Opportunity on Wheels
Story 85

Adventist Health and World Vision International have partnered to donate and distribute bicycles to middle school and high school students in Mexico through a project called Bicycles That Change Lives.

Adventist Health facilitated the first delivery – which included 111 bicycles – in December 2021. The project aims to reduce school dropout rates and encourage physical activity by providing bicycles for transportation and recreation. An additional 250 bicycles will be delivered in February 2022, with five more deliveries planned throughout the year.

“It has been very rewarding to see these bicycles get in the hands of students who really need them,” said Schroer.  “Our goal is to build strong and healthy communities. It is very exciting for us to see the beginning of this program and look to the future to bring other programs to these communities.”

Students at Montemorelos University are managing individual distribution of the bicycles throughout the communities of Montemorelos, Ciudad de Allende and General Terán. To qualify for a bicycle, students must be enrolled in the current school year, have limited resources, have no other means of transportation, have a history of good school behavior and meet a specified grade point average during the last school period.

The initiative was launched at community events held in Montemorelos, Ciudad de Allende and General Terán. Events were attended by representatives of the health and education sectors of the Mexican state government, representatives from Montemorelos University, municipal mayors of each region, representatives from the Northern Mexico Union of Seventh-day Adventists, and John Schroer, Global Mission System Lead for Adventist Health.