We see five people in different places around the world whose lives have been changed by bicycles, and how such a simple thing can be so empowering.

Film Review

Projecting Change Film Festival

Film: With My Own Two Wheels

Director: Jacob Seigel-Boettner, Isaac Seigel-Boettner

Producer: Jacob Seigel-Boettner

Released: Feb 2 2011

Run time: 43 mins

Reviewed by: Tessa Perkins

Most people in North America see a bicycle as a fun way to get around sometimes, a choice, or an eco-conscious transportation alternative, but this film aims to show that in many parts of the world, a bike means so much more than that. We see five people in different places around the world whose lives have been changed by bicycles, and how such a simple thing can be so empowering.

The film opens with Fred, an AIDS caregiver in Chapola, Zambia, who used to have to walk fifteen to twenty kilometres just to see one of his patients. Now that he has a bike, his trips are much more efficient, he can help more people in one day, and he is much happier in his work. In this case, one bike is changing the lives of numerous people in need of Fred’s care and attention.

For girls in Sone Sangvi, India, a bike means access to an education. In India, 81% of girls attend primary school, but only 49% attend high school, and 46.4% of women are illiterate. One of the main barriers to their education was transportation because of the scarcity of high schools and the fact that giving a bike to a girl so that she could go to school was seen as a waste of resources. A charity organisation called Ashta No Kai decided to simply give the girls bikes, and now they are enjoying the same level of education as the boys.

In Ghana people with disabilities are often stigmatized and discriminated against. Mirriam Oduro who walks with the aid of crutches always found it hard to fit in, but then a bicycle mechanic shop run by Bikes Not Bombs opened up near her and after being trained she is now happily employed as a bike mechanic and has a new found sense of self confidence.

Volunteering as a mechanic at Bici Centro in Santa Barbara, CA has also given Sharkey Esquives something more useful to do than hang around with gangs and get into trouble. For him, a bicycle has always been his main mode of transportation, and he has turned his love of bikes into a passion for passing on his knowledge to others.

In San Andres Itzapa, Guatemala, Carlos Enrique has founded Maya Pedal and he makes eco tools for rural mayans called “bicimachina.” These bike machines do various things like strip corn or grind coffee and are make of recycled bikes and various other parts taken from motors that used to run on gasoline or diesel. These machines are much more eco friendly, and they also save the farmers money on fuel.

All over the world there are people using the bicycle as an agent of positive change, and after watching all the great things a bike can do, it makes you want to dust off that old cruiser and feel the wind in your hair. Produced in collaboration with organisations such as Bikes Not Bombs, World Bike Relief, and Ability Bikes Cooperative, With My Own Two Wheels may change the way you look at a bike and see it not only as an eco-friendly choice, but as a valuable vehicle full of potential. 

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