Cyclo Nord-Sud held its annual bicycle sale and fundraiser Sunday, helping to ship used bikes to developing countries.
For more than 15 years, the organization has collected used bikes and parts, shipping them to partners in developing countries in the Caribbean, western Africa and South and Central America.
“I worked with students in Mali who had a hard time getting to school because they literally had to travel two hours to get to school every day and there was a high dropout rate. So we bought bicycles there and actually got the students to go to school regularly, because it cut down the time they had to transport themselves,” said Black.
Bikes also help with employment, shortening commute times for workers.
To date Cyclo Nord-Sud has donated more than 50,000 bicycles.
Called ‘Recyclo,’ the annual fundraiser is a chance for people to sell, buy and trade used bicycles and parts.
“It's encouraging cycling and reuse which is what Cyclo Nord-Sud does and at the same time, it raises awareness about what Cyclo Nord-Sud does and it also allows Cyclo Nord -Sud to make some money to support their mandate,” said event organizer Robin Black.
The group is also developing programs closer to home – in St. Michel.
"So we're building programs for the accessibility," explained François Delwaide of Cyclo Nord-Sud. "We have bikes they can rent or we them to people to have activities at schools."
At the fundraiser, most items were quick to sell.
“Most of them were sold in a lapse of two hours, and also the parts, a lot of people were selling parts, so I think it's going faster than we were expecting,” said volunteer Gerardo Frankenberger.
Cyclo Nord-Sud accepts bike donations all year long and has drop points throughout the province.
College Jean de Brebeuf is also holding a bike drive for the organization this Friday from 1-5pm.
