WUSC Local Committee hosts Bike for AIDS at VIU

Students are riding stationary bikes for 10 hours straight today to raise funds for Bike for Aids, an initiative that outfits doctors in Malawi with "bike ambulances", allowing them to reach more patients more quickly.

Donations are welcome at the event organized by VIU's World University Service of Canada Local Committee (WUSC).

There are prizes for people who want to join in from Arrowsmith Bikes, Alternative Groove and Alberni Outpost. There will also be free hot drinks, courtesy of Vancouver Island University Students' Union (VIUSU).

[Learn more about Bike for AIDS]()

Here’s an excerpt from the Bike for AIDS website:

Malawi is among the world's least developed countries. The economy is heavily agriculture-based, with around 85 per cent of the population living in rural areas. These people typically live some distance from paved roads and rely on bikes for long-distance transportation.

In rural Malawi, community-based volunteers trained as HIV and AIDS educators, caregivers and/or advocates travel to neighbouring communities and homes to care for those affected by the virus. Their ability to serve people is limited by their lack of transportation. By using a bicycle, a health care worker can see up to 5 times as many patients.

If a Malawian living with HIV or AIDS needs medical attention and is unable to walk, getting to the clinic can be very difficult. Bicycle-ambulances provide a much safer alternative to wheelbarrows - a commonly used mode of transportation for hospital-bound patients. By attaching a lightweight trailer and removable stretcher to the back of a bicycle, bed-ridden or injured people can be transported to clinics without risking further injury along the way.

It is with this in mind that WUSC, through its Uniterra program, partnered with CAP AIDS to provide bikes and bicycle-ambulances to community based organizations through our partners’ networks.

Event details:

• Date: Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011

• Time: 8 am to 6 pm

• Campus/site: Nanaimo

• Building or Location: Quad outside of the library

• Sponsors: Arrowsmith Bikes, Alternative Groove, and Alberni Outpost, VIUSU and Elite Image

• Website: