Celebrating New Cyclists
By Melissa Mahon, WTAP AmeriCorps VISTA Member
300 New Bike Riders
In the past 8 months, The Welcome to America Project and Phantom Cyclist have shared 300 bikes with refugees in the Phoenix Valley. Three hundred. 300 adults and kids now have better access to school, work, friends, family, errands, resources, and community. Bicycles are an important tool for refugees to accelerate their self-sufficiency and help connect them to their new community. Without bikes, the alternative is long walks or, if their budget allows, pandemic-risky and confusing public transportation. This month, we want to celebrate and thank the individuals and groups who have helped share bicycles with refugees, and we want to call on more people to see how they can help join these efforts in our bike program and beyond at The Welcome to America Project.
|
|
Rohingya Bike Distribution
On February 13, 2021, we shared 95 bicycles with Rohingya refugees. This event was months in the making and only possible because of a network of support from the community. The Islamic Center of the North East Valley (ICNEV) has an Outreach Team, who has worked closely with the Rohingya refugee community. They helped us identify and invite Rohingya refugee families who needed bicycles. Then, ICNEV reached out to the Islamic Center of North Phoenix (ICNP). Their Imam generously allowed us to use the parking lot at their mosque to host a "drive-through" COVID-appropriate bike event.
Rohingya families came on February 13 to pick out bicycles. When we had too many cars in the queue, the families patiently waited in their cars so we could avoid a crowd.
|
|
We served 39 families and shared 95 bicycles with them. If the families didn't have space in their cars for their bikes, the mosque stored the bicycles for us and ICNA Relief delivered the bikes directly to the doors of refugees. Our partners adapted to the pandemic and were able to keep everyone safe while still serving the community.
|
|
Who are the Rohingya People?
The Rohingya people are an ethnic group, who are considered by the United Nations to be "the most persecuted minority in the world.” The Rohingya people are from Myanmar, formally known as Burma. They mostly hail from Myanmar's west coast. The Rohingya people are mostly Muslim, but Myanmar is a majority-Buddhist country. The country of Myanmar does not accept the Rohingya people as an ethnic group or as citizens; therefore, the Rohingya people are non-citizens, stateless, and without rights in their home country. This has led to conflict and to a mass migration of the Rohingya people as they flee their home as refugees. While many Rohingya are still waiting for resettlement, some Rohingya have been resettled here in Phoenix. Due to the language and cultural barriers, the Rohingya people do not always find access to the support they need to fully integrate. Therefore, The Welcome to America Project and Phantom Cyclist wanted to create a bike distribution event to support this already challenged community.(Source: National Geographic)
|
|
From Where do the Bikes Come?
300 bikes don't show up overnight. Thankfully, members of our community donate generously. Bob's Free Bikes, a nonprofit in Fountain Hills, gives bikes to children across the state of Arizona. They donated 45 ready-to-ride bikes for our Rohingya event to share with refugee children and adults. We also received bikes from Craig's Kruisers, a nonprofit in Mesa, and Bike Saviours, a nonprofit in Tempe. We received over 50 helmets from The City of Phoenix School Safety Department. Bikes also come from individuals and bike drives. In January, Reese, a local middle school student, coordinated a bike drive in her neighborhood that collected 30 bicycles. In February, Simra, a local high school student coordinated a bike drive at her school and collected 24 bicycles. Reese and Simra exemplify that it doesn't matter how old you are, you're never too young to give back.
|
|
Who Repairs the Bikes?
We collect gently-used bicycles. Sometimes they have a flat tire, need a new saddle, or require a brake adjustment. We rely on volunteers to repair these bicycles. One of our biggest partners is Pivot Cycles. This local business hosts monthly bike repair nights at their bike shop. We count on their help each month to repair bicycles for us. We also have volunteers like Mike W. who pick up bikes from our warehouse to repair bikes at their houses. We've also started opening up our warehouse to limited repair events. Brophy and Xavier Mountain Bike Teams have repaired bikes for us, along with a few long-time volunteers. It's a lot of work to prepare used bikes to be road-ready for refugees, and we're grateful to all of our partners who make it happen.
|
|
How Can You Help?
As our bike program continues to grow, so does the need. We are looking for more mechanics to help us repair bicycles. If you are interested in picking up bikes to repair at your house or if you are interested in attending a bike repair day at WTAP, contact Melissa Mahon.
You can also donate helmets, u-locks, pumps, and gently-used bicycles at our warehouse from 8am-11am Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Lastly, you can help spread the word. The bicycles that sit in your neighbor's garage can be life-changing for a mother walking an hour to the doctor's office or a student walking 45 minutes to school.
|
|
Thank you!
300 new cyclists and counting. What role will you play?
|
|
Learn more about the mission of Phantom Cyclist and How You Can Help by watching the videos below: |
|
The Welcome to America Project
1711 W. University Dr. #158, Tempe, AZ 85281
602-490-0088
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
