Message in the luggage

376,000 meters on the bike against rising child poverty

Volkshilfe Director Erich Fenninger (right) has been busy cycling himself.(Bild: Volkshilfe/Ayham Yossef)

Volkshilfe is pedaling hard for every child affected. In their luggage: the demand for basic income support. After all, every fifth child is currently at risk of poverty.

"We imagine that there is an affected child every meter along the roadside," says Volkshilfe Director Erich Fenninger, explaining why 376,000 meters are already being covered on bikes in the third edition of the "Tour de Chance" this year. Not least because of inflation, one in five children throughout Austria is now at risk of poverty.

Serious consequences
The consequences are serious. "The children and young people live with massive worries because the money doesn't last until the end of the month. They also become socially isolated because they don't have the financial means to attend leisure activities," says Fenninger. This stressful situation has been proven to lead to chronic health problems. "These can accompany those affected for the rest of their lives," says President Ewald Sacher, calling for an "end to injustice".

One meter is covered for every child at risk of poverty in the "Tour de Chance".(Bild: Volkshilfe/Ayham Yossef)

This is why Volkshilfe is organizing a bicycle tour in all federal states for the first time this year. In Lower Austria, the tour recently went from St. Pölten to Pielachtal and back again. Many discussions were held and public attention was drawn to the dramatic situation of 376,000 young people.

2 instead of 17.2 billion euros
The participants brought with them an important demand to the future federal government. "We need a basic child benefit that exceeds the amount of the current family allowance," says Fenninger. This should be combined with an income-related amount. "Our model costs two billion euros. For comparison: according to the OECD, child poverty and its consequences cost us 17.2 billion euros," the director calculates.