Seeing the Norm

Today we were giving the bicycles we built yesterday in a rural village school. We were wore the traditional dress of chitangas, they had printed designs on skirts made from local fabric. Well, the girls did – the guys could wear pants. The ceremony was more formal than any other we have participated before. David, the director of World Bicycle Relief for Africa, told us that unlike the other ceremonies, this one would have still taken place without our attendance. It was relieving to be part of an audience during a ceremony.

That sounds weird, so here is some clarification of what I mean. I feel everywhere we go preparations are made for us; putting on performances or the local community acting out of character because of our presences. I think this takes away a little of the authenticity of the local community. Similar to how a family would make preparations when they expect visitors such as cleaning up and making extra food. It’s polite and customary, but it is not how things in the house normally are. Asides from that, I think the ceremony we saw today was authentic and it was very refreshing to be part of it.

Watching the performances, I just about forgot that we were going to give the bicycles to their new owners. It was an amazing feeling handing such an important tool to someone who is going to benefit from it. Some of the school children commute as far as 22 kilometers (about 13.2 miles), to get to school each day, and large number of the students are responsible for important chores and primary care taker of family members.

One of the girls, the only head girl at the school gave a speech during the ceremony. She said that the gift of the bikes brought even bigger gift of time for her – time to learn, time with family and friends.

Before the ceremony I’d been told what the impact the bikes would bring to the community, but it is a totally different and mind-boggling experience to witness the experience. During the ceremony, the parents and grandparents came up with the child to receive the bike which, to me, was a reminder for just how important the bicycles are and how grateful they are to receive it. It’s hard to believe that such a simple bicycle, an object many of us have sitting around collecting dust in our own homes, can make such a difference in a whole community.

Domonique