YMCA Cambridge helping young people 23/08/2010

YMCA Cambridge’s Youth Inclusion Support Panel (YISP) has recently been awarded funding by  Bike Club  to support young people between 10-13 who are at risk of anti-social behaviour or exclusion from their community and peers.

They are doing this by teaching them bike skills and mechanical skills that raise their self esteem and confidence and also prove to them that they can work together and enjoy themselves. Often working in teams or with a hint of competition the young people come together every Monday over a 4 week period to learn basic bike maintenance ranging from fixing a puncture to repairing and replacing parts of the breaks and gears.

I joined them a couple of weeks ago and witnessed the epic smiles these children had on their faces for the entire time they were working on the bikes.  After fixing up the bikes, the children are then able to keep them, as a reward for turning up. I am not sure what was more inspiring – the Bike guru from Outspoken who had boundless energy to match the children attending or the smile and atmosphere the children brought to the place. The workers at YMCA Cambridge have done a great job to create such an atmosphere and stimulate these children’s minds so creatively.

Before to long I found myself cross legged on the floor working with two young people working out how we tension a chain on a BMX bike. This problem-solving was great for the young people and after a while we had worked out what tools we needed and which way to pull the wheel. The children challenged each other and through trial and error, and light hearted banter, we solved quite a challenging problem.

I am looking forward to seeing this fantastic group again some time soon. Their work is so important and it is great that Bike Club has made this happen. Looking forward to many more projects starting up in the same vein as YMCA Cambridge’s YISP programme.