Picking Up and Giving Back

Pinelands Creative Workshop (PCW) operates a youth program in Barbados focused on giving members of the community equal opportunities in spite of their families' socioeconomic status. In fact the organization's goal is to improve the lives of struggling students through arts programs, education tutoring, and career training. 

But the impact doesn't end there. More recently PCW took on projects to better their community as a whole, many of those supported through the partnership with Bikes for the World. 

This past summer PCW partnered with Variety Children's Charity to provide bicycles to beneficiaries in the Against All Odds program. This program works with children with learning disabilities and special needs throughout Barbados. 

For special needs students, sitting for the required Secondary School Placement Exam seems like an insurmountable challenge- but one that is necessary to continue their education. When 14 students completed the exam last summer, it was a big deal. Because of their dedication and hard work, Variety, PCW, and BfW rewarded these students with bicycles.

The bike project also helped support a 2018 Red Cross project aimed at improving waste management practices. PCW joined forces with the District Emergency Organization (DEO) and the Red Cross of Barbados to deliver to action localized interventions to afford greater vector control, or more specifically mosquito control, as a proactive means of limiting and/or eradicating any insects, birds or mammals that have the ability to transmit disease pathogens. 

This effort not only cleaned the streets but more importantly also informed the public about the importance of good waste management practices.

Vector control remains an important yet often overlooked component of both disaster risk reduction and epidemic control programming. This community clean up and community education initiative also saw the launch of the Groom Up Your Surroundings (GUYS) where refuse disposal cans were made available to the community through the support of the Bike Project and Banks Holdings Ltd.

PCW is positioning itself as a vital connection in the community. As environmental concerns grow and the economic situation tightens, PCW aims to lend a hand to its community. It is through the support of the bike project and Bikes for the World that PCW is able to continue this work bettering not only the neighborhood, but also natives and tourists on the island.