Beyond Sport World

Social inclusion: Wheels of Love cycling event attracts 10,000 riders

Six weeks after the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews donated 800 all-terrain bikes to the eighth grade Bedouin children in the desert Abu Basma region in southern Israel, 120 of these children were able to test them out for real for the first time, at the Wheels of Hope event in northern Israel when they joined some 10,000 other Israeli riders to cycle 55 kms. The popular event raised money for the Etgarim non-profit organization, which enables people with special needs to take part in sports activities, which will open two new cycling clubs for people with special needs in Acre and Netanya.

The Bedouin kids' participation is a direct continuation of the "Cycling in Fellowship in the Desert" project that was launched in April to instruct the school children in the region through 27 local cycling clubs under the auspices of the Abu Basma Regional Council.

This is the first among many popular cycling events that includes children from the Bedouin sector as well as Israelis of all other sectors and ethnicities. The children had a tremendous experience as they rode in the Jezreel Valley, so far from home, and met riders from all parts of the country as they enjoyed the healthy sports environment and activities.

The children had a tremendous experience as they rode in the Jezreel Valley, so far from home, and met riders from all parts of the country as they enjoyed the healthy sports environment and activities.