On April 20th 150 young people from Mexico were hosted in the athletic stadium in Hadar Yosef. The youths had recently participated in the "March of the Living in Auschwitz on Holocaust Memorial Day. The young people were mostly students whose age ranged in age from 18-25. The activities in the stadium were aimed at familiarizing them with accessibility for persons with disabilities in Israel. The Canvelo biking club set up a booth and brought seven tandem bicycles from Beit Oved. Volunteers from Canvelo Merkaz and Canvelo HaSharon acted as captains. The students were divided into groups of 30 students each and each group visited four different booths that offered four different activities: riding a tandem bicycle, riding a hand-powered bike for persons with orthopedic disabilities, and meeting persons with hearing impairments. Students visiting the tandem booth received explanations about the essence of tandem biking for blind stokers, and the role of guide dogs and the IGDCB where the dogs are bred and trained to lead blind clients. The students experienced riding a tandem blindfolded, and not only cooperated but also enjoyed the experience. We exposed the stdents a world with which they were not familiar. We would not be surprised if any of them decide to become involved in helping the blind in the future!
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