Four dozen Castleisland bikes off to Chernobyl
A TEAM of students and their teacher at Castleisland Community College put out an appeal for unwanted, unused bicycles just before Christmas - and the project represented the very essence of recycling.
“We were looking for bikes that were taking up space in people’s garages at home and we asked that they’d drop them here to the college.
“We had arranged with the charity, the Children of Chernobyl Foundation Ireland, that they’d collect them when we got them all together,” said teacher Doreen Killington.
“The foundation would then have the bicycles transported to orphanages and families in the Chernobyl region.
“The school offered to help out the charity as it promotes the importance of recycling and the charity was willing to accept bicycles that are no longer working as they have a mechanic who’s willing to volunteer his time to fix them.
“The bicycles, almost four dozen of all shapes and makes, are being stored in a parent’s shed until they can be collected by the charity.
“This was another ideal opportunity for the college to reduce, reuse and recycle for a very worthy cause,” said teacher Doreen Killington.
“We would like to say a sincere thank you to all the parents and the wider school community of Castleisland Community College for the great response to our appeal. A total of almost four dozen bicycles have been donated - most are in good working order with some of them needing maintenance.
“They were stored in a farmyard shed by a parent before being collected by the Children of Chernobyl Foundation Ireland.
“The bicycles are being brought by lorry to orphanages and families in the Chernobyl region and I’m sure great use will be made of them,” said Ms. Killington.