New BfW Projects in Africa

 Bikes for the World is excited to be adding three new African partners this month. This week we will be loading and shipping two containers from our Arlington VA location. The first will be heading to Guinea-Bissau and the second to Madagascar.

Next week, Bicycles for Humanity- Oregon, WI will be loading and shipping a container of bikes to Cameroon, which Bikes for the World arranged and placed.

Global Fairness Initiative - Guinea-Bissau

In Guinea-Bissau our bikes will be distributed as part of the Guinea-Bissau Livelihood Initiative in Bafatá. This program aims to remove barriers to economic opportunity for small producers in one of the world's poorest and most isolated nations.

Bikes will go to a women's association of smallholder farmers who will sell them at affordable prices to their members to generate revenues for their micro-finance program. The bikes will help female farmers and their families transport good to storage centers, processing facilities, and markets.

Transaid - Madagascar

Transaid works to bring transportation solutions to poor people in developing nations. Transaid operates in several African countries, but our bikes will be used for their healthcare project in Madagascar. The hope is that bikes will help health workers access the villages and help others access needed services.

Transaid will help cooperatives of health workers to set up bikes shops. The members will receive training in bike mechanics and the revenues will provide them with an added incentive for their work and additional funding for health-related projects.

NAVTI Foundation - Cameroon

In Cameroon, our bikes will be sent to Ndop in the region of Kumbo, where the first of three bikes shops will be established. A bike mechanics program will train youth in the skills needed to repair and maintain bicycles.

Bikes will go primarily to students and small-scale entrepreneurs, particularly females, to promote economic development in the region.