Introducing Lois Hill, Project Coordinator and Course deliverer of Bike Bridge another of our Kate Sheppard Women's Fund grant recipients this year.
Many New Zealander-born kiwis take bicycle riding for granted. Bike Bridge aims to make it possible for migrant and former refugee women, who may never have had the opportunity in their home countries, to own a bike and to be able to ride it with confidence.
Bike Bridge ran as a pilot in Christchurch from October 2020 to March 2021 for both women and men. Over that time 56 women attended, representing 18 different ethnicities. Very few men participated. Focus groups with both volunteers and participants revealed a strong desire to continue the project. It also identified that women, particularly Muslim women, prefer to be taught by women.