get an education. This is the generation that will bring about a change for the better – for their families, their villages, and who knows, maybe even the country and some day, the world! Going to school is the most important thing for these kids – and they know that. Which is why no distance is too long – and walking for hours is normal because missing school is not an option. Whether rain or shine, blistering heat or freezing cold, these children do their best to get to school on time, everyday. We’re asking you to help these children by being part of The Bicycle Project
What is The Bicycle Project? We’re collecting old bicycles, which are probably of little use to their owners and lie rusting on the terrace or behind the garage. After giving these bikes a new lease of life, we deliver them to the village kids in and around Mumbai, in Maharashtra. Phase 1 of this project will help children in the villages of Thappar Pada, Wada and Vikramgarh with a farmhouse called HideOut as the base for distribution of the bikes to the children. These villages are located 100 kms from Mumbai, off the Ahmedabad highway in Thane district. Not far away are Jawhar fort (30kms), Dahanu beach (55kms) and the Mahalaxmi temple (40kms). This area was one of Maharashtra's largest forest areas but has been gradually deforested over the last thirty years and converted to grasslands. The main occupations here are cutting grass for fodder, planting paddy and making bricks. But these kids have big dreams, don’t necessarily want to follow in their parents’ footsteps and have even clearly informed them of this like one little girl who declared she doesn’t want to get married young but wants to study, then look for a good job to be more independent. Their self-confessed idols are Sachin Tendulkar, Sania Mirza, Abdul Kalam Azad and our freedom fighters. One of the girls has even said she wants to grow up and be a collector! Inspired by this we have made our primary focus the 900 students at the Marathi medium SSC board high school called Sri Binoi Gharde Sajjan Vidhalaya in Alonde, Vikramgarh Taluka. Once the 137 needy students have received a bicycle each, we will move on to the next village and so on. Donors and those interested are welcome to come visit these children at any time if you wish to see how your simple gift of an old bicycle can make a huge difference to their lives. Eventually the plan is to introduce and expose these children to two things that will help them enter the mainstream: English and computers. The Hideout will offer free food and accommodation to anyone wishing to spend a month or so, to visit the school in Alonde and spend time with the children. No expertise in grammar or teaching is needed; these kids just need to hear English the way it is spoken by people who use it in their day-to-day lives. Old computers that are too outdated to upgrade and which will fetch not more than a couple of hundred rupees from a bhangaarwallah are also welcome for the kids to get accustomed to using a computer. Those who donate their old computers will receive a discount if they choose to visit The Hideout for a stay. Why should you bother helping? Well, we’re hoping it’ll give you that warm fuzzy feeling inside that comes from helping those less fortunate than you. But honestly, if you care about the state of our country, its easy to see that children’s education is a number one priority right up there with the nutritious food, clean water and unpolluted air – things that children all over the world rightfully deserve. Your bikes, bought for a number of reasons, are lying useless and gathering rust. That same bike can get a child to school – a child who might turn out to be a doctor, lawyer, teacher or even a scientist some day. What can you do to help? You could call on 9820149022 or email us at thebicycleproject@gmail.com and we’d be happy to have the bikes picked up and repaired after which we will pass them on to deserving village children. If you can, please extend your generosity to:
1) Sponsoring the repairs of the bikes (on an average, each bike costs Rs 400 to fix up)
2) Transporting (or sponsoring it) them from the donors’ homes to the repair shop and then to the village
3) Sharing a space where all the bikes donated in your area can be collected, before they are picked up in a single trip, which will save a lot of time, money and energy
Keep checking the blog: thebicycleproject.blogspot.com where you can sign up for regular updates. We’re also currently building our website: www.thebicycleproject.co.in
Who are the people behind The Bicycle Project? We are a group of three currently, Hemant Chhabra, wife Sangeeta and friend, Simona Terron. We, Hemant and Sangeeta, believe in the strength of togetherness and community – we want to make a difference in gentle and practical ways. One of them is by building an organic, sustainable environmentally friendly eco-centre called HideOut in Jhadpoli village, which is run by the tribals and offers basic comforts and hospitality in a serene organic ambience. This has been the base for several camps where city kids are exposed to the nuances of rural life and are gently reintroduced to the concept of nurturing nature. Adults too are welcome here to relax, to reconnect with themselves and to de-stress from the rush and push of daily life. I, Simona Terron, am a journalist who works with a magazine in Mumbai and frequents Hideout regularly as a way of de-stressing. Helping to make a difference in a non-intrusive and sustainable way really appeals to me and adds purpose to my life. Why are we going to all this trouble? After interacting with our tribal and villager neighbours over the last 20 years, we, Hemant and Sangeeta want to give back in as many ways as possible, to these simple folk. This was the germ of the idea behind the Bicycle Project. I, Simona, believe that Hemant and Sangeeta are two of the most positive people on the planet and wanted to take this simple wish to a bigger platform and involve as many like-minded people as possible. We kicked off the project during Diwali 2008 and have collected 68 bikes so far, which were distributed to the school children on 26 January, 2009, Republic Day. We just want these kids to stay in school and secure a chance for a brighter future. Wouldn’t you?
