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Go Bikes Team in Luzon feed children and mentor young adults

With the restrictions on sports facilities and sports activities in the Philippines during the Covid-19 pandemic, biking/cycling has increased in popularity. It has led Goducate volunteers to set up GoBikes programs, one of which operates in the Province of Negros (see blog of 2021_08-28).

Another Go Bikes program was set up in May in Luzon. During the first three rides, volunteers distributed facemasks to street vendors. Subsequently, the Luzon Go Bikes team started to distribute food to children on Saturdays.

On one of the weekdays, individual team members cycle to meet members of the community whom they are mentoring on life skills. Our team is still small. We have eight active members, and 4 members of community are being mentored.  

Biking is not only an effective way of reaching out to young professionals, but it has also helped members of our team to bond with each other.

A problem is that many of the young people do not possess bicycles, so members of our team lend them their bicycles to enable them to join the Saturday bike rides.

*Our guest writer, Stephen Luceno, is a Goducate staff in-charge of Sports.
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Goducate volunteers Go by Bikes to serve communities

What started off as a literacy and feeding program for children of workers in a sugarcane plantation has evolved into what is now Go Bikes Philippines, which serves in several villages in the Province of Negros.

The Go Bikes Ministry started in March 2021 to serve teenagers who were depressed and families who were struggling because of the Covid-19 pandemic. School closures because of the pandemic meant that school children were losing out on their education. Many parents had lost their jobs, and a survey had found that quite a number of children had committed suicide or were having mental problems.

Our team goes out every Wednesday to one village (Talisay), and on Saturdays we break up into three groups to serve three different villages (Napilas Dos, Caridad, and Yolanda). I visit the areas 2-3 days before our team goes out, to get somebody in the community to cook the food for the day of our visit. I give this person the funds required for the food.

The literacy classes are conducted for children aged 4-13 years. Classes also include songs and games.

Our volunteers are youth leaders and adults willing to share their skills.

We have also recruited youths in the areas we serve to help as volunteers. These youth have much potential. They are strong, teachable, and creative, and they also have leadership potential.

Providing education online would be much more efficient than going out physically to different areas, but wifi connection remains poor in many parts of the Philippines.

*Our guest writer is Goducate volunteer Andrian Pagsuguiron.