A Stitch In Time

Nalongo Nagobi Joweliya was a single mother of three who had just turned 40 when she was imprisoned for aggravated assault. She served two years before being released.

In Uganda, prison sentences are particularly hard on women, many of them wrongly accused. Prisons are overcrowded and inmates are routinely cut off from family visits due to travel complications.

Many are single mothers like Joweliya. They need to rely on the generosity of family or friends who look after their children while they are incarcerated. Visits become a burden many of these 'foster' moms cannot bear.

When women are released from prison it's like starting over. They may not have a home to go home to. The world has moved on without them. Their kids are scattered and resettled in other families, most are struggling to get by.

Training programs, like the sewing project sponsored by the Prisoners Support Organization in Uganda, are vital to helping ex-offenders get a leg up once they are released.

Kevin Okoth, seen here, participated in a life skills program while incarcerated at Jinja prison.  In the program she learned about business and computers. She also honed her tailoring and knitting skills.

Okoth was sent to prison after a neighbor accused her of robbing him at gun point. Without the funds to pay for lawyer Okoth was sent to the women's prison after being held for a week in a local holding cell. Finally, after three years in prison, the case was dismissed and Okoth was released.

During her sentence her children were cared for by family members. During that period none of the children were enrolled in school, unable to pay for books and school fees. They also had to pick up odd jobs to help financially in their temporary home.

Okoth was definitely one of the lucky ones. Upon her release, the program offered her a sewing machine which she put to immediate use. Okoth began her own tailoring business making clothes for women and uniforms for students. She had money coming in, got her kids back in school, and her spirits rose exponentially.

For nearly a decade, Bikes for the World supported this project with bikes and sewing machines which helped create new lives for ex-offenders eager to start over. We contributed over 60 sewing machines to the Women's Prison Support Organization since 2007. Each donated machine helped provide valuable training classes, equipping young women with life skills to mend their lives.  They also provided the means to start new small businesses to help these struggling mothers rebuild their families after years apart.

A Perfect Record

BfW shipment to Wheels of Africa, Kenya

Each country we ship to has a different set of rules and regulations. And the cost of shipping varies from one location to the next. A country such as Panama might only cost a few thousand dollars to ship a container of bikes while Uganda will cost three times that.

One of the reasons we choose our international partners carefully is to ensure our shipments arrive safely. One of our main criteria is that they have a proven track record of getting shipments successfully into the country. A hang up could be the port authority or government, and that could create insurmountable issues clearing customs.

Shipments going into Kenya and Uganda both pass through the Kenyan port of Mombasa. You can see from the map to the left that Uganda is still very much inland from this port. A container of bikes from the Port of Baltimore to Mombasa may cost $5,000 US. However, to move those bikes from the Kenyan port to Uganda by truck will cost another $4,000.

If the government were to impose an import duty on these donated shipments, those costs could soar upwards of $15,000, for a container of 500 used bikes! This could impact our relationship with Uganda. And this is where we are now.

Courtesy Prisoners Support Organisation

In fact, our latest shipment to Uganda suffered an even worse scenario. This was our 27th shipment to the Prisoner's Support Organisation (PSO) in Uganda. When it arrived at the port of Mombasa, it was pulled aside by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). Up until recently, we had no major issues clearing the port and moving inland, via truck, to the Ugandan capital of Kampala. This time, however, the PSO's shipping agent was told that the KRA had determined that our shipment was mischaracterized on the bill of lading-the critical shipping document-and that we would be fined, held responsible for the costs of unloading and verifying contents, and charged for storage. The alleged issue was that the KRA considered the bikes to be 'assembled', and not 'semi-disassembled', as we have consistently stated on our shipping documents.

May shipment of BfW bikes in Ghana

Upon learning of the problem from our local partner, PSO, we responded that the KRA position was in error, that our bikes-with their pedals removed, their handlebars turned and rotated, seats down, and sometimes with wheels removed-were indeed 'semi-disassembled' as stated on the bill of lading, and that neither we nor the consignee were responsible for any costs incurred. "Try and ride one of our compacted bikes!" If they were not ride-able, they were surely not assembled.

BfW shipment of bikes arriving in Colombia

A few weeks later, we received the gratifying news that the KRA-which has inserted itself into a matter we considered best left to Ugandan authorities-had dropped the fine and associated charges, and the container had already proceeded on to Uganda.

After 150 shipments, going back to 2005, we have never yet 'lost' a container (and its contents) to abandonment and confiscation.

In large part, this is due to the commitment and competence of our receiving partners, who research import requirements, hire a freight agent, and move quickly to clear the container from port before storage costs begin to mount up. Another reason is that Bikes for the World commonly requires that its receiving partners pay a portion of direct costs ahead of time, making them 'invested' in the shipment and motivating follow up.

May BfW shipment to Village Bicycle Project, Ghana

Removing Pedals and Prejudices

Keith Oberg working with CFP in 2011

In addition to our work overseas, one of the aspects of our program at Bikes for the World that we are most proud of is the community service projects we create right here in DC. We work with Eagle Scout candidates, Rotary clubs, school groups, companies...just about all walks of life.

But it's groups like the recent one that came out to help load at Lorton that really cause us to pause and realize the scope of benefit Bikes for the World generates from our work. Loadings are a great Team Building activity we offer to a variety of groups. Team-building with Bikes for the World is a powerful way to unite a group that also offers a sense of accomplishment and greater good. Develop communication skills, build confidence, and identify weaknesses all while providing life altering transportation to remote villages across the globe.


Cyprus youth teams coming together

Meet the Cyprus Friendship Program (CFP). For several years CFP has been partnering with BfW every summer to help load bikes to ship overseas to transform lives. What is important to note, however, is how this activity is transforming their own lives.

The Cyprus Friendship Program offers a unique experience for teens living amongst the prejudices of the deeply divided Greek Cypriot-Turkish Cypriot island of Cyprus. The goal is to introduce both sides to each other and help them recognize commonalities while dispelling a hatred that spans almost 40 years since its civil war.

CFP takes teens from both sides of the divide and partners them together in a year long program that teaches them how to work together. This program is proof that peace IS possible and offers inspiration and hope to the island of Cyprus.

During the summer, the Cypriot youth pairs are hosted by American families for the month of July to further promote friendship and understanding among these two divided groups. The hope is to provide a model elsewhere in the Middle East.

It's about more than just a bike

The youth pairs are sent to 6 different areas in the US, two of which are right here in the DC area. BfW Board Member, Tom McCarthy, has been bringing a Cypriot group of about 20 teens to help BfW load containers and process bikes for shipping for several years now.

 "Before we give the several pairs in the DC area training in Conflict Resolution and Peace Building, it's important to further break down their caution about the teens from the other side and build them into a team. The Bikes for the World experience has been perfect for this. It allowed the teens to spend the better part of a day achieving the goal of loading a shipping container together," said McCarthy, who is also a CFP Maryland/DC Coordinator.

“….you are doing one of the best jobs in the world. You are helping, sending bikes to people that you don’t know who they are…” Halil Leelener, participant, Cyprus Friendship Program

“Thank you so much for organizing Bikes for the World and being just awesome.” ‘Buse’, Cyprus Friendship Program

“You were so patient with us, you taught us a lot of useful skills and also you were fun to speak with.” Kyriacos, Cyprus Friendship Program 2012

Watch a 2010 video from the CFP highlighting the program and all the team building activities:

From DC to Kampala

Pilgrims Rest Baptist Church Collection

On Saturday May 5th Pilgrims Rest Baptist Church held its first bike collection with Bikes for the World. By the time BfW arrived first thing in the morning they were already wheeling out close to 30 or more bikes they had collected the previous week! They had them lined up and ready to be processed.

We had a great group of volunteers who came out to pitch in and help with the collection. But let me tell you, the ladies of Pilgrims Rest are not afraid to get greasy! Everyone there picked up a tool at some point and helped prepare the bikes for our next shipment, which just happened to be next week (TODAY!).

This is what we love to see...an entire group or congregation coming together to contribute to the success of one common goal, in this case a first time collection with Bikes for the World. So they collected the bikes AND loaded them on the container for Africa!

 This isn't the first service project Pilgrims Rest has tackled either! They old us about the houses they helped build in Haiti after the earthquake and financial training they provided in Africa. They were quite excited to share the next mission trip to South Africa they are planning for next year as well.
Financial training is one thing BfW is proud to say one of our partners in Africa holds in high regards. Bicycling Empowerment Network Namibia provides business training right along with the donation of bicycles. And you might know one of our latest shipments was heading to this very project.

 BEN Namibia creates these 'Bicycle Empowerment Centres' which are basically the same containers we pack with bicycles. These BECs contain around 300 bicycles and spare parts and tools. They are delivered to communities where the BECs act as basically, bike shops. The bikes are reconditioned and sold and the BEC becomes a small local business. BEN Namibia trains the locals not only in mechanics but also in how to run a business to ensure its success.

You can read more about BEN Namibia on their web page or ours. For now let's get back to Pilgrims Rest and better yet, the container we loaded today for Uganda.

And this is why we are talking about Pilgrims Rest! Some of the group we worked with last weekend came back out THIS weekend, this time to our Lorton storage facility, where we were loading for Uganda.

It was so great to have this group come out with us after a collection the previous weekend. They were able to see how their work adds to a larger project and see why it was so important to process the bikes like we request. Oh and they also got to place some of the very same bicycles that were donated at their collection into the container today.

After leaving Lorton later today the bikes in this container will head to Baltimore where they will be loaded onto a ship and set sail for Uganda. Because of its location in Africa shipping here is actually a several step process and therefore longer and more expensive than some of the other places we ship.

But we feel this project with the Prisoner's Support Organization is doing a lot of good and therefore ship several containers there throughout the year. Bicycles delivered through PSO have helped homemakers get to and from market so they can buy necessary food and supplies for their families. The bikes have helped workers increase reach in the markets therefore increasing sales. Some new bike owners use them to see AIDS patients decreasing the amount of time it takes to travel long distances making it possible to see many more patients. The Hormisddallen School also purchases kids bikes from PSO for sporting events with the students.

Uganda shipment leaving Lorton

Send In The Bikes

BfW space in Lorton Gymnasium

Lorton is ready. Bikes for the World staff and dedicated volunteers spent the week preparing our Lorton storage area for the big shipment of bikes expected this next week from Dick's Sporting Goods. I for one, have never seen the gym look this nice! The bikes are stacked and the floor is swept.

Word on the street is there are TONS of bikes heading this way from the week long promotion at DSG, with the first truck slated to arrive on Monday morning. The official total? 3,660! There's a total of about 8 trailers heading this way filled with bikes; have I mentioned we need help next week? Call the office for times (they vary from day to day, but we could get a truckload every day next week!). One load of bikes is actually going to our sister organization Working Bikes in Chicago who will help us load and ship more bikes overseas.

Meanwhile back at Lorton, we never stop. The loading for the Prisoners Support Organization in Uganda is underway. When I left, dedicated volunteers like Phil Ruth, Fred Schuyler, Bob Evans, and Peter Berty were hard at work rolling bikes onto the mostly empty trailer. You can see Phil here on the left with Keith packing the first row of bikes and filling in space with tiny bikes and tubes and parts.

Also never resting, are our bike collections. We have two tomorrow: one at Bishop O'Connell HS and one in Waldorf with Waldorf Kiwanis. So if you donate a bike at one of these two sites tomorrow there is a high chance it could end up in this trailer and be in Uganda Africa by next month!

Okay, to recap...we are busy packing about 500 bikes into the trailer above. Starting Monday, trailers will start arriving each carrying about 350 bikes, totalling maybe 10 truckloads. We need to unload these trucks in two hours or less and get ready for the next one. We will be separating and organizing these bikes as they come in so they are ready for the next loading at Lorton, which I feel compelled to point out will be long overdue by week's end when we refill the gym with over 3,000 bikes!

Phil Ruth

We are expecting a great crew of folks to come out and help...but there is always room for one more! And I hate to point out the obvious, but with Phil amongst our ranks, we have plenty of clowns! SEND IN THE BIKES! We. Are. Ready.

If you've never met this character Phil (only heard about him) you really need to come out this week to at least meet him. For years he has been representing BfW in Western Maryland. He's been supporting collections, picking up bikes at shops, pushing bikes in containers (yes, that's him sitting on his butt with the bikes, a huge smile on his face!), and even turning in our scrap metal for recycling.

 I heard a rumor (ugly, ugly rumor) he might be moving soon so I'm taking a second to give a shout out to one of our hardest working, most dedicated volunteers. If you've worked with him...you already know! Thanks Phil!!

Going Social!

One of the things that makes Bikes for the Philippines so darn cool is how connected they are to social media. This allows us here in DC to peep in on the project daily through their Facebook page. Before I even stepped foot on the island I felt like I had friends in the Philippines. It made my first trip overseas just that much easier.

Here at Bikes for the World we are finding more and more that the web is the place to be! When Collection Managers are trying to advertise for a bike collection personal emails to friends and listservs tend to pull the most people to collections anymore. And Facebook is the best place to invite friends to an event or even share photos after the collection. If you haven't already LIKED US...you should!

In fact, while I was in Manila and Bohol I was uploading photos from that same day's activities right there to our facebook page. And back here in DC I was able to practically watch as the same group of students I had just met and ridden with were graduating from Baclayon National High School.

Some of the BfP bike beneficiaries have already graduated

It seems almost fitting that Bikes for the World is preparing to receive over 3,500 bicycles from last week's promotion at Dick's Sporting Goods this week. While I was in Manila in February, we received the initial email contact from DSG's marketing firm inquiring about a possible partnership this spring. Through the magic of the internet I was able to respond to that email via our virtual office as well as inform Keith of this opportunity while he was also off in some '-Istan' country (I wasn't even sure which one at the time!).

Fast forward to today. Volunteers have been busy all week preparing our Lorton storage site for the arrival of these bikes. Starting today, tractor trailers will be delivering the bikes Dick's Sporting Goods collected during their Trade In Trade Up Promotion.

Think about what 3,500 bikes means to us... We typically ship about 500 bikes per container. That's SEVEN loads of bikes heading overseas from just 'one' collection. Okay, it was a NATIONWIDE collection, but how cool is that? For one whole week, 481 Dick's Sporting Goods Stores from Florida to Washington collected bikes now being donated to Bikes for the World.

Mama Alex

And those bikes might be heading overseas as early as Saturday! This Saturday May 12th we are loading a container heading to the Prisoner's Support Organization in Uganda. You can read more about Mama Alex (seen here to the right) and other beneficiaries on our web page. You can also read more about the PSO and find other links on our web page.

And while you are there...check out the volunteer page. We need your help unloading all these bikes! You can find directions to our Lorton site and contact information on who to call to sign up. Hope to see you out there this week!