Life Cycle - Interact Initiative
Posted by Susan Howard
Dear Rotarians,
My name is Simon Harmgardt. I am a Grade 10 student and the president of Blakelock High School's Interact Club. I have an interest in environmental philanthropy and last year began an initiative called 'Life Cycle'.
The goal of Life Cycle is to save bikes that are destined for the landfill site and to fix them up and provide them to needy people, both locally and in the Third World. It's totally incredible the numbers of really good bikes (most need very minor repairs) that people are throwing away, when they are considered like gold in other parts of the world. Having a bike can make a tremendous difference in the lives of needy people , especially in the Third World. For most of them, it is there only means of transportation to get to work, market and school. Entire families must share one bike - and in many cases even that's considered fortunate.
The goal of Life Cycle is to save bikes that are destined for the landfill site and to fix them up and provide them to needy people, both locally and in the Third World. It's totally incredible the numbers of really good bikes (most need very minor repairs) that people are throwing away, when they are considered like gold in other parts of the world. Having a bike can make a tremendous difference in the lives of needy people , especially in the Third World. For most of them, it is there only means of transportation to get to work, market and school. Entire families must share one bike - and in many cases even that's considered fortunate.
Thus far, I have provided 35 bicycles for distribution in the Dominican Republic. Incredibly, some of the bikes have been used by teenage Dominican boys to start their own micro-business - renting out bikes to people in their village. The boys now have a way to earn a positive source of income that helps not only themselves but also their families. Since then I have repaired another 50 bikes. These will be destined not only overseas, but also distributed locally this May through an Oakville 'bike fair' planned collectively by Safetynet, the United Way, Halton Police and Community Youth Action Network to help youth in the Oakville area who are who are financially unable to afford a new bike.
If anyone is interested in donating a used bike please contact me at simonharmgardt@gmail.com
To veiw more pictures click here: Life Cycle Initiative pictures