We are delighted to announce the launch of our new Badge-A-Bike Virtual Gift.

As well as an ethical gift, Badge-A-Bike is an opportunity to directly transform a child’s life.

Your PERSONAL message is placed on a badge.
The NUMBERED badge is affixed to a bike.
The bike is delivered to a NAMED school in Africa.

Badge-A-Bike is a special and simple Gift for a Birthday, Anniversary or Christmas

To change a child's life costs just £60 

This exciting new initiative is supported by journalist and broadaster Jon Snow 

 

 

 

On 06 March 2006 jole rider loaded its first sea container of 303 bikes for school children in The Gambia. 
We had no thought, then, as to what jole rider would be doing 5 years on.

But 5 years on, jole rider has expanded its involvement with bikes, literacy and education. 
This month, jole rider will have delivered more than 8,500 bicycles, enabling thousands of children to access education in Africa.
Children also have chairs to sit on, books to read and, as a result, better life chances for themselves and their families. 

“We cannot believe we have sent 25 containers,” director Helen King explains.
“But we regard this as a reasonable start – and, with enough help, the next 25 shouldn’t take as long!”

 

 

Poor literacy is almost more damaging than poverty, as the London Evening Standard pointed out recently.
Its effect on lives and job prospects can be devastating.

Being able to read well is crucial to African children. Without good literacy skills, they will struggle in lessons, and even more in exams. Not having books to read badly affects their confidence and self-esteem, as well as education achievement.

Well, the pupils at St John's First School and Blaise Primary School have done something small to help with this big problem. The schools held Story Book Days, and each pupil brought one or two of their own books to school to give to us to give to schools in The Gambia. The children chose books they’d enjoyed reading knowing that the book’s new readers would also like the stories.

At St John’s the pupils added their own artwork on the bookplates they put inside the books.
At Blaise the children wrote messages about why they liked the books.

Thank you, George – for organising Story Book Day at St John’s – and Rebecca and Katie for helping with the event at Blaise.