The call for donations of bikes has been a great success. The bikes which have been collected from the wider MLMC community (15 have been donated so far) are being repaired, serviced and resprayed if necessary, in the workshop on the College grounds by the Year 12 VCAL students as part of their involvement in the Bridges to Community Project.
The students are repairing the donated bikes in support of the Mission Liaison Group, which provides assistance to seven Pacific Island countries including, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and the Solomon Islands. The Keysborough-based Group has been in existence for 52 years. The bikes will be used by a variety of people in the Solomon Islands including nurses, emergency service volunteers and employees who have no personal vehicles. Without bikes, it means that they have to rely on buses to get to their volunteer work and emergency situations which are so infrequent that if they were to miss their morning commute they would have to walk. With a donation of a bike from Mission Liaison Group or for a small fee of $20 they have a reliable means of transportation. The funds raised from the sale of bikes allows Mission Liaison Group to fund the shipping container used to send bikes and other aid donations overseas, these containers are then donated to the local community to be used in whatever way they like.
It is not too late to support this wonderful initiative. Bike donations can be made until mid-June by contacting Tom Rutzou via email to 18trutzou@mlmc.vic.edu.au
