In Amsterdam Zuidoost, Streetwise Cycling, an Amsterdam-based cycling club focused on people in a vulnerable position, has its own workshop. This is a place where participants not only learn to cycle, but also discover everything about the technique behind it. From fixing a flat tyre to completely taking apart and rebuilding a bicycle. The group is supported by Life Goals Amsterdam and is part of De Regenboog Groep, an organisation that supports people who get stuck due to debts, addiction, psychological problems or homelessness. People with a refugee background are also welcome there.
The beating heart of the workshop is Koen Polder. His love for cycling and his commitment to the target group give Streetwise Cycling energy and direction.
“I strongly believe that cycling can help you get out of your head and back into your body,” Koen says. It was precisely this conviction that made him enthusiastic about the Start Cycling Together project.
Start Cycling Together
The Start Cycling Together programme, set up by BYCS and Life Goals Netherlands, focuses specifically on youth with a refugee background. In Amsterdam, the focus is more specifically on unaccompanied minors with a refugee background. In total, Streetwise Cycling carried out three programmes.
“Most of the young people who came to us were from Eritrea. Road cycling is extremely popular there, so many of them could already cycle well,” Koen explains.
Still, the project brought something new: more attention to basic technique and to life skills such as working together, building trust and exploring boundaries. Because of the positive experiences, Streetwise Cycling now also uses this approach with other participants who are starting to cycle.
Keep cycling, keep growing
Koen saw the young people visibly change.
“At the beginning, the boys came in somewhat quiet and reserved. Now they walk into the workshop confidently and easily mix with the other participants.”
What touches him most is how cycling brings people together. “It really doesn’t matter here what someone’s background is. They grab a bike together and head out.” Thanks to a loan bike, participants can also go out outside the organised moments. “I know that a number of the boys at the COA still cycle together on weekends,” Koen says with a smile.
Cycling not only broadens someone’s world, but also someone’s network. “I’ve really seen that the boys have had much more contact with the neighbourhood. Their range of action becomes larger, and with that their self-confidence.”
A safe place in an unsettled time
For unaccompanied minor young people with a refugee background, it remains difficult to put down roots in the Netherlands, especially when they often and unexpectedly change locations. All the more valuable, Koen finds, that Streetwise Cycling can be a place where they feel safe.
“They come in here with a backpack full of difficult experiences, and you see them slowly relax and gain more trust.”
Moving forward together
Start Cycling Together shows that a bicycle can be more than just transport. It became a means to make contact, to grow, and to build trust. At Streetwise Cycling, they continue to carry this forward every day: helping people get moving — on the bike and in life.
Start Cycling Together is a collaboration between BYCS and Stichting Life Goals and is co-funded by the European Union.
The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the European Union or the Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).