Article by Olivia Thomson courtesy of Australian Mining.
Roy Hill’s non-process infrastructure (NPI) team has helped some children from the Pilbara community of Yandeyarra learn some valuable bike skills.
Yandeyarra is located 142 kilometres south-east of Port Hedland and is limited with resources that help people repair and maintain bicycles. This has led to many bikes in the community going unused due to flat tires, ceased chains, and poor brakes.
To help combat this issue, Roy Hill’s NPI team set up a makeshift workshop at the Yandeyarra remote community school where the kids were invited to learn how to fix their bikes by going through a variety of common issues, such as repairing flat tires.
As a result of the workshop’s success, the school can now use the bikes for morning exercise activities that will help the students stay energised for the day.
Roy Hill supervisor of community and indigenous affairs Adam Norton said the NPI team was keen to help the kids develop these skills.
“We recognised that while giving bikes to children would be a generous act, (but) it would be even more impactful if we could teach the children how to maintain and repair the bikes they already have. The NPI boys were keen to get involved and donate the supplies and tools to make it possible,” Norton said.
Roy Hill NPI supervisor of infrastructure maintenance Stephen Conte said it was nice to see the kids engaging with the workshop and having fun along the way.
“It was good to be able to use our technical skills to help repair the bikes and get the kids back up and riding. It was amazing to see the smiles on these kids’ faces when they got their fixed bikes,” Conte said.
