The Facts
A bicycle, one of the simplest transport technologies, is affordable and can be maintained anywhere in the world with minimal tools and spare parts. Yet for millions of low income people, a new bicycle is financially out of reach. Meanwhile, in the western world we discard thousands of bicycles each year.
When a bicycle is donated, the possibilities are endless and the math becomes simple. In the hands of a healthcare worker, they can cover four times the ground than otherwise on foot. This translates into four times the number of patient visits and four times the number of medication disbursements. Bicycles for Humanity helps fulfill a basic need: to provide a distribution vehicle for improved healthcare for those too remote from formalized healthcare facilities. But it doesn’t stop there. Why bikes?
- A healthcare worker visits 3 to 4 times the number of clients with a bicycle compared to walking.
- Girls are 70 percent more likely to attend school if their household owns a bicycle.
- 5km on foot = 1 hour / 5km by bicycle = 20 minutes.
- A bicycle carries up to 5 times the load compared with a person walking.
Bicycles for Humanity works at the grassroots level to ensure that disadvantaged people are empowered through improved mobility and access to food and water, employment, healthcare, education and social opportunities. Our basic vision is to provide mobility and economic empowerment for Africa.