Rotary Ireland Making a Difference
Rotary Ireland have handed over the 2,000th refurbished bike to be sent to children in Gambia which will make a huge difference to their lives as children living in rural Africa can have as much as a 20 mile round trip walk to attend their closest school but, with two wheels, they can arrive fresh and ready to learn, rather than being totally exhausted. This wonderful achievement was highlighted on RTE news bulletins on Tuesday 15 November 2016.
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The project, which the Club have supported with most of the 73 Rotary Clubs all over Ireland, facilitates the collection of unwanted bikes which are refurbished by inmates of the Irish Loughan House Open Centre, an open low security prison in County Cavan and then delivered to JOLE RIDER, a charity which distributes them to schools in West Africa. |
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The project has also helped to make a difference locally by playing an important role in the rehabilitation of prisoners who are soon to be released back into society by giving the prisoners a real sense of community and something to be proud of and provide them with skills that will be useful when they are reintroduced to society, the project providing them with the expertise to become bicycle engineers and to even gain a City and Guilds Qualification which many can use to make a better life upon their release.
Full details of the project can be seen here.