Video: The Power of Bicycles

ByJacob Seigel-Boettner
December 23, 2014
4 min read

Do you remember your first bicycle? Maybe it appeared on Christmas morning under the tree, or in the living room on your sixth birthday. It had a basket and streamers…or racing stripes…or both.

It was your rocket ship, your ride to a new world. The neighborhood was your galaxy. Your parents convinced you to ride to school, and you proudly showed off your new steed on the playground. But as soon as it started to rain, you convinced Mom and Dad to let you hop in the car.

Now imagine growing up without that rocket ship. Without two wheels. Without four. Your morning now consists of several hours of chores: getting water from the stream, washing dishes, doing laundry, sweeping the yard. Then comes the two hour long walk to school. Longer in the rainy season. There is no car to hop in.

Instead of showing off your shiny new ride to your friends, you struggle to stay awake and focus in class. You walk back home – another two hours on foot, if it is dry – get through half your homework, and fall asleep in your notebook. The next day, you rise with the sun to start all over again.

This is a day in the life of Tamara, a 12-year-old Zambian girl who dreams of being a teacher one day.

What would happen if Tamara got that rocket ship? What if she could make the trip to school in a half hour, could focus in class, and had time to complete her homework when she got home?

Thanks to World Bicycle Relief, thousands of students like Tamara now get to experience the power of two wheels. Their dreams of being nurses, teachers, and pilots are now just a little bit closer to coming true.

$134 gets a student like Tamara a bombproof, purpose-built, two-wheeled rocket ship. That is less than a single wheel on many of our high-tech dream bikes. To top it off, from now until December 31st, all donations to World Bicycle Relief are doubled. So $134 provides not one, but two bicycles.

Two rocket ships.

This year, before you ask for that blinged-out trailbike, oh-so-breathable-yet-waterproof jacket, or perfect shortboard, take a minute to remember. Remember the feeling when you first saw that shiny two wheeler under the tree. Remember that first ride through the neighborhood. Remember flying.

Then imagine if that rocket ship with streamers and racing stripes could be so much more.

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