BIKE4WORK
Many Africans don't have enough money to buy a bicycle in one go, but do have a vision on how they can use a bicycle to improve their livelihood. These people (and especially women are encouraged to participate) can apply for a bicycle on credit via one of our partner organisations. For farmers, traders, bicycle taxis, etc, the bicycle is a tool to cycle out of poverty and improve their well being. Read more...
BIKE4CARE
Accessibility of medical facilities is a matter of life and death. Many Africans live far away from the nearest health centres. In medical emergencies they need to walk long distances. A bicycle can save lives. A bicycle enables medical staff to visit more patients each day. A bicycle ambulance makes it possible for patients to reach health centres quickly and horizontally. And mobile pharmacies enable people in rural areas to access affordable medicine. Read more...
CYCLE2SCHOOL
Access to education has everything to do with the way students travel from home to school. Many African children walk to school, because of which they reach school tired, making it hard to concentrate during class. Also, the time-consuming walk to school is making it difficult for the children to combine the domestic tasks with school work, often causing early school drop out (especially with girls). A bicycle is making it possible for both students and teachers, to perform better in school. Read more...
The bicycle projects of Cycling out of Poverty have enabled many Africans to earn a living. By having access to affordable bicycles they can use the bicycle as tool to generate income. However, many beneficiaries indicate that the type of bicycles available in Africa isn't fit for their activities. They are simply not strong enough. That is why we are exploring possibilities to design and modify bicycles for the African context. Read more...
Cycling out of Poverty is encouraging her partner organisations to explore opportunities for public private partnerships. African bicycle organisations can become less dependent on funding from abroad by looking into partnerships with local organisations. For example by advertising on bicycles by way of Corporate Social Responsibility.
Cycling out of Poverty supports her African partner organisations to share knowledge and experiences among themselves. Since most partner organisations are working on similar activities, they can learn a lot from each other. In 2007 Cycling out of Poverty started to organise annual meetings for her partner organisations. This resulted in 2009 in the launch of the African Bicycle Network, a network of African organisations working on promotion of bicycles and cycling. Cycling out of Poverty supports this network in the starting up phase. Also see http://www.africanbicyclenetwork.org/. Read more...
