village bicycle project 2000

["bill london" <bill_london@hotmail.com>]

Moscow resident Dave Peckham recently returned from Africa, after delivering 
both bicycles and bike repair training there.  He plans to expand his 
project next year.  Anyone who would like to continue to receive his email 
postings about the project should send that request to 
<bill_london@hotmail.com>.  BL>

>The Village Bicycle Project is gearing up for our continuing work in 
>Africa.  This trip will focus on materials delivery, (now that we 
>understand the needs), and network building.
>	Someone asked me recently how long it took to get over culture shock.  I'm 
>still reeling over the disparities of wealth.  In Ghana I saw people making 
>gravel by hand, pounding rocks with hammer and chisel, grateful to have an 
>income, earning perhaps a dollar a day.  How many mouths did they feed with 
>that dollar?
>	Here in the US it is staggering what we throw away, what we have to throw 
>away because we can't afford the labor costs to have it repaired.  In 
>Africa I spent several hours working with a man on his forty-year old bike, 
>a bike so twisted, bent and beat up I would have thrown it away immediately 
>here at home.  Instead we greased, cleaned and adjusted as best we could so 
>he could get another five years use from it.
>	The Village Bicycle Project addresses the huge poverty gap in its own very 
>small way.  Your recycled bikes find new lives in Africa, where over 99% of 
>the population cannot afford cars.  The tools and repair training we 
>provide increases Africa's ability to prolong the lives of their bikes.
>	Our project goals for 2000 are based on the work of 1999.  The seven goals 
>include:
>1. Used bikes from the USA-
>Recycling discarded but useable bikes, diverting them from the American 
>waste stream to a new useful life in Africa.  Partnering with the Bike 
>Youth Organization of Ghana, we will ship 350 bikes in a cargo container.
>
>2.  Bike repair training-
>Holding classes for young people in Ghana to learn bike repair skills, with 
>additional opportunities for them to earn bikes and tools. A teacher 
>training is included, to enable the establishment of on-going repair 
>classes.
>
>3. Adequate tools-
>Providing $1000 worth of specialized bike tools for mechanics and parts 
>dealers. Important tools include chain breakers, crank pullers, allen 
>wrenches, freewheel sockets, and plastic tire sticks.  Many bike mechanics 
>don't know that specialized tools exist, and rely on hammer and chisel to 
>remove and install parts.
>
>4. Village owner-repair workshops-
>Helping village bike owners learn and practice maintenance while repairing 
>their own bikes.  In remote areas parts and even basic tools are scarce.  
>VBP will tour remote villages of Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire by bicycle, 
>holding workshops in about 20 villages.
>
>5. Police Bike Patrol Training-
>Providing follow-up training of the Hohoe Ghana, District Bike Police who 
>received bikes and initial training from Bike Youth and VBP in 1999.  Bike 
>patrols are enormously successful in US and could serve as well or better 
>in Africa.
>
>6.   Sustainability-
>Continuing work with Ghanaian non-profit bike advocate groups Future In Our 
>Hands and Bike Youth in joint programs, assistance, and organizational 
>development. Improving networks and associations between mechanics, parts 
>dealers, importers, investors, bike owners, and local credit sources.  Meet 
>with education leaders to initiate bike repair training in trade schools.
>
>7. Pro-bike public policy-
>Bringing Ghanaian decision-makers together with pro-bike transportation 
>experts from the west to discuss improving conditions for bicycling, 
>including infrastructure, education, enforcement, and economics.  We are 
>trying to raise sponsorship for Ghana's Minister of Transport to attend the 
>world bicycle conference, Velo Mondial 2000 in Amsterdam in June.  The 
>experts may also meet with leaders of neighboring countries to discuss the 
>benefits of Ghana's pro-bike policies.
>
>	Over the summer I was able to setup an office in my home, with a donated 
>computer.  We've also located bike storage space, which now holds 50 bikes, 
>and room for many more, without actively collecting them.  Kevin Hamilton, 
>a local bike mechanic, will be joining me in Africa to work with the 
>project.  He has developed a brochure for the project, and will be 
>fundraising in his hometown in New York.
>
>Here at home, I am looking for groups to give my slide show presentation.  
>I'd be glad to share it with your organization, service group, church 
>group, circle of  friends, etc.
>
>
>NEEDS LIST
>Mountain bikes-
>Mountain bike rear wheels
>Derailleurs
>Printer compatible with a 486 PC.
>Bike repair manuals and bicycling magazines, in English and French
>A truck to take bikes to Seattle
>Volunteers to prepare and load bikes
>Legal advice
>Web page construction and site host
>
>If you would like to help with any of the above, you can reach me by email, 
>peckham@mailcity.com or by phone, 892-2681.
>
>THANK YOU to all who have helped the project in recent months, including, 
>Chris and Molly Pannkuk, Roger Crawford, Denise Ortiz, Laura Aichele, 
>Tri-State, Harry Moore, Dean and Gretchen Stewart, Ryan Broyles and his Boy 
>Scout troop, Bill London, and Bill Kirsch.
>
>Cheers, Dave Peckham
>
>
>
>
>
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