A BBC documentary based in Toxteth will air on Monday, January 9 at 8pm on BBC One Northwest.
Our Toxteth Cycle Club about Toxteth based Cycle of Life (COL) is a documentary that explores the organisation's aims to get more diverse groups of people in the Liverpool area involved in cycling. It features various programmes run by the organisation and those who attend.
Ibe Hayter founded COL in 2020 while attending the Active Citizens project run by L8 A Better Place in the Kuumba Imani Centre in Liverpool 8. Their staff team and volunteers deliver cycling sessions and bicycle maintenance classes to asylum seekers, Muslim mothers and people from across the local and wider Liverpool community.
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Ibe told the ECHO: "I was surprised such a small organisation would get national attention, but pleased the work we’re doing is being recognised. I hope other cities would follow suit by getting more people in cycling, especially from backgrounds of people who don't normally cycle.
"Everyone can contribute to a greener and cleaner environment by cutting down on car usage, saving the planet for future generations. Climate change is on the global agenda”.
We Are England, a BBC One current affairs documentary series launched in January 2022 explores important topics in local communities. With everyday people front and centre of each story, it reflects life in England, celebrating the diverse country we live in.
One of the programmes run by COL works with young children from low-income families, many who have never cycled before. They learn new skills and become confident cyclists.
Ibe has been working alongside Liverpool City Council to develop a cycling programme aimed at unaccompanied asylum seekers. The six-week programme works with youngsters from various countries who have little or no cycling experience.
Yasser Hadi Aldifayri, 18, is one of those participating. Originally from Kuwait he arrived in the UK seeking asylum aged 17. Since coming to Liverpool, Yasser has made the city his home by making new friends, learning new slang and has been able to learn useful vocabulary specific to cycling and maintenance, skills he never knew before.
Ibe said: “For me personally it’s very central to our aims that ethnic minority children are given the opportunity to cycle, so they can have equal access just like everyone else in the country. This programmes not just about cycling, it’s also about the young people feeling part of the city, to get to know their peers and make friendships that last past the course".
The show sees how the cycling group has given Muslim women the confidence to get out on their bikes and socialise with other women. COL volunteer, Shazia Chaudary leads Women on Bikes, a programme tailored towards getting more Muslim women cycling.
Shazia said: “There’s a stigma attached to Muslim women to go cycling. I’m trying to break down that stigma, to encourage women to come out for cycling and learn new skills”.
For information on Cycle of Life visit HERE
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