Dunkirk’s Spoke Folk and Richard Goodman continues to change lives in Tanzania, where they have now provided 32 girls with bicycles so they can attend secondary school.

The second batch of bikes that Spoke Folk was able to purchase included 16 more, the same amount they bought the first time. This second purchase was made in September of 2019. The bicycles help promote learning and independence.

The question Goodman is facing now, along with his partners, is how to teach these girls how to maintain and repair the bikes so they will not only be used for themselves, but could be passed on later to another young girl in need. “We’re trying to create not only bicycles for today, but bicycles for tomorrow,” he said. “We’re developing a lab and securing the necessary and proper tools to maintain and repair the bikes.”

Goodman is a strong believer in being self-maintained, in all aspects of life, so he wants to make it possible for the young women to care for the bikes themselves. The lab Goodman envisions will be located in Tanzania, where small classes, like the ones held in Dunkirk now, would be held to teach the girls about how to fix and care for their bikes.

“It’s been a wonderful experience for me and it’s just the beginning for organizations like ours,” Goodman said. “We’re helping to build a healthier community, one bike at a time.”