Ukrainian refugees to be given free bikes to help employment

Oksana with children Vladislav, Dmitro and Stanislav and their refurbished bike

Ukrainian refugees are being given refurbished second-hand bikes to help them find jobs.

The Wheels to Work scheme aims to help refugees access training, volunteering and skills opportunities as well as attend English lessons, job interviews, and get to work.

Refugee Oksana said the bike is the "only way she travels".

South Gloucestershire Council has been collecting donated bikes and mending them before giving them on.

Wheels to Work has been developed under the Government's Capability Fund to help unemployed and newly employed workers with transport,

Oksana, her husband, Oleh, and their three children, Vladislav, 12, Dmitro, 8, and Stanislav, 9-months, are staying with a host family in Rudgeway, near Bristol, and have benefitted from a new bike.

Oleh is using the bike to get to his IT job and his wife is planning on exploring the local area and going to community events to meet new people and improve her English.

'Invaluable'

Oskana said: "The bike is great, it is my only way to travel. I will be able to go out and go places."

Vladislav said: "Mum hasn't really been on a bike for years, so I am going to give her some lessons, she just needs some practice then she will be off.

"We love it here, we love everything about it, and now we can explore more by bike."

Ian Clarke welcomed the family to his home in May as he wanted to give them the "security and safety they deserve".

He said the bike would be "invaluable" for the family and give them freedom to explore the rural area.

The scheme has had 20 bikes donated so far and the council is checking the donated bikes to ensure they are roadworthy.

South Gloucestershire Council cabinet member for equality of opportunity, Franklin Owusu-Antwi, said: "Giving refugee families access to a working bike is an important way of getting people settled into their lives here and settled into new jobs."

The Wheels to Work scheme is also providing free bus tickets, free Voi e-scooter passes, cycle training and maintenance courses and loan bikes.