Augustin Saint-Vilia is very proud to have a bike. She goes to school with it and she saves money. By riding, Augustin feels more comfortable with her body : “With my bike I can develop muscle, work out and stay away from sickness. It’s better than a car that pollutes the air!”. When she grows up, Augustin would like become a doctor.
“At three years old I said that when I grow up I either want to be a captain, because of my little bath boats, or a tricyclist. Today I am sixty-five years old and I am a cyclist! I was a captain of my own boat four months.” It’s when he reached 50 years old that John decided to dedicate time to his passion : bikes! He became a biking guide with Vélo Québec, and he volunteers with Cyclo Nord-Sud. A few years ago, he was president of the board and still remains one of our most active volunteers!
This young pupil studies at Thibeau school and she has a bike thanks to the partnership between Cyclo Nord-Sud, CENTRECH, the John-Paul II Institute and the Holy Cross Sisters congregation of Cap Haïtien. The bikes received are lent during the school year to students and teachers that live far away. Bike parkings have been installed inside the school. In 2016, the entire school proudly welcomed Cyclo Nord-Sud’s team with a singing performance !
Akosiwa Avo goes anywhere she wants with her bike. Her son also uses the bike for his family’s needs. Having a bike simplifies everyday life. When we met Akosiwa Avo, she said that words could not express how happy she felt with her new bike.
Manuel Dita Duran is very thankful to have received a bicycle. He uses it for work and to help people who live far away from here. “All my family uses the bike too. We are very happy, our life has changed in a positive way because we don’t need to pay anymore for transport and we can move around easily and run our errands.”
Thanks to the partnershipp between Écho de la Jeunesse and Cyclo Nord-Sud, Bénédicte Ami Amouzou gets to use a bike during her studies! “I can go far with it and even to places i could not walk to”. Her sisters also use the bike to go to the market.
Andrée Morissette has a special link with Cyclo Nord-Sud because her sister, Claire Morissette, is the founder! For her, being a volunteer at Cyclo Nord-Sud, “is a way to honour her sister’s work and to preserve her memory”. Her husband, Jacques Bélanger, is also passionate about volonteering at Cyclo Nord-Sud: “It is with great pleasure and joy that we organize a bike drive yearly”. During three years, he worked in the Burkina Faso and he has seen with his own eyes the impact of a bike on daily routines: “it allows many people to to have a better quality of life!”.
Kokou Mawouena is in charge of the bikes’shop with the Mecano’s project, from the partnershipp between Echo de la Jeunesse and Cyclo Nord-Sud. He likes his job « the organisation’s support and the bikes help girls and students who need it ».
Godwin Kakpor bikes five kilometers everyday to get to work. He likes biking and sharing his passion with his relatives ! He gave bikes to his children so they can ride to school with them and to some friends because he knew they would make good use of them. “Bike helps me to transport my plants. I save money and i can go wherever i want, whenever i want. With my bike, all I have to do is pedal!”.
Massanvi Egnonam Bona would like become a doctor later in life. Thanks to her bike, she has more time to study and meet her friends : « I ride for meet my friends to study maths, physics, it’s a real advantage! ». Without her bike, she says she may have quit school because she lives so far away from her school. Thanks to the bike mecanics training offered by the Mécano’s project she knows how to care for her bike on her own!