BIKES FOR REFUGEES IN AMSTERDAM

 

In the last week of August we donated the first batch of 10 refurbished bikes to Amsterdam’s African Refugee Collective. Another 6 bikes were handed over in December. 

The AVC is an organization which aims to support, guide and assist undocumented refugees in Amsterdam which find themselves in vulnerable conditions, are homeless and have limited access to food and warm clothing. 

The organization runs a varied range of projects tackling critical needs: for example through free food and warm jacket distribution initiatives, health care and legal support and educational training. They additionally aim to address problems of stress and depression by organizing integration activities including friendly sports matches and buddy initiatives with university students, while also organizing cultural events to generate awareness on the lives of undocumented people. 

The donated bikes will be used by AVC to facilitate access to the various events and initiatives organized, as transport costs have been identified as a barrier to participation!

Through this work, they hope to help refugees retrieve their energy and visualize a positive future . 

Three of the bikes used for this project were kindly donated to us by the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam! Here they are with their happy and practical blue baskets