עברית
Co-existence at work: Building a bike path
Eitan Hevroni, Director of the Shimshon Riders Club
Architect Otto Fridman arrived at the Nakham Forest, near Beth Shemesh, on Friday June 12 at 9 a.m. Fridman planned the route of the bike path that the Shimshon Riders were going to build on that day. He was soon joined by Yogev Benishu, Nogus Balta, Tadela Atena, Matan Ohayoun and Eyal Grosslerner, as well as 15 cyclists from Ma'ayan Nekuba: Shaima, Abed, Alu, Ahmad, Gazou, Radouan, Ounoud, Marva, Maram, Miss, Asmer, Majad, Gnan, Mahmud and Muhamed, their instructor. When everyone had arrived, I explained that today we would continue to build the Nakham Singles path that we had already started to work on in the past. I gave them all a safety briefing, about how to use the building tools, and in parallel Muhamed translated for those in his group who did not understand Hebrew.Then we set out to the end of the Singles path.
Here Otto Fridman explained where and how to clear the path route with rakes, cut into the earth with spades, and cut back vegetation with cutters.
It was very hot and we all had to drink a lot of water. After two hours of hard work, Fridman surprised us with two huge watermelons, which we ate joyfully. Then we gathered up our tools and made our way to the basketball court of the nearby Moshav. The kids played until their bus came and took them back to their village.
Many thanks to Herzl Hovav of the Mateh Yehudah Regional Council and to Ala.
Who both arranged the transportation, as well as to Otto Fridman for his help with the project.
This cycling focused co-existence project takes place with the help of the Volunteers Organization, the Shimshon Riders Club, The Israel Cycling Federation, the Mateh Yehudah Regional Council, One2One, and the Sobell Foundation.