there for children.

Bike to School – Swiss bicycles open up educational opportunities in Tanzania

Many thanks for your support, which meant we were able to complete the project successfully.

Project SummaryThe Bike to School project enables ten schoolchildren in Tanzania to travel to school more quickly and safely thanks to recycled Swiss bicycles. Improved access to school enhances educational opportunities and makes a sustainable contribution to poverty reduction and climate protection.

Background

One in five children worldwide has no access to education. A key obstacle to school attendance is distance, especially in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Many children have to walk for hours every day – often in the early hours of the morning – which leads to exhaustion, tardiness and school dropouts. Girls are also exposed to assault and harassment, which makes them particularly vulnerable on their way to school.

Idea

Thanks to Swiss recycled bicycles, schoolchildren in Tanzania have better access to education. The bicycles lead to higher attendance rates, give children more time to learn and help them stay in school until graduation. Successful completion of school opens up more opportunities for them after graduation, and the bicycles can make a big difference, especially in families affected by generational poverty.

Implementation

Thanks to your donation, ten recycled Swiss bicycles can be repaired and distributed at a reduced price to ten students who have a long journey to school. Velafrica has been collecting disused bicycles in Switzerland since 1993, having them repaired in social institutions and exporting them to partner companies in seven African countries. The ‘Bike to School’ programme ensures that children and young people from poor, often rural backgrounds receive a bicycle at a reduced price. Velafrica works with local partners and schools in Tanzania and Madagascar to ensure that the distribution of bicycles is fair and transparent, and has already been able to give bicycles to over 6,000 schoolchildren. To ensure that the bicycles remain in use for a long time, the pupils are taught how to carry out minor repairs themselves. For more extensive repairs, trained bicycle mechanics visit the schools on a regular basis.

Initiators

Velafrica, a non-profit organisation based in Bern, has been collecting unused bicycles since 1993 and exporting them to various countries in Africa. In Tanzania, Velafrica works with ABC Impact, a non-profit partner organisation based in Arusha, and Vijana Bicycle Centre, a bicycle repair shop and training centre in Nshamba. Thanks to these long-standing, close partnerships, Velafrica has been distributing discounted bicycles to children from disadvantaged families in Tanzania for the past five years.

There are no updates available

Swiss Resilience Hub AG	330,00 CHF
Christa Hofmann	250,00 CHF
Fabian Kuratle	120,00 CHF
Angelo Pallavicini	300,00 CHF
Piero Bianchi	100,00 CHF
Regula Rohrbach	100,00 CHF
Vermittelt durch Swisscom	205,00 CHF
Anonymous	375,00 CHF
Yvonne Imholz	75,00 CHF

Currently, there are still no project partners if you are interested, please contact us via info@there-for-you.com.

Status of the project

1'855,00 CHF

1'850,00 CHF

We will send the donation receipt (for Switzerland) in January of the following year.

Major donor

Project supported by Swisscom

Impact analysis by there for you specialists

The project impresses with its simplicity and high effectiveness: with minimal resources, it makes a direct, measurable contribution to educational equality and sustainable mobility. The combination of recycling, social integration and educational opportunities has a double effect along the entire value chain. The long-term approach is particularly positive – repair training and local workshops ensure that the impact is sustained over many years, while also promoting personal responsibility and local expertise.