Spokes in the Wheel - Engineers Without Borders Australia

Learning to ride a bike is almost a given for most Australians. For a refugee from a war–torn nation, it can be a life changing experience.

Anyone who had wandered past the Dandenong tennis courts on Saturday mornings during the spring of 2008 might have noticed groups of Sudanese children learning how to stay up on two wheels. 

The joyous smiles and raucous laughter of the 10 and 11 year–olds would have left onlookers in no doubt that the kids were enjoying the experience. 

But for Future Sustainability Leaders participants Georgina Morrow and Jai Allison, the “Spokes In The Wheel” project was about much more than good times. 

For refugees, access to a bike can transform their lives, giving them access to a sustainable and affordable form of transport, connecting them to other communities and promoting healthy living. 

“Many of these Sudanese families don’t have any income apart from welfare, so transport is a big part of their weekly costs,” said Georgina. 

“Compounding the problem is that a number of Sudanese communities are located in areas poorly serviced by public transport.” 

Georgina, a physiotherapist with an interest in health and sustainability, and Jai, an environmental engineer and avid cyclist, teamed up to form Spokes in the Wheel because of their passionate belief in the ability of cycling to improve lives and the environment. 

Spokes in the Wheel, working with the Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning (SAIL) Program, not only teaches Sudanese students about cycling, safety and maintenance, but also provides each SAIL family with a bicycle to keep.

Generous Victorians had donated nearly 60 "pre-loved" bikes to be used in the program, two thirds of those coming after Jai was interviewed about the project on ABC Radio 774.

Georgina, Jai and a team of volunteers had renovated the bikes to ensure they were safe and then had distributed them to participants.

“The kids just love riding bikes and the whole community has come along to see what’s going on. Many of the mothers — who aren’t used to bikes  or cycling were a bit nervous at  first, but we spoke to them about  the safety aspects and now they  are really enthusiastic. 

The children had been taught how to control a bike, whilst also focusing on maneuvering skills, changing gears, emergency braking, which are all skills that are needed to be safe on the roads. 

They had also been taught basic maintenance skills so they could keep the bikes in good condition by themselves. 

For Georgina and Jai, beginning this project had taken a lot of hard work, however had been so worthwhile. For them, hard work didn't seem to matter when they saw the smiles on all of the childrens faces. 

One year on, the Spokes in the Wheel program had doubled in size and had been adopted by Engineers Without Borders as one of its local projects. By 2009, around 60 kids had successfully passed through the basic course of the program.

Georgina says the feedback from the children and their families had been fantastic. “The kids say it gives them a real sense of freedom and you can tell they are having fun just by the smiles on their faces,” she says.

Georgina and Jai were now also keen to introduce the cycling culture to the families of the children, whilst integrating the SAIL program with other bike riding initiatives. 

In 2014, during the August Spokes in the Wheel sessions, 28 volunteers had generously donated their time to lend a hand with teaching these kids the essential bike safety skills they had needed. This was the projects second series of the year.

Spokes in the Wheel accepts donations of second-hand bikes and organises teams of volunteers to fix them up and bring them up to a safe standard.

For further information on Spokes in the Wheel contact Georgina Morrow on 0448 026 032

Sue Ying Tan is the current Project leader and can also be contacted on tansueying@gmail.com or spokesinthewheel@gmail.com