SPOKANE, Wash. – BMX racing is a fast and freeing way for anyone to enjoy a nice Spokane summertime, but it’s even more so for the kids today that get the opportunity to do it through a partnership between Spokane BMX and World Relief Spokane.
For Mustafa and his friends, the opportunity to dirt bike race together makes him feel “Happy, because I’m coming with friends,” he said. “And we’re happy because we are coming here because we need to practice or just go down, everything like that.”
The Sudanese kids are refugees, brought to the Inland Northwest through World Relief, who helped the kids get together some outdoor fun.
“To give these kids a place where they can just be kids, and have fun, and meet some new people and learn new skills, it’s just a fabulous, fabulous thing,” World Relief Spokane executive director Christi Armstrong said.
Volunteers like Big Ed help run the track, watching these young racers develop and grow over the six-week summer program.
“I gotta tell you, this is the best part about riding these silly bikes: is watching these kids, because the grow every week,” coach and volunteer Erik “Big Ed” Pearson said. “Every time they get on this bike, the smiles, it’s amazing. It’s amazing what the bike will do for a kid.”
Spokane BMX has three of these sessions every year, and this summer is the first for the refugee kids who Armstrong says have gained just so much.
“To watch them start going through the track, and by the time an hour or two is over, they’re just confident, and that makes my heart happy,” Armstrong said.
Mustafa agrees, he assures me that despite the high speeds and big jumps, “I’m not scared, I’m just going down.”
The donation link to help out World Relief is here.
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