bikes 4 Africa

This is jole rider’s first programme
                        in support of its mission:  to change lives through education

Many African children live in remote communities, a long way from their nearest school.
Without reliable, affordable, motorised transport the only way these children get to school is to walk. 
In searing heat, their journey to education on foot is a daily epic mission.

Having a bicycle makes a world of difference for these children, and for their families and communities too.
To this end, bikes4Africa reconditions donated bicycles and delivers them from the UK to African schools, where they enable children to...

•    get to school
•    arrive at school on time instead of late
•    begin the school day alert instead of exhausted
•    stay for extra lessons at the end of the school day
•    reach higher academic achievement
•    arrive home earlier
•    help their families more at home
•    remain safe by travelling home from school in daylight

Bicycles
We receive donated bicycles, meeting our bikes4Africa Bike Spec criteria, from a range of donors, including individuals, the police, recycling centres and businesses.
With the help of our partners, HM Prison Service, the bikes are refurbished by inmates in prisons around the UK.
We then pack the bikes into sea containers, a minimum of 333 in each one, and ship them to Africa.

We delivered our first consignment of bikes to The Gambia, West Africa, in April06.

On wed30dec09, we loaded a container with 400 bikes...

...bringing the number of lives we have changed in Africa, by enabling children to get to school by bike, to almost 5500 .

In Africa
When the bikes arrive in The Gambia, our partner organisation, which has pre-selected the beneficiary schools, oversees their distribution with the assistance of the Gambian Ministry of Education.
Bikes remain school property, with teachers allocating them to the students who need them most.
When a child graduates from school, their bike is re-allocated to another child. 

Sustainability
Local Field Engineers and selected school students receive training in bike maintence and servicing.
The schools buy some of the needed spares and consumables in-country and we supplement these purchases with supplies from the UK.
Our partner organisation also monitors the bike fleets and assists with the maintenance programme. 

Costs
Collecting bikes is only one part of bikes4Africa. The effectiveness and long-term success of the programme depends upon jole rider receiving funds as well as bikes. Delivering bikes and tools into a school in The Gambia costs £10 per bike. Our policy is to ask bike donors to cover this cost for their bike.  If donors give more than £10 a bike, this money enables even more African children to get to school.
Our goal is to deliver as many suitable bikes to schools in Africa as we can, and to enable the ongoing maintenance of the bikes by providing tools, skills training and local support.

What You Can Do
You can invest in the bikes4Africa programme in different ways.  To see the options, click here.
If you have a bike to Invest, with at least £10 for its journey to Africa, then click here.
If you would like to organise a bikes4Africa Day at your business, in your street or in your community, involving the collection of a number of bikes, then click here.