I LOVE this idea- ingenius!
“Hand me that pedal wrench,” smiles Sandy Murray, wiping her brow while assembling one of 225 Kona AfricaBikes in 110-degree heat at a remote school in The Gambia’s up country village of Medina Wallom.
Murray, an emergency room nurse and Medical Teams International volunteer, and industrial hygienist Barbara Trenary have traveled to this West African country on multiple occasions for humanitarian work, but this year marked the beginning of an incredible ride.
What brought these Seattle women and a handful of volunteers all the way to The Gambia some 8,000 miles away? A chance to help break the cycle of illiteracy in Gambian girls.
How? By assembling hundreds of ultra durable Africa-specific bicycles for kids to use as transportation to school—thanks to fundraising efforts from local non-profit HopeFirst Foundation and Kona Basic Needs.
Sights Set on Gambian Girls
Surrounded by Senegal on the West African Coast (also known as the Smiling Coast), The Gambia is Africa’s smallest country with just over 4,000 square miles and a population of 1.66 million (World Health Statistics 2008). It’s ranked in the lowest 25% of world economies with over 60% of the population living below the poverty line (Integrated Household Survey 2003/04). The majority of Gambians live on less than $1-2 per day. The capital of Banjul offers some modern amenities, but once the black top ends, the villages that make up most of the country are without resources that the West takes for granted. Most lack water, food, healthcare, schools, and enterprise.
The Gambia suffers from some of the lowest literacy rates on the African continent with just over 60% literacy in young adult males and only 40% literacy in females (2003 Census Education Statistics Report). Education is available to all, in theory, but girls tend to be sent to school last and often drop out early due to financial hardship and the obligation to help at home—from countless hours of grain grinding and carrying water to finding firewood, caring for younger children and preparing food. These responsibilities, in addition to living far distances from middle and secondary schools, make attending and completing school extremely difficult (it’s not uncommon for schools to be 10–12 miles way from any given village).
“The girls’ chores are non-negotiable so it’s difficult to break the cycle; this is an integral part of their culture,” explains Murray. "But the girls in The Gambia have what it takes to succeed—the work ethic, the drive, the ability, and the smarts,” says Trenary. “They just lack the opportunity.”
“Studies show that once women are educated, they become the change makers in their own society,” explains Murray. “Our goal in The Gambia is to promote opportunity for women by removing barriers to the education of girls.”
The need was obvious. With no buses or public transit, transportation to school was the missing link for children who live too far to walk. Transportation could mean the chance to learn for all children—girls and boys alike.
“This program started in 2006 when Bicycling Magazine approached Kona to provide bikes for healthcare workers delivering HIV Antiviral drugs in Africa,” explains Russell Carty, Kona Basic Needs Project Director. “Our mission is to use Kona AfricaBikes to help provide transport, shelter, food and water to those with difficulty in attaining them.”
To date, Kona’s donated upwards of 3,500 AfricaBikes, 469 of which will reach Malawi, Rwanda, and The Gambia this year alone.
Kona’s AfricaBikes are made of durable steel with an integrated back rack and basket— designed for the conditions of riding African terrain. They are built with a single speed (no gearing) and simple pedal back foot breaks so that they’re low maintenance and easy to fix.
“The Kona AfricaBike is like a Land Rover,” grins the group’s Gambian driver, mechanic and local expert Alpha Jallow. “They’re sturdy and made to last forever, if you take care of them. Whoever designed these is a genius.”
The idea for two-wheeled student transportation resurfaced when Wallom Jallow, the village elder of Medina Wallom (with whom HopeFirst Foundation works on other projects), presented a proposal requesting over 100 bikes for area children to ride to school. His goal was to send more kids to school but the problem was getting them there. Assisting Gambians at the village level based on requests from village leaders, HopeFirst Foundation’s path to the next project was clear: Raise money, deliver, and build bikes for Gambian kids to pedal their way toward education, and ultimately a better life. Soon thereafter, the non-profit began a massive organizing and fundraising effort.
“Based on consultation with village elders and school headmasters, we knew the village schools had to control the distribution and maintenance of the bikes (versus individual ownership) in order for this to be a sustainable project,” explains Trenary. “Transparency is assured via local community committees who oversee the administration of the bike program.”
To qualify for the use of Kona AfricaBikes, each school submits applications for an equal numbers of girls and boys. Students must be at least 12 years old (big enough to ride these adult bikes) and live a minimum of 5 kilometers from school. Students are also required to deposit a small annual maintenance fee. The bicycles are distributed to the qualifying students at the beginning of the school year (recording serial numbers for accountability), returned at the end of the year, and securely stored for the summer.
“We have worked on projects with WWF in Tanzania and Peace Warriors in Kenya. When we heard of the HopeFirst project, we felt it really fit our goal of how Kona Africabikes can be used to make a difference while showing potential for taking an already successful program in an exciting new direction.”
Kona committed and the program had wheels. For every two bikes that HopeFirst Foundation raised funds, Kona donated a third. In total, 225 donated bikes made their way via container ship from the factory in Indonesia all the way to the port of Banjul in The Gambia, just in time to be trucked up country and built before the school year began.
“In the 11th hour our shipping donation fell through and Kona heroically stepped in to cover shipping costs. Kona went above and beyond their already huge commitment; they were instrumental in making this program a success,” explains Murray.
The Result
The smiles on each Gambian child’s face say more than words can describe. And the eight volunteers who built the bikes while experiencing a new culture, agree the reward of knowing you are helping kids get an education is immeasurable.
“For me, it’s all about helping create a better balance of resources,” describes volunteer Julie Cohen San Clemente. “Offering the bikes as a means for kids to learn was a great way to help spread those resources in an effort to make the world a more balanced place.”
The long-term results of this program are yet to be determined, but HopeFirst Foundation saw promising signs of success during the mere three weeks the group was in country.
“We’ve already seen a huge increase in the number of kids who want to attend school due to the bicycle program,” beams Murray. “And in the village of Jurunku, we actually witnessed village boys willingly teaching village girls how to ride a bike for the first time. The girls need the support of boys (and the support of their entire village) to make this program succeed, so this is a step in the right direction.”
“The last day [in Jurunku] goes down as one of the best days of my life,” Trenary adds. “These girls hunkered down to learn how to use tools and assemble the bikes. Then they hiked up their skirts, hopped on, and learned to ride, right in front of our eyes. Seeing their faces light up at the fact that these bikes were for them, and that they had the equal opportunity to use them to learn was nothing short of joyous. I’m so proud of these girls.”
It is just the beginning, but in a way, HopeFirst Foundation is using the bicycle as a vehicle for change in The Gambia. To help break the cycle of poverty also improves the health, welfare and economy of the whole nation.
How You Can Help
• Donate to HopeFirst Foundation
A small, hands-on non-profit, donors can see directly where their money goes. A minimum of 95% of donations goes straight to HopeFirst Foundation projects in the field.
• Volunteer to Travel with HopeFirst Foundation to The Gambia
send inquiries to sandym@hopefirst.org
• Volunteer to Travel with Kona on a BikeTown Africa Project
For more information on bike projects in other African countries, visit: http://moonshinemedia.co.za/BikeTown_Africa/Participate.html
• Buy a Limited Edition Kona AfricaBike T-Shirt at Alki Bike & Board. Shop owner and Kona dealer Stu Hennesey not only sells the unique men’s, women’s and kids’ tees at $25 each (all proceeds going to the program), he was a key component in teaching the HopeFirst Foundation crew how to assemble and repair Kona AfricaBikes before leaving for The Gambia. Hennesey also provided the group with discounted bike tools.
(About the Author)
Lori Hinton is a West Seattle-based freelance writer and author of West Seattle 101. Hinton has a passion for meaningful travel and visited The Gambia as one of eight volunteers who built Kona AfricaBikes with HopeFirst Foundation.
(Photo Credits)
Lori Hinton, www.hintoncreative.com, September 2010
Barbara Trenary, September 2010
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