Bikes Heading to Mexico Demonstrate Kids Helping Kids

By: Deborah Zanke

On Thursday, December 8, students at Marymound School loaded several bikes into a van headed for Mexico in the culmination of weeks of work rebuilding them.

The reconditioned bicycles are headed for a village in Tecolutla, Mexico destined for children who have never had a bike. Phil and Joan Killeen, a retired couple living in Kenora, travel to the coastal village each year. Each time they go, they take needed items to the modest village. For the past couple of years those items have included bicycles reconditioned by students in the Bicycle Maintenance Technical Education Program at Marymound.

One of those students is 12-year-old Justin Penny, who has been a student at Marymound since September. States Justin, “I think every school should do something like this to help kids around the world.”

“Many of the people in this village live with so little, it’s hard to imagine when we have so much here,” explains Phil Killeen, “We give these bikes to the kids and it’s like we’re giving away Cadillacs they’re so excited.”

Bicycle Maintenance Program instructor Daniel Scouten believes that the ‘Mexico Project’ is a valuable component of his tech-ed course. “It’s one thing to learn how to take bikes apart and put them back together again, but having a goal to fix bikes for kids who don’t have one adds an extra dimension to the class.”

The Killeen’s bring pictures back to the school of the kids receiving the bicycles in Mexico. This has helped to cement the connection between the students at Marymound with the kids in Mexico.

“The students’ reaction to this project has been really interesting. Even though some of our students come from pretty modest homes, all of them express a desire to help these kids in this far away location. They really feel for these kids who don’t have bikes. It’s been inspiring,” states Daniel Scounten.

Phil Killeen contacted Marymound in the spring of 2004. “We were trying to find a local bike shop to donate the repairs these bikes needed, but without success. When we heard about Marymound’s program we thought it would be a good fit. We approached the bike program and they were immediately on board. It’s worked out very well—we couldn’t continue to do this without Marymound.”

Marymound is a non-profit agency providing therapeutic and educational services to young people and their families. Over 1,200 young people benefit from services at Marymound annually. The school program is one of many services the agency offers. Marymound School receives students from throughout the province whose needs cannot be met in the public school system.