Conny Ovesen, Gregg McGinn and Frank Ovesen pictured with members of the army who helped load bikes onto the truck that were than transported to Loughan House.

Re-cycle your bikes for Africa

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By Aislinn O Connor

Time to recycle those unwanted bikes you have lying around in the garage! The Rotary Satellite Club of Douglas in collaboration with Douglas Community Centre and Douglas Tidy Towns are having their second annual bike drop off day at the Douglas Community Centre from 10am to 3pm on 5 October for School Bikes for Africa.

The Rotary Club is looking for strong sturdy bikes that can withstand rough terrain, with a 24 inch diameter wheel. However no racing bikes or children's bicycles will be accepted.

The group is also looking for a small donation on the day to cover refurbishments and shipping.

It is hoped that the bikes collected can be repaired and then shipped to Gambia in Africa where they will be given to school children to help access education.

Many children in Africa currently live many miles from their closest school and it is hoped that with the help of these bikes more pupils will be able to access education.

To date Rotary Ireland has delivered 3,000 bikes which have helped children reach school every single day.

Rotary Ireland has partnered with Loughan House Prison for the project, where the bikes will be refurbished by the prisoners and any repairs will be done there also.

By doing this, prisoners will develop skills which will help with their rehabilitation back into society.

So if you have an old bike lying around, drop it up to the Douglas Community Centre on 5 October for a good cause.

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