=bWceh_p_d] j[[d fh[]dWdYo - Teens in Print

Bikes Not Bombs is tucked away in a Jamaica Plain corner.AFH photo by Julia MorganKaterin Linett Rodriguez, an intern at Bikes NotBombs, says they send bikes overseas “becausewe are sick of the government policies that wouldrather send people bombs to settle problems thanto give the people something that they need. Bikesallow people to move around to get food, go toschool, and advance themselves.”Once the bikes arrive at a new country, they aregiven to young entrepreneurs to set up bike shops.The shop owners are given six months of trainingand the first shipment of bikes is free. After that,the shops start to survive on their own by sellingthese bikes to people who do not have a mode oftransportation. “Say a person has to get water forhis family, and the well is two-three hours awayby foot. Once he has a bike, the time is cut in halfand he can think about other things,” says AnubhaThapliyal, a BNB intern.There are many ways a person can help this programsucceed in their mission to provide bikes toother countries. One way is by attending Wednesdayvolunteer nights which occur every week. “It is theTucked away in a corner of the BreweryComplex in Jamaica Plain, the world headquartersof Bikes Not Bombs is easy to miss.As you turn the corner you are met by aginormous pile of twisted metal, rubber, andchains. As you get closer you realize that this is a pit ofhundreds of bikes. Inside is not much different with allof the available space covered with bikes and bike parts.What do they do with all of these bikes, you ask?Bikes Not Bombs (BNB) is a non profit organization inJP that uses bikes in a way most people would not thinkof using them. BNB uses bikes in a variety of programs,such as Earn-A-Bike and a program where you can learnabout becoming a bike shop mechanic. Another BNBactivity is to donate bikes to parts of the world wherethey do not have the many advantages Americans have.They have sent more than 33,000 bikes to countries likeGhana, Tanzania, South Africa, Nevis, Guatemala, ElSalvador, and Nicaragua during the past 24 years.The bikes BNB sends to other countries are alldonated. The staff takes the donated bikes and puts asmany as can fit into the shop. The rest are piled up in anarea known as “The Pit” out front. From there theywork on as many of the bikes as possible that arein the shop, so the bikes are in the best conditionwhen they are sent to their final destinations. If thestaff is not able to fix the entire bike, parts of it aretaken and used on other bikes. At this point theyslowly start working on “The Pit.” The fixed bikesare stored in the shop where they wait to be placedin huge crates with 450-500 other bikes to be sentaway to exotic places.best way anyone can help us because there is a lot todo,” said Rodriguez. Bikes have to be flattened andstripped of their parts and other office jobs need tobe done.The mission of Bikes Not Bombs is to be a part of aworldwide movement for peace and responsible stewardshipof the earth. Readers are invited to join them.For more information, contact BNB at: 617-522-0111(main office) or 617-522-0226 (bike shop and youth jobtraining), or log on to: www.bikesnotbombs.org.The time has come to elect a new president. Unfortunately, notmany high school students are old enough to do so. Have no worries;local Youth Community Organizers (YCOs) of the Hyde Square TaskForce (HSTF) in Jamaica Plain have launched a campaign that may solvethis dilemma. They ask adults to vote for them.HSTF has been working since the start of the 2008 summer vacation to registereligible voters to take part in what could be history if Barack Obama is electedpresident. Their mission was to set out to educate the Jamaica Plain community onthe importance of voting, as well as to register new voters. By taking the initiative toknock on doors, the youth leaders ask everyone to vote in the election to voice teenopinion. Through the “Vote for Me” effort, “We want all youth who are not yet 18 notAFH Artworkonly to register to vote, but to actually vote in the presidentialelection,” said Sacha Ruiz, 17, of the Hyde Square Task Force.Because most high school students are not of legal age to register tovote, the ‘Vote for Me’ initiative falls perfectly into place. “If you knowsomeone who is unable to vote or doesn’t want to vote,” said Ruiz, “have themvote for the candidate you want.”HSTF teens managed to knock on more than 1,500 doors. In a letter to theJamaica Plain Gazette, YCO’s Melissa Aybar wrote, “As youth leaders of the ‘Votefor Me!’ campaign, we…have taken the initiative to increase the voter turnout in ourcommunity by registering new voters, mobilizing community members who rarelycome out to vote, and educating others who fail to see the importance of voting.”