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

Taking The LEED To Save The Environment and Change The World

What a difference a bike makes. One bike can change one life, and often times it doesn't stop there. Overseas, a bicycle is a ticket to work, school, or healthcare, but what we've seen at Bikes for the World is it changes lives in so many different ways. Really, one bike can change an entire village.

Courtesy BENN

For example these young children in Namibia are being fed through the Catholic AIDS Action soup kitchen. That soup kitchen is, in part, being funded with proceeds from the Omaruru BEC, a local Bicycle Empowerment Centre. These Centres are essentially remote bike shops set up by BfW partner Bicycling Empowerment Network (BEN).

BEN trains local Namibians in both bicycle mechanics and business so that they are able to run their own locally run bicycle shops. Often the shops are no more than a used shipping container, just like we pack our bikes into when we ship them overseas.

Shop owners then come to a centrally locally BEN facility to purchase bikes and parts at low cost to take back to their bike shops for neighboring villagers. Mechanics then make sure the bikes are kept in good working order. Many BEC owners turn around and put the money they make back into the community, such as feeding orphans through a community organization.

For the second year in a row, Bikes for the World has partnered with national retailer DICK'S Sporting Goods( DSG) to take part in their annual Trade-In Trade-Up sale. The sale, which took place in early May, encourages bike owners to bring in their old rides to upgrade to newer models and hopefully get them out riding more. The owners, in turn, receive money off a new bike at DICK'S.

Better yet, DICK'S turns around and donates all the bikes received through this promotion to Bikes for the World where they end up changing lives. Thousands of lives are made better through this one promotion alone. A true testament to the value of reuse.

David Johnston from DICK'S joined us

Last year DICK'S donated over 4,000 bikes to Bikes for the World. As late as earlier this year, we were still shipping some of those bikes to our international partners. Each one changing ONE life, ONE family, perhaps one COMMUNITY.

A few weeks ago we started receiving shipments from this year's sale. We are expecting over 5,000 bikes to come into our new Pentagon City warehouse by the middle of June. We were honored to have DICK'S Marketing Director, David Johnston drive down from Pittsburgh to check out our operations.

Thanks to Vornado, our generous landlord, we currently have TWO warehouses in Arlington, blocks away from the Metro yellow/blue lines. (no excuses for you to not come down to help pack a container!) Not only do we LOVE this location, but it is truly making this year's DSG shipments smooth, not to mention POSSIBLE. We have electric, a dock, and plenty of room to store bikes.

Vornado is committed to sustainability and green living. We are extremely proud to have them join us in this massive effort. According to their website,
Vornado is the single largest owner of LEED certified buildings in the Washington Metropolitan Region. They are an active member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and committed to LEED certification in all new developments and in their existing buildings. As of 2012, Vornado/Charles E. Smith achieved LEED certification at 40 buildings, which total over 12.5 million square feet.

The partnership between Bikes for the World, DICK'S Sporting Goods, and indirectly, Vornado is making possible the delivery of over 5,000 bikes to about a dozen international partners in the next two months. This is over one third of our typical annual bike donations. It is making good use of a bicycle no longer used or under used, hopefully getting someone here out on a new bicycle, and helping someone overseas live a better life. Visit Bikes for the World to find out more or to find out how you can help!

Mechanics Make A Bike Work

Bikes from DICK'S 2013 Trade In Trade Up Sale

Bikes for the World receives over 10,000 bikes every year as donations that we in turn mostly send overseas. We often hear, "how do you get so many bikes??" The truth is, they are right here in our backyard. Last year we collected and shipped about 13,500 bikes with 4,000+ coming from a national partnership with DICK'S Sporting Goods.

We are happy to announce a second annual Trade In-Trade Up promotion with DICK'S is bringing us over 5,000 bikes this spring. But that still means our local community groups and bike shops are turning in 10,000 bikes collected mostly in the DC area.

Some of these bikes are taken in for repairs and the owners decide for one reason or another to donate them rather than fix them. Many donors cite the greatness of our program and their ability to buy another bike as their motive.

Others find out how expensive bike repairs in America can be and opt to simply buy another bike. For example a safety check including minor adjustments will run a patron an average of $50, while a thorough tune up could cost as much as $200 not including the price of any parts that need to be replaced.

Depending on the type of bike, model, and component system, this is really not that expensive. And if a bike is kept properly maintained and cleaned it will run great for years. But for some bike owners looking across the aisle at a brand new bike price of $200-350 the choice is simple...especially with the added incentive of donating an old bike to change someone's life overseas.

Courtesy Village Bicycle Project

The cost of labor here in America is one of the reasons we ship our bikes 'as is' to our partners overseas. But it's really a minor reason. Because of the way we ship our bikes, so tightly together and partially disassembled, bike mechanics are an integral part of the receiving organization.

Many of our partners train local people to be bike mechanics.They, then, reassemble our bikes and maintain them for years for their new owners, creating jobs and increasing incomes for their own families. This supports one of our main missions, generating skilled employment.

Courtesy St. Louis Bicycle Works

However, every now and again, we find an amazing program doing great things right here in our own American communities. Meet the men of Marion, who are working in a bike mechanics program established by Bikes for the World's newest U.S. partner, St. Louis Bicycle Works. These inmates were trained by St. Louis Bicycle Works and work on bikes instead of working out in the gym or watching TV.

The bikes they refurbish are going back into the program in St. Louis where they support an Earn-a-Bike program with area youth or they are shipped overseas to similar projects we support. The inmates have, to date, given back thousands of bikes to this program and overall describe the program as very rewarding. Continue reading about this 3 year old project in Illinois.

Courtesy St. Louis Bicycle Works

June 1, 2013 Bikes for the World sent Nick Colombo to St. Louis to help Bicycle Works load and ship their very first container. For the past 5-6 years Bicycle Works has been sending bikes to our sister organization Working Bikes in Chicago who has been shipping containers for them.

The container packed this weekend as an Eagle scout project will be heading to our partner CESTA in El Salvador. In just under 6 hours, with the help of 25 volunteers, they packed about 500 bikes in this trailer under the expert guidance of Nick. Included in the shipment are about 20 bikes from the Marion Federal Penitentiary program.

This relationship is another step toward one of our current priorities at Bikes for the World which is to increase our national presence. Congratulations to everyone involved...including one Eagle candidate, Ben O'Brien, who contacted us last year to do his Eagle project with Bikes for the World. Working out of Kentucky, we were able to connect Ben with Bicycle Works and the bikes he collected were also included in this recent shipment.

Students Gear Up For College

Graduates of Baclayon National High School

Congratulations to the first batch of beneficiaries to graduate from Baclayon National High School. Bikes for the Philippines was established to help keep students who live a great distance from school from dropping out by supplying them with transportation to school. Every single fourth year student loaned a bike last year through this program earned it by graduating high school!

Cristy Joy Razo and Eunice Faith Pude

Not only did all the 'seniors' graduate, but two students in the bike program just left for college the weekend of May 25-26 2013. Through the Passerelles numériques(PN) program two of our bike beneficiaries were awarded scholarships to attend the University of San Carlos in Cebu.

Cristy Joy Razo and Eunice Faith Pude, seen here with BNHS Principal Elvira Jabonillo, were both awarded a PN scholarship to attend university and earn a degree in IT. Room, board, and tuition will all be paid for by PN.

Through education, Passerelles numériques enables the most underprivileged young people to access employment in the promising sector of computer technology and break the cycle of poverty within their families.

Cristy Joy Razo

Bikes for the World was founded by Keith Oberg in 2005 after he saw first hand the effects the lack of transportation had on countless families and an entire community. Whether it be for school, work, or heath care, making bikes available to underprivileged people was a high priority.

 Enter Joel Uichico, founder of Bikes for the Philippines. He also saw a need to bring bicycles to the Philippines to not only keep adolescents enrolled in school, but also to bring to them a better way of life. So Oberg and Uichico eventually joined forces to bring to these students affordable (FREE!) bicycles in hopes of keeping them in school, giving them the means to a better education, and giving them hope for the future.

Bikes for the World simply delivered a container of bicycles to a project. It was the educators in the system that delivered an amazing program. And the students just plain delivered. They took an interest in the program, respected the initiative, and gave us exactly the results we were looking for.

Eunice Pude

Eunice Pude received this Magna through the Bikes for Philippines Bikes for Education program early in 2011 in the pilot program introduced in her high school in Baclayon. Students were chosen for the program in part due to their distance from the high school, which officials were noticing played an important part in why the drop out rate was so significant.

Eunice, in fact, probably lived the furthest from the school at 7km, making her round trip commute over 8 miles a day! Despite the rocky terrain and steep hills she had to climb, she mastered the bike and was able to save a ton of time riding to school instead of walking.

Eunice and Cristy Joy...with Joe in the background

Teachers reported students having more energy in class, were better prepared, arrived on time, and stayed more alert throughout the day after receiving their bikes. Some of the quieter students even gained more confidence once they entered the bike program.

Congratulations again to Eunice Pude, Cristy Joy Razo, and all the bike beneficiaries in the Philippines education program. The second project in a neighboring community of Maribojoc is about to launch with bikes already delivered by Bikes for the World. We hope Cristy and Eunice serve as role models to all the students and show them there is room to dream for a bigger future. Many of these students have never left the island of Bohol. Cristy and Eunice are currently in Cebu with the rest of the 2016 class orienting themselves to a new lifestyle, new friends, and brand new plans for their futures.And we hope they decided to take their bikes!

Courtesy PN and Marie Serreau

Paying It Forward

TERRIFIC awardees with the Mayor of Rockville

Congratulations to all the Rockville students who earned bikes this year through the City of Rockville's TERRIFIC program. Any student in Rockville has the opportunity to complete a series of tasks that in turn earns them a refurbished bicycle through Bikes for the World. The students are awarded a certificate, get their pictures taken with Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio, and finally come out to King Farm to pick out new bikes.

Jordan Alpay poses with his new bike

Bikes for the World has been participating in the project for a few years now. The bikes are refurbished by our mechanic Nick Colombo and come from the huge stash donated at King Farm, where we have one of our main storage areas.

Participants complete six or more good deeds such as reading a book to someone who can't read themselves, trash clean up, sitting with an elderly person...one student even stuck up for a student who was being bullied.

Selected kids then come out and get to test ride a nice selection of bikes before choosing one to take home. Students who earned a bike also received a helmet, courtesy of Montgomery Fire and Rescue.

Ashley Thommana donated her old bike

Any student is eligible to participate and they can come back and try again next year...kids do outgrow their bikes pretty quickly, which parents know can be expensive.

The cool thing about this program is it introduces the students to Bikes for the World and the importance of taking care of your bike so you can donate it back to help another kid possibly learn how to ride or get to school.

And that's just what Ashley Thommana did. When she came to pick out a new bike, she brought her old one with her and donated it to Bikes for the World!

Chaula Butterworth's daughters have all participated in the program and she notes the life lessons involved with every aspect of earning the bike:

"This is our third year participating in your program and the girls have enjoyed it immensely. They take pride in doing the tasks necessary for earning the bikes, in getting recognized by the Mayor and council, and in donating one of our current bikes to a child at school who doesn't have a bike. They have learned the joy that comes from sharing something special (their bikes) with someone who can't afford such a luxury." Chaula Butterworth

Gabrielle Nadler donated her earned bike

Gabrielle Nadler, who just turned 10, Happy Birthday Gabrielle! got a new bike for her last birthday, but she still wanted to participate in the program. She has donated toys and clothes to charity before and she thought it would be a great idea to donate a bike. I like this girl's thinking! Her mom Marcie confirmed that if she was selected to receive a bike that she could donate it to someone else in the program:

"Gabrielle liked this idea and went full speed ahead completing all the tasks that needed to be completed. This has truly been a great life lesson for her in learning that it is better to give than to receive. She loved the fact that she was presented with a certificate from the mayor, but is very happy and proud that another child will have a new bike this spring." Marcie Nadler

A Different Kind of Charity Ride

Yvette Hess with FreeBike co-founder Johan Bender

Bikes for the World has a new partner in Southern California. It's a unique partner for BfW since it's sort of a bike rental company for college students. But not really. First of all, it's FREE. And these students aren't your average bike riders.

The FreeBike Project offers free wheels to students, traveling 'billboards' for local businesses, and a 'vehicle' for change to students abroad. Let me break that down.

The pilot project began on the campus of the University of Southern California. Co-founders Johan Bender and Kim Sanderhoff thought up this unique bike leasing project that pairs students with businesses. Students get the use of a bike for the semester and businesses get seen around town, on facebook, twitter, pinterest...you're getting the idea.

Here's the bike. Looks a bit like it might have come from the streets of Copenhagen? Well, they do know bikes there. And Bender and Sanderhoff have Denmark roots and designed the bike themselves.

Each bike comes with a marketing placard in the main triangle of the bike. Businesses who sign on with FreeBike Project may get 3 or 300 bikes depending on their size. (They don't have any 300 sized clients...yet). The marketing campaign lasts the entire semester where the bike may be seen in person on campus, cruising nearby streets, or in student fired social media blasts.

Seen on USC campus with Johan and Kim

Students sign up, pay a 'holding fee' or 'security deposit', and get a bike to use all semester. The guys offer free maintenance and tons of incentives for posting the coolest pictures with the bikes.

It gives students a pair of wheels to get around campus and a unique way of supporting their favorite businesses. It also gives them a creative outlet to explore and define the future of online marketing...to a desired demographic the 18-25 age range. It's a great idea, right?

But wait! There's MORE. At the end of the semester they return the bike, get their money back, AND in turn send a bike to our Bikes for the Philippines project. That's exactly right, each FreeBike rider represents a new student rider in Bohol. How cool is that? Students love it, on both sides of the globe.

The FreeBike Project donates the cost of shipping one bike to Bikes for the World earmarked for Bikes for the Philippines for every single rider they have. At the end of this semester, that was 90 riders. And the riders (and businesses) take pride in the (little) effort it took to provide this ride to a student overseas, giving him or her the means to stay enrolled in school and graduate. Ride to class...change a life. That was easy.

The Wheels On The Bike Go Round And Round

Wolfie's Bike Train

May is Bike Month. Bike to Work, May 17th. Bike to School, May 8th. And the Vienna Bike/Walk Challenge is ON. This is the fifth year for the challenge amongst Vienna schools. It's a week long challenge (competition, you might say!) where schools encourage students to walk or bike to school.

And Wolftrap Elementary School is up to the challenge, what with their Nickelodeon famous Wolfie's Bike Train and all. This guy, Jeff Anderson, just sets out with his family riding to school and kids come from every corner to join him. It's pretty cool. (And as of Monday, Wolftrap had the most participants in the challenge!)

Anderson came up with a route to school that weaves through the neighborhoods picking up kids along the way. They just wait on the corner as if they are waiting for a bus. But they are on a bike and the bus passes them by. Then Anderson pulls up and moms come running after him to put backpacks and instruments in his trailer he pulls behind. Some of the parents even ride with the group to Wolftrap Elementary.

Today, May 6th, Bikes for the World was invited to ride along with the group. As the region was scattered with rain showers, this message came into the BfW World Headquarters:


630am update.  As of right now the bike train is running today Tuesday.   Weather looks bad later in the day but this AM looks to be cooperative.....  Fingers crossed.

 ...and the ride was on. About 30 bikes ended up in the bike racks today by the time the first bell rang. Some days the racks, donated by Bikes @ Vienna, are filled to capacity.

Kids got a brief introduction to Bikes for the World and a reminder that Wolfie's Bike Train is collecting bikes this week that will be given to people in need all over the world.

Cycling School Bus in the UK

This idea of a pedaling school bus is really catching on. We saw this update from our partner BEN in Namibia where a local German-language secondary school held the first 'cycling school bus' in Namibia  last month in April. The cycling school bus is a simple strategy adopted by many countries worldwide that gets kids to school safely and with a big smile on their faces. They gather at a meeting point near their homes, ride to school, and home again. Older learners can ride by themselves, while younger children can be supported by parents and teachers.

Bikes for the Philippines Education Program