All Over The World, People Are Volunteering To Take The Elderly Into Nature On Rickshaws

Dec 18, 2018

Getting old is never easy. As we age, things that we once did without even thinking become tiring and painful. For those elderly people without families, the situation is even worse. With no one to rely on for help, they struggle to do the most basic tasks and enjoy life.

New programs are fighting to help restore dignity to elderly people, giving them the attention and compassion they deserve as they enter their golden years.

One such organization that is making great strides in helping the elderly is Cycling Without Age. Ole Kassow is the driving force behind the group. As Ole explains, he was motivated to start Cycling Without Age in 2012 out of a desire to help elderly people get out in the world.

Ole thought that putting seniors on bicycles would greatly improve the enjoyment they feel, but faced an obstacle in the fact that many elderly men and women have problems with mobility.

Ole devised an inventive solution: put seniors on trishaws and cycle for them. Beginning in Ole’s native Denmark, Cycling Without Age is now present in 38 countries.

To ensure safety, volunteers for the Cycling Without Age program go through extensive training. As driving a trishaw is far different than riding a standard bicycle, volunteers first drive with a “pilot” to ensure that they know how to safely handle the vehicle.

Once their training is complete, pilots will accompany volunteers as they cycle with their first elderly passengers.

Highly organized and efficient, volunteers with Cycling Without Age can either make appointments with elderly passengers or visit nursing homes to ask anyone if they want to try the service. Ensuring that elderly people can still enjoy the happiness of the outside world, the ever-growing organization boasts 1,100 chapters with 10,000 pilots.

What do you think of Cycling Without Age? Do you volunteer to help the elderly in your community? Let us know your experience in the comments and pass this along to your friends and family to brighten their day!