Every Kid Deserves a Bike - Help Bikes Mwerre get to the Barkly Region, NT

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Bikes Mwerre promotes health and recreation for youth in Alice Springs. We're expanding our programs to reach more communities in Central Australia.

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EVERY KID DESERVES A BIKE Take a moment to delve into your memories, to the first time you fell in love with riding a bike or the memory of first learning to ride your bike. What was that like? Ok, we are not all going to have fairy tale memories however the thrill, the independence and the fun of having a bike in childhood meant being able to meet up with friends, get to school or your first job and ride with siblings or other kids in the street. You were perhaps developing a sense of belonging and the benefits were more than simply riding a bike. What a gift that was to have that in your life - if you were not a bike person, did you have something similar in your early life? You may now be reflecting on what it means to ride a bike as an adult - the physical, social and mental health benefits as well as the benefit it contributes to the community and the planet. Having a bike, it is simple and it is so much more than that. There are flow on effects and benefits to an individual and a community just from riding a bike. Now, imagine the young people in remote areas of Australia, particularly in the Northern Territory where access to a bike is not as easy as buying one at the shop. Young people in remote areas may be at a socio - economic disadvantage and are significantly impacted by social, educational, and cultural factors, which can shape their identity, wellbeing, and opportunities. These influences can be negative, affecting everything from their sense of belonging, to their beliefs about the opportunities that are available to them or the direction their lives will take. They may be disengaged from school and other social activities, service providers and at risk of entering into the justice system.  Bikes Mwerre in Alice Springs, are providing young people a safe, fun and engaging space to learn about bike mechanics, road safety, opportunities to build a bike so they can ride with their siblings and friends and to create those simple, joyful childhood memories. The programs also offer opportunities for older youth to enter into employment. It is a bike, it is simple and it is so much more than that. There are flow on effects and benefits to an individual and a community, just from having access to Bikes Mwerre&#39;s community development programs. BIKES MWERREWe believe every kid deserves a bike, and that riding builds confidence, resilience, positive recreational culture and community. Can you agree? For participants of Bikes Mwerre, building their own bike or learning to fix their own has been integral to reversing social impacts and a meaningful part of their life and childhood. To provide young people with this opportunity and to continue to do so, Bikes Mwerre are making huge change for Central Australian communities. Bikes Mwerre are making tracks... TO EXPAND BIKES MWERRE FROM ALICE SPRINGS TO... The Barkly Region where around 39% of the region&#39;s population is 24 years and under. The Barkly Region is made up of small communities separated by long distances and is home to around 7,392 people, of whom over 70% are Aboriginal. Tennant Creek is the main centre with a population of around 3,252 people. Although there are initiatives in place in the region, the young people from all data sources are asking for access to sporting and employment opportunities (Barkly UMEL Youth Case Study release in November 2024 Source: <a href="https://barklyregionaldeal.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Barkly-UMEL-Youth-Case-Study-GT-presentation-Nov-2024.pdf" target="_blank" style="font-size: 14px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">https://barklyregionaldeal.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Barkly-UMEL-Youth-Case-Study-GT-presentation-Nov-2024.pdf</a>)  Your donation to Bikes Mwerre means that the program can expand from the Alice Springs community, to Tennant Creek, 510 KM north of Alice Springs and the surrounding remote communities within the Barkly Region. OUR GOALS<ul><li>The successful and sustainable delivery of programs within the local Alice Springs community allows Bikes Mwerre to see a gap in program delivery and a huge opportunity within the Barkly Region to deliver youth and community development programs to schools, organisations and the community.</li><li>To travel to the Barkly Region multiple times a year - this is a sustainable way to engage with community, it builds strong foundational relationships for programs to continue and grow.</li><li>Social, housing and educational opportunities - Young people in the Barkly Region report the need for safe places and sporting, social and employment opportunities. Bikes Mwerre aims to serve communities in fun and engaging ways that promote health and positive recreation and to contribute towards Closing The Gap targets for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. </li><li>Bikes Mwerre works from community consultation with key community members, schools, councils and organisations to ensure that delivery is developed using a Community Led, Place Base model, directly reflecting the needs of young people and families. This allows Bikes Mwerre to have social and educational impacts, empower local community members and create employment and leadership pathways.</li></ul> HOW YOUR DONATION WILL BE USED﻿Your donation will help us to expand our vision and it will support Bikes Mwerre to travel from Alice Springs into the Barkly Region multiple times a year where we will deliver engaging and fun programs with community focussed and solution based outcomes.Donations will support us with the following:<ul><li>Program design - connecting with Barkly Region communities, councils, schools and organisations. The Barkly Region is an area of over 320,000 km2 - roughly the same size as the United States of American State of California or 1.5 times bigger than the Netherlands.</li><li>Program Delivery - build a bike workshops, bike fixing workshops, road safety workshops, bike riding sessions on country, bikes + art (partnering with art centres to run bike riding with an art component plus much more based on community needs and school curriculum).</li><li>Travel costs - Barkly Region is 510 KM from Alice Springs and will require travelling with a vehicle and trailer (filled with bikes, bike mechanic tools and other resources for programming). </li><li>Accommodation - housing crisis in Barkly Region creates a barrier to delivering programs in that region.</li><li>Employment and Leadership Pathways - Up- skill and employ Northern Territory residents - expanding will open employment opportunities especially for the young people in the region. </li><li>Overcome the funding issues of the Barkly Region - lack of funding for community development programs in the Barkly Region will be overcome by reaching our monetary fundraising goal.</li></ul> WHAT WE WILL DO IN THE BARKLY REGIONWe look to bring to the Barkly Region the following activities and workshops (based on community needs and consultation with councils, schools, businesses, organisations and local community members).<ul><li>Bike riding sessions - including road safety mapped to the national curriculum.</li><li>Bike fixing clinics: providing tools, spare parts and assistance for participants to fix their own bikes. Allowing young people to learn and build the skills required to fix bikes. This also leads to employment and leadership pathways.</li><li>School Holidays - Young people travel to Alice Springs from their remote communities for school holiday programs. We can deliver action-packed school holiday programs which means young people do not have to travel over 500km to access our programs.</li><li>Build a bike workshops: a targeted program where participants build up a bike to keep. This has been one of our most loved and successful workshops. It builds skills, resilience, focus and responsibility.</li><li>Events - Events where communities and families can come together to see the impact that bikes have on young people. They usually include food, bikes, art and music and occur at the end of a week long program or school holidays.</li><li>Bikes on country - culturally appropriate and safe mountain biking sessions with BBQ / picnic and art / craft activity incorporated.</li></ul> BIKES MWERRE YOUTH PROGRAMS SUCCESS SO FAR: Our youth engagement programs have had real impacts see a few keystats from our program to date: <ul><li>482 community members engaged in our sessions</li><li>251 sessions delivered</li><li>498 bikes gifted to community </li><li>245 participants in targeted mechanics programs</li></ul> and the growth and impact continues with after school sessions, in - school programs and school holiday programs. Our youth and community development programs within the local Alice Springs region, in schools and in partnerships with local organisations and councils has had huge impacts for young people and communities in such a short time. Your donation will support us in continuing to impact young people and communities in the Central Australian Desert Region. HOW WE WORK We employ a community development framework, focussing on strengths and building up local capacity and assets. This means engaging with schools, councils and other community organisations. We design culturally responsive programs and events that really suit the needs and aspirations of the local community. Each project is different, shaped by the local community through ongoing consultation. Our activities and approach have been proven through numerous successful partnerships, and externally evaluated. SOCIAL MEDIAFollow us on Instagram @bikes_mwerre or Facebook to engage with our impact so far. We will also be showcasing businesses, individuals and organisations who donate on our social media as well as communicating updates of this project through our quarterly newsletter and social media platforms. THANK YOU We know not everyone can donate money, so we are extremely thankful for your donation. Your donation means that we are able to deliver programs in remote areas such as the Barkly Region and continue to make tracks around Central Australia. Every kid deserves a bike.