29 May 2010
Piet and Ans van der Wel celebrated their 40 year anniversary with a special cycling touch. They asked their guests to support Cycling out of Poverty in stead of bringing gifts. The guests were very enthusiastic about the cause and this resulted in the sum of 916 euros. Cycling out of Poverty likes to thank all guest for their gift. The donations will be used for a bicycle project in Uganda, executed in partnership with BSPW. The sum is doubled by NCDO.
25 May 2010
VBBS is one of the partners of Cycling out of Poverty, in Kenya. On 14 April 2010 VBBS opened a sub-branch in Ahero Kenya. The ceremony started with a bicycle ride which ended at the new office, where the customary speeches were held. The new sub branch of the VBBS will be able to reach out to people in Ahero region with credit and saving facilities. Cycling out of Poverty is supporting the VBBS in reaching out to small entrepreneurs by providing bicycles-on-credit.
22 May 2010
1%CLUB organised a co-creation Thursday for Cycling out of Poverty. Hosted by Accenture, 8 professionals co-created bamboo bicycle concepts for Cycling out of Poverty. If you too want to support us with your expertise, join us on Facebook.
19 May 2010
Our partner organsiation BSPW in Uganda has had a bicycle workshop for many years now. They have a lot of experience in assembling and modifying bicycles. The Cycling Blue workshop of our partner organisation VBBS in Kisumu Kenya is recently stocked with machines, tools and materials. As part of knowledge exchange between our African partners (African Bicycle Network), 2 people from BSPW Uganda went for 2 weeks to the workshop in Kisumu Kenya, to support VBBS with equiping the workshop and starting up the production of the CooP bike. One of the 4 students of Delft Technical University who designed the bicycle joined them in Kisumu. Soon the first CooP bikes will be available.
15 May 2010
A new cycling-to-school-project has also started in Kisozi Uganda. This programme, run by Hope Alive Uganda, will give students of Buzaya secondary school the chance to buy a bike on credit. Many students have to come from far and need to go to school on foot. Because of the large distance and other tasks at home, those students often miss out on education because they come late at school. Also, by having to go to school on foot and having to walk such a large distance, students can come across dangers on their way to school. Apart from giving students the chance to buy a bike on credit, Hope Alive Uganda has set up a training programme for youths and a small repair shop has been opened. To be able to run this project well, Hope Alive Uganda has formed teams to monitor the project. This project is meant to empower the youth in Kisozi as it is an income generating project through which the project will be able to sustain for a number of years. In this new project the first 50 bicycles have been given out on credit in April 2010.
2 May 2010
In 2008, FABIO successfully implemented a project in Katakwi District, North Eastern Uganda called Cycle to School. The second phase of the cycle to school initiative is being implemented in Iganga District, Eastern Uganda. The main objective of this project is to bridge the distance gaps for needy secondary school students and teachers in selected schools in Iganga District, for social transformation and development. The project started in February 2010 in the two selected schools which include Iganga Comprehensive S.S.S. - Busei and Country Side S.S.S- Namungalwe, for a total of 33 students. They pay off the bicycle in instalments and use the bicycle to cycle to go to school. The students have now received the bicycle.
30 April 2010
Cycling is a very common feature in Burkina Faso. Many people use a bicycle, from the princesses to students, and farmers to office workers. Chris Langerhorst went to Burkina Faso to make a documentary about the cycling culture in Burkina Faso. Chris: "What struck me so much in contrast with eg South Africa where I had just been, is that you really see bikes everywhere, of course, in the cities but also if you go to the countryside, they are everywhere. You also see many students with bikes. Thus saving significant time to spend with their friends, to help their parents or do homework. Without having any statistical data, I would dare to say that in BF, due to the high number of cycling, illiteracy will be greatly reduced." The members of the African Bicycle Network have expressed their interest in having the experience of Burkina Faso documented, in order to showcase this experience to government officials in other African countries as an tool to lobby for bicycle friendly policies. The documentary will be available later this year via this website, and the website of the African Bicycle Network.
25 April 2010
From 24th of April until the 29th of May, cyclists in 15 Dutch municipalities stand a chance of winning prices. The campaign is an activity of the municipalities, milieuplatform and the Dutch Cyclist's Union and it aims to get more people on a bicycle. On the 24th of April in the city of Ermelo the campaign was launched with a variety of activities. In Ermelo you can see a number of the boda boda seats that can be bought via Cycling out of Poverty, see YouTube.
21 April 2010
Due to many challenges faced in Bicycle on credit project in Mwea (Kenya), Cycling out of Poverty and her partner organisation Uvumbuzi decided to relocate the project to Ahero (Kenya). In Ahero the Bicycle on credit project will be part of the Cycling Blue programme. See http://cyclingblue.wordpress.com. Funds for this project were raised via PIFworld.
18 April 2010
On April 15, mayor Geert van Rumund (see picture on the right) officially launced the Profile Cycling out of Poverty action in the Profile bicycle shop of Roel Peerenboom (see picture on the left) in Wageningen, the Netherlands. Costumers can donate a financial contribution to Cycling out of Poverty of one, five or ten Euros when they buy a new bicycle. On top of that, Roel Peerenboom is donating 2% of the gross profit of the bicycle sales, with a maximum of 500 euro per year. The slogan of this action of Profile Roel Peerenboom is: “A bicycle from Roel, is comfortable and gives a good feeling”. The proceeds go to the BSPW project in Uganda.
14 April 2010
In 2008 Eva de Maya in Malawi was supported by Cycling out of Povert to buy 15 bicycles for First Aid staff memebers. Now, in 2010, these bicycles are still in use. These bicycles make it possible that the volunteers do their work and combine it with their monthly training at Eva de Maya. The first aid centres are far from Eva de Maya (ca. 10-25 km) and if they would have to do it on foot it would be less efficient. Eva de Maya: "In our area a bicycle is still a luxury, and it offers a lot of benefits to our staff." The staff is not paid and these bicycles are provided to them as a recompense. This project is a success in will be continued.
10 April 2010
A Cycling to School project started in Kisumu Kenya in October 2009. In this project bicycles are given out on credit to families with school going children. The rational is that many students in Africa have to walk long distances every day to get to school. After a walk of more than 10 km children are exhausted in class which influences their performance. Furthermore, expecially girls are dropping out because due to the time consuming walk to school, they don't have enough time to take care of the domestic chores. The students say they now reach school quicker and less exhausted. Even though they have fallen down some times, they are happy with the bicycle. The students were very open in sharing the benefits and challenges of the bicycle in this project. Please have a look at the video in which the first group of students in this programme tell about their experiences with the bicycle. For more information about this project, and to see the previous videos of this project, go to the project page.
9 April 2010
Kees Joosse was director of the KNHM for 9 years. On 1st of April 2010 he took formal leave of his job with a parting drink. Because he was well disposed towards Africa, he asked his guests to make a donation to Cycling out of Poverty as his parting gift. This resulted in a donation of well over 2,000 euros which will be doubled by NCDO. Cycling out of Poverty would like to thank everyone who made a donation. The donation will be used to offer small entrepreneurs in Uganda the opportunity to aqcuire a bicycle on credit. This way they are able to use a bicycle to generate more income and climb out of poverty.
8 april 2010
Lionsclub Delft Antoni van Leeuwenhoek initiated a special event this year. On the 26th of March they raised money for Cycling out of Poverty during a special RPM-spinning lesson. RPM® is a 50 minutes indoor spinningprogramme based on racing bicycles. This way they supported the initiative of four students from the Delft Technical University, who are cooperating with Cycling out of Poverty to create bicycle workshops where bicycles can be made and repaired. Cycling out of Poverty would like to thank everyone who participated in this event.
4 April 2010
Cycling out of Poverty is setting up a workshop in Kisumu Kenya. This workshop will not only engage in selling bicycle(parts) and repairing bicycles, but also modified bicycles will be made here. To launch the products and services of this workshop, we are looking for a volunteer who can make a marketing plan, during May-June in Kisumu. Cycling out of Poverty will provide accommodation during this time. Do you have the knowledge for setting up a marketing strategy and do you want to go to Kenya for 2 months? Contact us via luuk@cyclingoutofpoverty.com.
30 March 2010
In the village Nariou in Burkina Faso, over 200 women have received a bicycle-on-credit via our partner organisation AVO in recent years. The video gives an impression of how these women use the bicycle and what the bicycle means to them in their daily life. The projects of AVO in Burkina Faso can be supported by donating to Cycling out of Poverty via SNS bank account number 90.61.46.356 (IBAN: NL68 SNSB 0906146356, Swiftcode: SNSBNL2A).
28 March 2010
3 years ago, our partner organisation FABIO give out the first Cycling out of Poverty bicycles-on-credit in Katakwi Uganda. Now, 3 years later, we are visiting the women who received a bicycle via this programme. A number of bicycles is not in use any more, due to the wear and tear, and some are stolen. However, it is good to hear that for most of the women the bicycle has the impact which was envisioned at the start of the project 3 years ago. One of the women tells what she has done with the bicycle in recent years.
25 maart 2010
Luuk Eickmans is working part time for Cycling out of Poverty in 2010 and 2011, funded by the Vodafone Foundation, as part of the World of Difference programme. In March Luuk visited Ghana to explore possibilities for public private partnerships in Africa. He spoke with Magnus Quarshie of the Centre for Cycling Expertise in Accra about the opportunities he sees. Click on the video for an impression.
20 March 2010
One of Cycling out of Poverty's longest relationship is with our partner organisation AVO in Burkina Faso. On international women's day 8th of March 2010, Esther Yameogo of AVO received a medal from the president of Burkina Faso for the achievements of AVO in giving women a chance to cycle out of poverty. The president is impressed about the bicycle projects of AVO. Please have a look at the video on the right, to see a short story about AVO's bicycle projects, which was featured on Burkina Faso's national news broadcasting in October 2009 (a few days after 100 bicycles-on-credit were handed over to women in the village of Nariou).
18 March 2010
On March 11, bands from different governmental organisations in Amsterdam played in "the Melkweg" in the Dutch capital. It was a competition which not only saw a winning band, but also winning charities, since the bands raised funds for different charity organisations. DIVV participated with their own band and raised 402 euros (exclusive of costs for GeefGratis) for Cycling out of Poverty.
14 March 2010
In September 2007 and January 2008 Cycling out of Poverty produced a newspaper about her activities: the Good News Paper. Now, a third edition of this newspaper is available (only in Dutch!). This Good News Paper gives you an update on the bicycle projects in Africa for the different target groups. This paper is made possible by the hard work of Miranda Pieron, student scientific communication at Delft Technical University the Netherlands. Click here to download the Good News Paper. The paper contains links to videos about the different projects, by clicking on the links you will be automatically forwarded to the film. The previous editions of the Good News Papers (also only in Dutch) are still downloadable via "about us" - "documents".
12 March 2010
Cycling out of Poverty is currently fund raising for a new bicycle project in Uganda. Our partner organisation BSPW is active in a number of villages in Jinja and Mayuge district on assessing with the communities which skills they want to enhance to be able to alliviate themselves and their community from poverty. BSPW supports these groups with training them how to make an action plan and a monitoring tool. A number of these people indicated that a bicycle would help them forward. The bicycle as income generating tool, as a means to give themselves and their family a chance to generate income. Cycling out of Povery is currently fundraising for a starting capital for BSPW, so that BSPW can provide bicycles on credit to these people. The idea is that after the first group has paid off their bicycles to BSPW, BSPW can again give out a group of bicycles to a new group of beneficiaries, as a revolving fund. This project is supported by NCDO. NCDO doubles the funds raised by Cycling out of Poverty. Each 1 euro donated eventually is worth 2 euros. Click on the adjoining video for a video about this project. Would you like to support this project? Donate via SNS bank account number 90.61.46.356 (IBAN: NL68 SNSB 0906146356, Swiftcode: SNSBNL2A).
6 March 2010
At the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 our ambassador Frank van Rijn cycled from Cairo to Nairobi. During his tour he visited some of the bicycle projects of Cycling out of Povety in Kenya and Uganda. Now he is back in the Netherlands and made an inspiring presentation about one of his former bicycle tours during the cycling and walking fair. There is a video (circa 15 minutes) about his cycle tour available, by double clicking on the video on the right.
1 March 2010
On 27th and 28th of February Cycling out of Poverty was present at the Cycling and walikg fair in the RAI in Amsterdam. Approximately 15,000 people have visited the fair. Besides promoting Cycling out of Poverty and inform the vistors about Cycling out of Poverty we raffled a real Black Mambda bike with boda-boda seats. Sunday afternoon Frank van Rijn, global cyclist and ambassador of Cycling out of Poverty, draw the winner. And the winner is: ... Click on the video to see who the winner is.
20 February 2010
Cycling out of Poverty invites you to send in ideas for sustainable bicycle designs for Africa. Bicycles made from bamboo, recycled plastic, or, designs for bicycle ambulances, bicycle carts, etc. Based upon a needs assessment on the type of bicycles needed in Africa, everyone is invited to send in photo's and designs in a contest. Herefore a special website will be launched: http://www.wiki-bike.com. The contests starts on the 27th of February 2010 and runs until the end of 2010. For this project Cycling out of Poverty cooperates with stichting SLIMMER and Delft Technical University, and subsidy is granted by the Dutch Ministery of "VROM".
18 February 2010
East Africa is the domain of bicycle taxis. Not the threeweeled bicycles as in Asia, but an ordinary bicycle with a cushion on the carrier. Would you like to surprise someone with an original gift? Or do you want to impress others with such a seat on your bike? Contact Cycling out of Poverty and order a set for €39,95. By buying these saddles you support the bicycle projects of Cycling out of Poverty. Click on the video to see who is making these seats in Kenya for us. Go to “support” – “buy” for photo's of some examples.
14 February 2010
On Saturday 13th of February the bicycle workshop in Kisumu Kenya was officially opened. The boda boda bicycle taxi community put in a lot of work for 2 weeks in renovating the place, just in time for the pre-launch. The same day global cyclist and ambassador of Cycling out of Poverty Frank van Rijn arrived at the site. A group of 100 boda boda bicycle taxi's, representatives of KLM and Cycling out of Poverty, Hon. Shakeer Shabir (MP of Kisumu Town East), and a marching band joined Frank in his ride to the workshop. Hon. Shakeer Shabir, Karen Blanken of KLM and Frank van Rijn unvieled the banner with the name of the workshop. The workshop is planned to be fully operational on the 1st of April. For more information about this project, go to the project page.
8 February 2010
Ambassador Frank van Rijn visits a number of projects of Cycling out of Poverty, by bicycle. Last week he was in Katakwi (Uganda) and this week in Butagaya (Uganda). The route from Katakwi to Butagaya was typical African. In Katakwi he discussed with local people the best route to Butagaya, and they told him that there would be a boat to bring him across the river. He double checked 100 times, but he was ensured that a boat would be there. Obviously, there was no boat and Frank had to divert via a long d-tour. Nevertheless, he reached Butagaya, where he spoke with women who received a bicycle on credit via Cycling out of Poverty. His next destination is Kisumu, Kenya.
6 February 2010
In december 2009 students of the Citadel College in Lent chose Cycling out of Poverty as charity for which they were going to raise funds. Due to the heavy snow on the 22nd of December, the sponsor event was postponed to Wednesday 3rd of February. On this day, the students went to the centre of Nijmegen to raise funds for the Cycle to School project in Katakwi. They sold home baked biscuits, played music on the gitar and held a raffle. At the end of the day € 450,- was delivered to Cycling out of Poverty. This will enable 15 students to go to school by bicycle, so that they spent less time on their trip to school and household chores.
5 February 2010
In 2009 the first biycle-on-credit project in Rwanda started, in a place called Ngeruka. The plan is that the 25 beneficiaries pay their last installment at the end of this month. Our partner organisation La Nouvelle Vie mentions that up until now all payments have been made in time and that also the last payment is expected without any difficulties. Because the women have a bicycle now, their lives have changed. They use the bicycle to fetch water for the household, to bring products to the market and to buy other products and bring them home. The women are able to repair small defects on the bicycle. One major benefit of the bicycle for the women is that it saves them on transportation cost. Most of the households show improvements on their housings, clothing, and health care. La Nouvelle Vie plans to do a follow up project, for which Cycling out of Poverty is currently fund raising. Click here for more information about this projects and videos.
3 February 2010
Frank van Rijn, the global cyclist from the Netherlands well-known for his books and presentations on his adventurous cycling tours, cycles in his role as ambassador of Cycling out of Poverty to some of the bicycle projects in Uganda and Kenya. From his start in Nairobi things could only get better. The traffic was awfully hectic, busy and aggressive, his tent was flooded with water because of the heavy rains. And for who knows Frank, rain is the absolute number one annoyance during his cycling tours. All in all things could only be better on his way to the projects. Now, 4 weeks later, Frank is again cycling in his favourite conditions in hot, dry and rural Katakwi in North-Eastern Uganda. Accompanied by Luuk Eickmans, Frank has spoken with the very first beneficiaries of a bicycle credit programme of Cycling out of Poverty and some students from the pilot cycle-to-school project. They have also visited one of the communities who received the bicycle ambulance for emergency transport to the health centres. As a real fan of cycling, he really encourages the bicycles projects of Cycling out of Poverty and sees the added value of giving access to a bicycle. Being it for going to the market, to school or a health centre, a bicycle makes commuting to essential services like water and health care easier. It gives opportunities to generate more income en to improve school performances. Frank is now cycling to another bicycle project in Butagaya.
29 January 2010
In Katawi in Northern Uganda, our partner organisation FABIO is executing a cycle to school project. This project started in 2007 with a pilot. The improvement of school results and the attendence level of the students in school was apperent, from the use of the bicycle. That is why CooP and Fabio decided to extend the project with a follow up. However, the region is flooded with charity organisations. Katakwi is a post-conflict zone and the site of regular floodings. The Red Cross and other charity organisations are supporting people in this area with hand outs. People receive free food, blankets, building materials, ect. Over the past year people are so much getting used to getting everything for free, that FABIO has great difficulty in executing the bicycle-on-credit projects here. We feel it is important for people to pay for the bicycle and not get if for free, because it stimulates the ability to manage for oneself and the sustainability of the project. Dispite the impact of the project is clearly visible, the situation has made FABIO to make the though decision to leave Katakwi. The planned Cycle to School project will be relocated to a different location, building on the experiences in Katakwi. In the new school year students can apply for a bicycle on credit. Click here for more information about this projecct. In the video FABIO's project manager talks about the relocation of the project.
26 January 2010
People with HIV/AIDS are often rejected by commercial banks for microloans. This probably has to do with their shorter livespan and therefore being a risk for the bank to provide credit. But especially these people can use access to credit to start up a business. Anouk Strijd is doing research for her Bachlers degree on the barriers for people with HIV/AIDS to credit. She also looks into the opportunities and possibilities for the partner organisations of Cycling out of Poverty on how to tackle these barriers, so this target group can nevertheless access bicycle-on-credit project. Anouk is executing this research in Kisumu Kenia from January to March. The video gives an introduction of this research by Anouk.
23 January 2010
The Kenyan Minister of Cooperative Development & Marketing, Mr Joi Niaga, visited the partner organisation of Cycling out of Poverty in Kisumu VBBS. He was welcomed by the whole team of the VBBS in their office. The purpose of the visit was to see what the VBBS is doing and to see where the government can support VBBS' activities. He also visited the plot where the workshop for bicycle repair and maintenance activities is being established. The minister was pleased to see that VBBS is doing well and appreciated the dedication of the VBBS team.
19 January 2010
This month is the first month Luuk Eickmans is working for Cycling out of Poverty, funded by the Vodafone Foundation. Luuk is exploring partnerships between African companies and development projects of our partnerorganisations in Africa. Luuk will put updates about this assignment on the hyves page of Cycling out of Poverty. Click on the video to learn more about his assignment (only available in Dutch).
18 January 2010
3 years ago, the Dutch television SBS 6 made a programme about Dutch people involved in development projets. Cycling out of Poverty was one of the foundations featuring in this programme. Wietske Kenemans (TMF VJ) traveled to Uganda to report on the activities of Cycling out of poverty and our local partner organisation Fabio in Uganda. Click on the video to see the programme "Nederlanders in ontwikkeling" (only available in Dutch).
11 January 2010
The ambassador of Cycling out of Poverty, global cyclist Frank van Rijn, has reached Nairobi. Despite the unexpected and continuous rain, his plans to cycle through Kenya and Uganda are unchanged. On his tour he will visit 3 of the projects of Cycling out of Poverty: the health project in Katakwi Uganda, the micro credit project for women in Butagaya and the biycle workshop for entrepreneurs in Kisumu Kenya. He is expected to arrive in Kisumu on the 13th of February, when also the opening of the workshop is planned. Click here for more information about the workshop in Kisumu Kenya.
10 January 2010
During the second half of 2009, foundation Ezelshoren organised the event "Idols for donkeys". Students from Arnhem (the Netherlands) learned about the millennium development goals and decorated a plaster model of a donkey. Via sms codes, the audience could vote for their most favourite donkey. The funds raised by the SMS voting, are donated to 8 charity organisations, each one linked to one of the millennium goals. Cycling out of Poverty is linked to millennium goal 2: more children to school. The donkey on the photo proved to be the most popular donkey. Click here for more information about the cycle to school project in Uganda.
9 January 2010
Four students of the Technical University of Delft have designed a bicycle for African street vendors. Two of the four students have returned to Kisumu Kenya to test the prototype. A number of street vendors have tested the bicycle. One of which is Steve the juice salesman, who tested the prototype for a whole day. Click on the video for a small taste of a day of selling juices in Kisumu with our bicycle. The bicycle will be produced in the workshop we are establishing in Kisumu. For more updates from the students, go to http://africanbicycledesign.wordpress.com/.
7 January 2010
Our partner organisation FABIO in Uganda, is executing a health project in conjunction with ITDP Europe. This project comprises both motor and bicycle ambulances, whereby Cycling out of Poverty funded the bicycle ambulances part. One year ago the project started, and recently ITDP made an evaluation of the progress. The evaluation report can be acquired upon request via email to luuk@cyclingoutofpoverty.com. The report shows that the the ambulances save lives, especially those of women in labour on their way to the hospital. A challenge in the project is the community contribution, dispite the agreement upfront the community is not willing to pay for the ambulances. The evaluation is very useful in discussing the way forward and the next steps in the project. A follow up project is planned to start in March 2010. Click here to go to the project page.
6 January 2010
The airline company KLM sponsors the Cycling Blue project in Kenya. In this project a workshop is established for bicycle repair and modification. Furthermore, support to entrepreneurs will be provided in trainings (maintanance and repair of bicycles, entrepreneurs skills) and micro finance facilities. Paul Elich handed over a cheque of 80,900 euros en 12,216,691 airmiles to Luuk Eickmans, director of Cycling out of Poverty.
3 January 2010
4 students of the Delft Technical University are designing a bicycle for African street vendors. In November 2009 they have researched the needs and demands of the bicycle users in Kisumu Kenya. A co-creation team is established of (mobile) street vendors, neighbourhood association, market vendors, VBBS, metalworkers, bicycle mechanics, representative of disabled people, etc, who are a sounding board for the students in the design process. The previous month the students have designed a protoype at the Technical University in Delft. The following weeks they will return to Kisumu to have the bicycle tested by the co-creation team and to fine tune it. The bicycle will be produced in the Cycling Blue workshop in Kisumu, for which the official opening is planned at 13/14 February. Click on the video for an update of this design project. For more information about this project, click here to go to the project page.
1 January 2010
The new year, 2010, begins good because Luuk Eickmans takes up office with the Cycling out of Poverty foundation. As winner of Vodafone's World of Difference competition, Luuk can work for the foundation parttime for 2 years, funded by Vodafone. Besides the voluntery work he already does for Cycling out of Poverty, this price enables him to focus on establishing public private partnerships in Africa. He is convinced that linking African companies to development projects opens up many opportunities in development of Africa. Like Rene Groothuis (Cordaid) sais: There are no poor countries, only countries with a lot of poor people. Luuk will place updates about this assignment on the hyves page of Cycling out of Poverty and this Cycling out of Poverty website.