Beyond Ourselves

“From little things to big things”

We recently celebrated our 10^th Anniversary, and took a moment to reminisce on our achievements to date. Like in life, each action we take moves us forward, opening new doors and opportunities to provide meaningful change in people’s lives. 

While our work primarily takes us to the developing world and to communities in Africa, it is the influence we have locally which drives initiatives and inspires volunteers to become involved. As such, our own Bicycles for Humanity President Andy Gild, went back to school to inspire future generations in a “Beyond Ourselves” Conference. 

With her passion for humanitarianism, Andy took the opportunity to share the Bicycles for Humanity story in a workshop with an eager class of year 6 students at Mount Scopus College. Together they explored issues relating to Global Development Goals and the contributions made by others that inspire action, both in their immediate environment and beyond – now and in the future. The crafty kids then took to paper creating posters representing B4H and the work we do, with the theme encouraging one avid cyclist to reach out via email for his own research assignment – 

 “Hi I’m Michael and I’m in year 6, you came to Mount Scopus and had a workshop, Bicycles for Humanity, which I attended. We have to create a project based around Beyond Ourselves, I chose bicycles for humanity because I love riding and it was really inspiring. 

I was just wondering if you could help me by answering some questions.”

In helping Michael with his research, he went on to share some snaps from his own cycling endeavours, having completed a 100k ride with the Bicycle Networks, Great Victorian Bike Ride. Congratulations – what an awesome achievement!

From youth in Australia, to youth in Africa, the bicycle is such a special part of growing up. With more requests for bicycles and more and more bicycles being donated, 10 years now see bicycles beyond necessity – with bicycles providing employment opportunities, more time with family, and further enriching communities and social culture. But more on that another time… 

If you are looking to inspire your students to start 2019 off being more charitable, we would love to hear from you and perhaps share our story in your own school programs. Better yet, we are always looking to welcome helping hands on our bicycle packing days. Please email info@bicyclesforhumanity.com.au for more information.