In an effort to get our family involved in helping the local refugees, David came up with the idea to collect bikes for them. The bikes would help the refugees to get new jobs and essentially become more independent. I was extremely skeptical about the whole idea - we don't know how to repair bikes, nor did we really have time to put into the effort.
We spent several Saturday mornings driving around town collecting bikes from those who were willing to donate old ones. We collected over 30 bikes! Most of them were in decent shape and required a little TLC, others we were able to use parts from to repair another bikes, and some were just beyond repair. But it was family effort! Everyone helped.
After several weeks we were ready to deliver them. David and I loaded the trailer and headed to the apartment complex where the refugees are being housed.
We pulled up and there were kids playing every where and adults walking around chatting with each other. When we told them the bikes were free, they swarmed the truck!! They were so excited! But I noticed two things about them: first, they were extremely grateful, saying thank you over and over, and second, no one was greedy. If they already had a bike, they let others take them.
It was all over in a matter of minutes. I wished I could have talked more with some of them, but they were so happy about their new bikes that they were riding them up and down the street. Some were running home with their bikes by their sides, excited to tell their family. It was a rewarding experience for us. I'm grateful for David's big ideas!
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