A Fredericton program is helping to make sure young immigrants have the ability to travel throughout their new city by taking in donated bicycles and cycling equipment and providing them to newcomers.
READ MORE: N.B. Multicultural Council launches loan program for immigrants working outside previous profession
The Newcomer Youth Bike Project, an initiative of the Multicultural Association of Fredericton (MCAF) in partnership with the city and local businesses like Radical Edge and Canadian Tire, has given over 100 bicycles, helmets and other equipment to young immigrants — all free of charge
“First we started off maybe 40-50 bikes would do the trick,” said Charlie Guitard, owner and operator of the Smythe Street Canadian Tire. “But it turned out they needed about 148 bikes and we gathered 148 bikes.”
The project stems from a need to address transportation, a difficult challenge that many newcomers face.
MCAF believes that by empowering youth with their own means of transportation, they’ll become more familiar with their new surroundings and more engaged in the community.
“We feel it’s very important to focus on youth to get them to various integration experiences such as soccer programs,” explained Matthew Johnson, a Settlement Worker at MCAF. “What better way than to give them a bike and encourage them to be active?”
READ MORE: New Brunswick’s NouLAB looks to collaboratively address immigrant retention challenges
Sengalese immigrant Mohammed Cissie and his family have been in Canada for less than a year.
He says the bicycles his two children will soon call their own are going be a huge help in their lives.
“Transportation will be very, very easy for them, they will use the bicycles for coming to school,” he said. “They will not be late coming to school.”
Anyone interested in donating to the program is encouraged to contact the Multicultural Association of Fredericton.
Comments