RAF crews collecting old bikes for Africa (From The Northern Echo)

RAF crews collecting old bikes for Africa

2:55pm Monday 6th February 2012 in Northallerton News

THE word recycling has taken on a different meaning at an airbase in the region, where servicemen are collecting old bikes to send for re-use in Africa.

Members of the mobility team at RAF Leeming, near Bedale, North Yorkshire, wil send the donated cycles to the Kajaido Child Care Centre, in Nairobi, Kenya, which looks after disabled children.

Sergeant Jon Smith, a logistics movements controller at the base, is leading the campaign.

He said: ‘Our aim is to collect donated bikes from the unit and from neighbouring towns so that we can send them to this school.

“What the Kajaido Centre then does is amazing, they turn the bikes into wheelchairs and mobility aids for the children at the facility.

“For almost 20 years, the RAF has helped the centre in many ways.

“Each year, the military conduct various exercises in Kenya. As we deploy men, equipment and materials from RAF Leeming, we are able to exploit spare capacity in the containers we send and help these children.

“This is a very worthy cause with a massive impact to these children’s lives.

“Christmas is a time for new bikes for many people, so old ones could be left languishing in a garage corner or just sent for scrap.

“We would like to ask our neighbouring communities to give their old bikes and the children a second chance.

“If we’re lucky, there may be some old wheelchairs out there to send along with the bikes too.’ Personnel from RAF Leeming will be in Northallerton town centre on February 15, to collect bicycles from the public. They will also be in Bedale on two market days in March.

The project is running until the end of March to enable items to be gathered and packed for shipping.

It is also hoped to hold another collection later in the year.

For more information, call Sgt Smith, on 01677-457212, or Tim Reid, on 01677-457069.