Activiteit/evenement

UWCM Community Bicycle project

Olaya Garcia

This project first started in 2016 as the International Friends Re-Cycle project. At that time, our goal was to try to meet the great demand for bicycles among refugees arriving to Maastricht. The project aimed to address this need by getting donations (bikes, parts, money, etc.), getting bikes in working order (if needed), and getting bikes in the hands of people who needed them. Over its lifespan, efforts have been overseen by three staff members and around 30 student volunteers.

  • Welke tips wil je andere Eco-teams geven bij het organiseren van een activiteit/evenement?: This specific project requires a lot of time and patience just getting the fixing job done either by students and/or teachers/staff. And good coordination skills to manage the database of collections, repairs and donations. The social impact is huge and so gratifying to experience by our students.
  • Onderwijstype: Voortgezet onderwijs
  • Waarom zijn jullie hier trots op?: Over the course of several years, we were able to supply 50+ bicycles to residents of local refugee centers. However, organizational changes in the refugee centers and a global pandemic forced us to shift our focus more locally to the UWCM campus, hence the start of the UWCM Community Bicycle project. The goal of this iteration of the project is to support students and the school in caring for bikes, as a way of enabling healthy, sustainable transport that is also a wonderful expression of Dutch culture. Our main focus is on maintaining bicycles being used by DP residential students. By maintaining a steady fleet of residential bikes, we can keep the number of disposable/one-and-done bikes on campus to a controllable level, allowing the school to make the best use of campus grounds. The hope is to re-engage with the local refugee community in the years to come.
  • School: United World College Maastricht

fDelen