Pedal Peddler

When we met Jeremy she didn't even know how to ride a bike, and now she is using it to help support her family! Like so many of us around the world, the pandemic upended life in her household but Jeremy used the same determination that got her on a bike several years ago to help shift her direction. As her mentor, Bikes for the Philippines pivoted their program away from providing bikes to students during this health crisis to help establish transportation solutions to essential workers, Jeremy herself became an essential worker. 

And she's not the only one. Several bike beneficiaries who have graduated through the Bikes for Education program are now currently using the bikes they earned to help earn money for their families. Many are using bikes to commute to essential jobs in the food service industry or to deliver food by bike. Jeremy set up an online service selling everything from clothing to skin care products and delivers everything on her bicycle.

It's been an interesting success story that began when her school, Quinaoayanan National High School (GNHS) requested bikes through the Pedals for Paddles program in the Philippines. Through this program schools are given a group of bikes for students to use during the school year. QNHS then adopted the model established by Bikes for the Philippines where students could earn the bikes to keep after graduation.

Jeremy was immediately interested in joining the program but she didn't know how to ride a bike. Fortunately Bikes for the Philippines offers training that would help Jeremy get up on two wheels in no time. Chilva Porlares worked with Jeremy individually to help her learn balance and within a week she was already getting stronger. After several months Jeremy gained the confidence she would need to ride alongside traffic and use her bike to get to and from school.

She has since graduated high school and is using her bike more now that ever. She is delivering supplies all over her barangay and earning around $10 a month to help her family through these challenging times.

Chilva Porlares, Thank you so much ma'am 😊 I wouldn't be where I am today, without the patience you've  shared during my training. I'm truly grateful that you are my mentor. I want also to thank sir Joel Uichico and Ma'am Myla Ranchero Caranay-Untalan for giving me such opportunity and believing in me that I could do it. Thank you so much Godbless 😇 💛

Jeremy De Guzman Nagal, Bike beneficiary graduate, thanking her mentors that made it all possible