Cycle to school Katakwi 2009 - 2010, Uganda

Give-away planned for Autumn 2009

• Target group: students in post-conflict zone
• Fundraising period: May 2009 -
• Number of bicycles: 100
• Bicycle brand: Jupiter
• Donor/subsidies: 1%CLUB, eennieuwmillennium.nl / -
• Local partner organisation: FABIO

New bicycle project for students in Uganda

18 July 2009

Fundraising has started for a follow up Cycle to school project. In this Cycle to school project 100 students and their families in Katakwi district, a former conflict are in North-East uganda, can reveice a bicycle on micro credit. We are targeting this group because a lot of students often have to walk long distances (sometimes more than 20 km) to school. This is an tiring job, students reach school exhausted which is effecting their concentration in class and decreasing their results. This long commuting to school also results in a large drop-out number. Especially girls are dropping out early. Because HIV/AIDS and cultural conflicts have wiped out a complete generation these girls have to take care of the family have to do a lot of tasks in the household. This is hard the combine with school.

Children in Uganda are burdened with an important and heavy task to deal with their "history", and at the same time build a new future. A bicycle proved to be a very useful tool in this task. Results from the pilot project in 2008 (Fiets-naar-school Katakwi 2008) show an improvement of results in school after they have received a bicycle. After they received the bicycle (and a training in basic maitenance) they attended school more, were less exhausted and we could see a real improvement of their school results. Besides they were also able to help in the household and (keep) generating income.

In this pilot-project of 2008 we learned that teachers also have to commute long distances and that monitoring the project results were not always that easy and sometimes even a challenge. Cycling out of poverty and FABIO therefore decided to provide some teachers a bicycle for a reduced rate, in exchange for making them responsible for the monitoring of the project: school attendance, results in school, use of the bicycle, maintenance of the bicycle, etc.

Cycle to school project in Uganda relocated

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. In the video below, FABIO's project manager talks about the relocation of the project.

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