Village Bicycle Project
One of our oldest partners and actually one of the driving forces behind our team’s foundation, Village Bicycle Project is an amazing organisation that has been working tirelessly to improve and empower local communities in west Africa through cycling since it was founded by former peace corps volunteer, David Peckham, in 1999.
As of the end of 2022, the company has directly helped the lives of over 200,000 people in Sierra Leone and Ghana by providing bikes and equipment to those that need it most. Many villages in west Africa now have trained bicycle mechanics and effective tools thanks to the project’s wealth of supportive programs’.
The Village Bicycle Project has also worked hard to improve education surrounding cycling by teaching thousands of local people how to maintain their bikes for years to come. With a view towards sustainability, it is hoped that in the future the whole of west Africa will be using bikes as their primary mode of transportation.
One of the major focusses of the project is to get more women and girls cycling. Gender inequalities have prevented female members of the community from accessing bikes for many years however, since its work began over 4,000 women have been taught how to ride a bike. Having this vital skill now allows them to undertake daily tasks like collecting water much more easily than they previously could.
The Village Bicycle Project relies on donations to keep up its fantastic work. If you want to get involved with their exciting adventure then visit the Village Bicycle Project website to donate for yourself. You can also drop them a follow on Facebook to keep up to date with their work across west Africa.
We are sincerely grateful for the invaluable support that the Village Bicycle Project team have given us here in Sierra Leone.
