The joy of bike ownership and the freedom it brings shines out in the smiles of the Puerto Palomas children thanks to the collaborations fostered by Border Partners.
In March 2026, Dave Baker, founder of the Bike Works and owner of Silver City Cycles in Silver City, New Mexico, donated several bikes needing repairs to Border Partners. Last week on June 16th, the bikes came out of storage for our long-anticipated workshop, where volunteers from Border Partners, our staff in Palomas, and the Bike Works came together with local Palomas youth to fix up the bikes.
Here are some impressions of the day:
Our U.S.-based volunteer team, consisting of Marcia Sherrynewby, her son Jeremiah, and Mike Rogers brought a haul of supplies, generously discounted by Dave Baker at Silver City Cycles, across the border to our Youth Center in Palomas, along with 3 bike workstands. They were assisted by our savvy Mexico-based staff, Victoria Ibarra and Aylin Vega.
A Bicycle Repair Workshop
That afternoon, kids of all ages arrived at our Youth Center to work on the bikes. With the help of our volunteers and BP staff Juan Rascon, Alexis Acosta, and Jesus Arana, they fixed flat tires, changed tubes, repaired brakes, and put the bikes back in working order once again. Altogether, eleven bikes were fixed up and taken home by the kids at the end of the workshop, amidst a crowd of smiles, oily fingers, and the feeling of accomplishment that comes with putting something back together.
We are grateful for the successful collaboration that brought both sides of the border together on a beautiful June afternoon. Days like this show the importance of our work: bringing together skills and knowledge from both sides of the border to make a difference in people’s daily lives.
There is already talk of the Bike Works team coming back to Palomas to fix several more bikes. We look forward to their future visits, and to continue matching kids with new wheels – so they can ride in style, sustainably!
Enjoy these images of the day. The children interacted productively with staff and volunteers. The results are clear in the smiles.
