Work Better Innovations Supports Welcome Wheels, a Community Project for sustainability and migrant integration
18 November 2022. Work Better Innovations has partnered with local charities and businesses to provide asylum seekers and refugees with refurbished bicycles, donated by the Portsmouth community.
As part of the Welcome Wheels Project with Portsmouth City of Sanctuary, Sustrans and Southsea Cycles, we provide funding for donated bicycles to be professionally fixed up and checked for safety. This is part of our mission to foster an inclusive and sustainable local economy, here in Portsmouth!
Our funding aims to facilitate access to classes, training, volunteering for refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants in need of a convenient mode of transportation.
We join the efforts of another local business, a small enterprise like us, with the good folks at Southsea Cycles, who refurbish the bikes to ensure they are road worthy at no extra labour cost. They only charge for the parts.
Speaking to Liam, Manager/owner of Southsea Cycles, it quickly became clear that the binding glue in this success story is a genuine care for the community.
Community service is the key element for all the partner organisations involved in this project. As Liam enthusiastically highlighted :
As an independent and locally-run business, we love making a positive impact in our community, especially through a project like this, where everyone has something to benefit from. We love working together with neighbours to help the local area thrive.
Adrian Saunders of Top Banana Cycles also has been volunteering his time to provide road-safety training to the riders, since the project initiated a year ago for the Action Asylum volunteers. Adrian is a long-standing collaborator and local bike instructor for schools in Portsmouth
Under his guidance, our participants also receive a full training course in road safety, since this can vary from country to country, as well as full safety gear (helmets and hi-vis jackets) and bike locks!
[The group of migrants being trained in road safety by Adrian Saunders, soon after receiving their donated bikes. Photo courtesy of Anita David.]
Priority for bike allocation is given to those who have been actively volunteering or attending English classes and other education and training activities. It enables the volunteers who receive the bicycles to commute to far off locations, due to the high cost of public travel, especially difficult during a rise in cost of living.
Many of migrant participants are enrolled in English courses, for example, or volunteer in the library, garden allotments, and in the service of local primary schools. Being able to travel to and from these places of activity is an essential pre-requisite to accessing education or work.
The project is expertly managed by Sustran’s Liveable Cities and Towns Officer, Jenni Jones, who explained:
There were all these volunteering opportunities available, that people were interested in doing, but there was just no way for them (migrants, asylum-seekers) to get there. That is when we came up with the idea for Welcome Wheels
[Happy faces as road safety training delivered by Adrian Saunders has been successfully completed. Photo courtesy of Anita David.]
Having a bicycle motivated many migrants to not only join English classes, but also empower themselves with digital skills and other vocational trainings. The sanctuary seekers no longer have to choose between a warm meal and a bus fare for a GP appointment or an English class.
Personally the bike has been incredibly helpful because it enabled me to become more independent. Part of that independence is getting to the GP more easily and on time. Another important function is that I can volunteer more easily.
Both self-agency and the ability to easily get around places are crucial aspects especially for a migrant when searching for a job or wishing to become a better integrated citizen. One recipient, for example, has been volunteering at Southsea Cycles and learning the new skill of bike maintenance! Talk of things coming full circle.
The sanctuary seekers who came to collect the bicycles, spoke passionately about what this project meant to them and especially the renewed sense of purpose they experienced.
It encouraged me to be more physically active. I felt more motivated to go out and explore the city and the opportunities it has to offer, for example job training workshops and volunteering.
Work Better Innovations is a social enterprise focused on the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 8 of a sustainable growth and decent work for all.
We are committed to provide bridge funding to support migrant empowerment. We are grateful to work with our local partners and community businesses to contribute to the success WELCOME WHEELS.
If you are interested in supporting this project, the project is kindly asking for bike donations!! Go to @PompeySanctuary to find out more.
