Cycle Recycle Canada

Tiverton, Canada. Bikes for the World has been shipping bikes internationally since we began in 2005. July, however, marks a first:  even the loading itself was done outside the US!

Our latest container destined for Bicycling Empowerment Network South Africa (BEN SA) shipped from Canada last week. A group of Lions Club members based in Tiverton, spearheaded this effort collecting donated bikes around the region and pulling together teamwork from half a dozen Lions Clubs.

Cycle Recycle was the brainchild of outgoing Governor Hank VanMoorsel who created the project last year in hopes of shipping a container of bikes to Africa. When he contacted Bikes for the World for advice, we offered up more than that. We gave him Bob.

Bob Evans was a valuable part of Bikes for the World until he relocated to Canada. He was very knowledgeable of our program, where to find bikes, how to pack containers, basically all aspects of our operation. He was a 'go-to' guy whenever we needed a good mentor for volunteers. He would be a perfect fit for this group...and he was nearby!

Clearly Bob is a great mentor, just check the results. He walked this Canadian group through our bike processing procedure that enables us to pack bikes tightly in the container avoiding damage by preventing them from shifting during transport. It also allows us to load more bikes into the truck making the shipment even more valuable to our partners.

The Lions Club packed 497 bikes into this trailer in just under 5 hours. The group opted for a 'live load' meaning they had one day to complete it, at a savings of half the cost. Given their distance inland it made more sense to beat the heat and get it done as quickly as possible.

Nate and Dave in BfW warehouse in VA

Arlington, Virginia, USA. Just as we do in Virginia, this Canadian donated container included bikes, parts, and tires. Equally important as the bikes themselves, spare parts will help mechanics get the donated bikes back in working order once they arrive in South Africa.

In our warehouse in Virginia, our volunteer mechanics strip usable parts off our marginal frames so that we can include them in the nooks and crannies the bikes form in the container once they are packed tight. With these spare parts, mechanics overseas can repair the bikes and keep them rolling for years to come.

Morgan is a mechanic in Cape Town

Masiphumelele, Cape Town, South Africa. The model of BEN South Africa is to train locals in business and mechanics so that they can set up their own remote bike shops that will serve their communities and provide for their families. In their 'spare time' BEN SA works closely with youth to ensure they are familiar with safe riding skills and with adults to encourage more bike use around Cape Town.

"Morgan" Solomon Chikumba is a mechanic that came through the BEN training program. He now owns his own shop called a BEC, Bicycle Empowerment Centre, in Masiphumelele (meaning we will succeed). He will make use of those spare parts to fix donated bikes for his neighbors who use them for work. Morgan, himself, now uses his bike for work and errands, saving a ton of money on taxi service.

When asked what he learned from BEN Morgan replied, "I learn a lot especially communication and understanding to the customers." He goes on to say the relationship between BEN and the BECs is like a family and its existence is an important part of their community.

In the photo above Morgan explains the brakes and gears to a customer, something every bike owner wants: a good mechanic that listens to our concerns and helps us understand how to care for our bikes. Success indeed.

Promoting Local Business

Rita Putebil Courtesy Jason Finch

Continuing our series on Village Bicycle Project (VBP) today we focus on the advanced mechanic class. Last year we introduced you to Rita Putebil, an 18 year old student who participated in the advanced class in Laabissi.

During training she asked questions and volunteered for every demonstration. She impressed the training team so much they stayed an extra day to show her further skills like pulling cranks and adjusting hub assemblies. VBP gifted her a set of tools and she is now maintaining the bikes in Laabissi.

Newly trained mechanics in Biama

Just last month VBP returned to the field traveling to three villages in the Brong-Ahafo Region. With the support of Re~Cycle VBP carried with them 260 bikes and 800 tools that would be distributed among participants in their workshops.

During the one-day workshops new bike owners learn every day maintenance and simple skills like how to fix a flat. People who have taken this class in the past are invited back for a more advanced mechanics class when the team returns. Some participants received their bikes over four years ago.

Local supply shop

Many local bike parts and supplies are very expensive, some hard to come by. Tubes and tires made for the American market are often of a higher quality rubber that they are preferred even used over the new tubes available in Africa.

This is why your donated parts, tubes, and tires are so important to Bikes for the World. We pass those on, packing them under cranks and between frames when we ship a container to Africa. VBP then ferries them across Ghana and into the local markets where your donated bikes end up.

New bike owners are taught only the basic upkeep of a bike in the one-day workshop. VBP trainers then pass along the local mechanic's contact information and encourage bike owners to visit them for the more extensive repairs. Promoting local business and mechanics is a high priority in the program.

Biama mechanic Maxwell

In fact during the recent visit to Biama, VBP trainers sought out the known local mechanic to invite him to the classes. They found Maxwell who was eager to participate.

Maxwell helped the trainers in class and then received further training that will help him in his business. He learned how to extract cranks, break chains, and adjust hub assemblies, just like Rita from last year. VBP also gifted him with a set of tools and promoted his business throughout the classes.

Biama, by the way, is known as 'the place where nobody will go'. Village Bicycle Project went, they taught, they conquered the complex workings of the bicycle and passed that knowledge on to keep your old bike rolling and in good shape. In case you were wondering, the 'rust' color in the photo above in not actual rust, it's Ghanaian dirt.

Giving Life To Your Old Bike

The last edition of our three part series on our beneficiaries in Kenya will focus on mechanics. Wheels of Africa teamed up with BfW partner BEN Namibia (BENN) to borrow their very successful BEC (Bicycle Empowerment Centre) model to set up shops that are accessible to everyone.

When bikes arrive in the container, they are in various stages of disrepair. They may merely need the pedals reattached, they will likely need a derailleur adjustment, but they might require a lot more maintenance, which is why they were donated in the first place.

In order for a bike organization to be sustainable and ultimately be chosen as a Bikes for the World partner, there has to be a plan in place for not only repairing the bicycles donated by us, but a method for maintaining them in the future.

BENN's BEC model is ideal because it trains and employs skilled local talent to become successful bike shop owners and mechanics. It also makes use of the bikes and parts donated by groups like Bikes for the World.

BEC owner Michael Otieno

BENN sent their most skilled mechanics to Kenya to help Wheels of Africa get this program started. Michael Otieno was trained in the Wheels of Africa program modeled after the original BECs of Namibia.

Mike receives bikes and spare parts through WOA. He will not only reassemble your old bikes but he will make sure they keep running for years to come. He also underwent specific entrepreneurial business training through the program to ensure his bike shop business remains successful.

Ousman Okoth

Ousman Okoth is a recent 'graduate' of the program and just established his own BEC. Both Mike and Ousman are training other youths to be mechanics and as well as successful BEC owners.

The BECs are situated in the suburbs of Nairobi. They are able to reach more remote villagers who are in need of affordable transportation to get to and from the city center for work, school, or health services. Mike and Ousman will not only get bikes into deserving hands but make sure those bikes keep working. They have apprenticeships that will help turn more Kenyans into skilled mechanics serving the communities where they live.

Bikes for the World is making an effort to increase the amount of spare parts we collect so that we are able to increase the value of our bike shipments by adding parts into every bit of space possible.

Recent partnerships with DC's Capital Bikeshare and NY's Citi Bike have brought cases of used parts, tubes, and tires into our warehouse that are in turn being shipped to support remote bike shops around the world.