Suriname bicycle scheme - funding for tools,
euro 1589
Under this scheme a large number of bicycles will be shipped from the Netherlands to Surinam. On arrival, the bicycles will be (re)assembled and repaired by students of a school for special secondary education, with help from Dutch teachers. The students will be trained in bicycle repair, and this will increase their changes of finding a job or set up their own businesses in bicycle repair.
The bicycles will be provided at minimum cost price to disadvantaged people. They will help those people to become less isolated by increasing their mobility and their chances to find work or education.
The bicycle scheme is intended to restore the lost bicycle culture in Surinam. Cycling will increase mobility and help to improve the social-economic position, in particular of younger people and school children in the interior. For many people, public transport is too expensive and poorly organised, creating long waiting times and causing people to be late at work or school. The management of the schools in the districts and two local charities decide which people are eligible for a bike.
In addition, the bicycle scheme increases employment opportunities, in particular for the students in special secondary education. The school for Special Secondary Education (VSO) fulfils a crucial role in Surinam society, offering disadvantaged youngsters from underdeveloped areas education opportunities. These are mainly youngsters between 15 and 18 years with a learning delay. They cannot keep up in the regular education system and receive "tailor-made" education. The bicycle scheme increases their chances of finding employment and stimulates small business ventures.
The bicycle scheme will start with a "pilot project". The Haaglanden police department has provided approximately 200 confiscated bicycles. Leerwerkcentrum Den Haag will provide its expertise and teachers free of charge - it will only ask for travel and accommodation costs to be reimbursed. This will give new impulses to the practical training given in the school in Surinam.
As part of a cooperation agreement between the municipality of The Hague and the Republic of Surinam (signed on 8 November 2001) the municipality of The Hague has funded a large part of the scheme. The implementation of the scheme will take place in close cooperation with the Ministry of Regional Development in Surinam. The coordination of the project is in the hands of the chairman of the Dutch VDZ foundation. This person has extensive experience in the field of small-scale development projects in Surinam. The funding for the purchase of the necessary tools for the VSO School falls outside the scope of the municipality's budget. This is why Moments of Joy has been asked for its support. The tools will be purchased in the Netherlands (in Surinam some items are unavailable or of poor quality) and can be part of the same shipment as the bikes.
