A bike can change a life in a poor country, yet for millions of people
on the lowest incomes, a new bicycle is financially out of reach.
Meanwhile, 10 million bikes a year are sent to landfill sites and
millions more perfectly good bicycles lay unused in garages and
basements everywhere. Every bicycle has a story, and passing the bike on
to others to continue that bike's story and the lives it impacts, well,
isn't this far better than it slowly decaying in a landfill site?
Bicycles for Humanity and its partners sent four containers of bikes to
Namibia last summer. This year we hope to send more, plus help other
clubs, organizations, schools and churches raise the necessary funds and
collect unwanted bicycles to send to reliable partners in developing
countries. For AIDS education, medical attention and home care alone
thousands of bicycles are needed.
In developed countries, Bicycles for Humanity provides resources and
support to make the process as simple and enjoyable as possible. In
developing countries it works closely with organisations like BEN, the
Bicycle Empowerment Network, to ensure that communities, AIDS workers
and disadvantaged people are empowered through improved access to food
and water, employment, healthcare, education and social opportunities.
Our focus for 2007 will be on collectively, distributing, the Bicycling
Empowerment Centre (BEC), a complete package that provides a community
in need, access to tools, training and spare parts. Our goal this year
is to work with partners and together, send 10 containers of bikes, BECs
to Namibia and Uganda.
If you could post this at your web site, link to us, send it out to your
members to help us tell the story and the need, it would be greatly
appreciated. Organizing BECs is fun, very rewarding and a wonderful
experience for all. If you are interested in more information, please
visit our website, www.bicycles-for-humanity.org or contact me at
[email hidden]
Thanks
Pat Montani
http://www.bicycles-for-humanity.org