A Bicycle To Get To School

Help a Zambian child get to school swiftly and safely!

Education for children in Zambia is difficult to obtain. Zambian families face economic hardship, the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS, and an increasing population of orphans. In addition, to get to school children often have to walk up to three hours each way, putting themselves at risk for harassment, sexual abuse, and exhaustion.

Girls in particular spend more time working to support their families than any other Zambian demographic, collecting fuel, hauling water, caring for siblings, and supporting household businesses. As a result, they often drop out of school altogether. For Zambian girls, being unable to complete secondary education is disastrous — linked to early marriages, early childbearing, extreme poverty, increased infant mortality, and shorter life expectancy.

A simple solution allows children to travel to school swiftly, safely, and with less fatigue: a bicycle. A typical child's two- to three-hour walk is reduced by a bicycle to a ride of just forty-five to seventy-five minutes, leaving the child less vulnerable to attack en route and also with more time and energy for schoolwork and household chores. The bicycle is also an asset to the family, improving access to markets and healthcare and enhancing the perceived value of the child's education.

Help a child reach his or her full potential by attending school. This Gift That Gives More™ helps fund the purchase, assembly, and delivery of a sturdy new bicycle, and contributes to training and equipping a local bicycle mechanic so that the magic doesn't disappear with the first flat tire.

About World Bicycle Relief & the Bicycles for Educational Empowerment Program (BEEP)

World Bicycle Relief is dedicated to providing people in the developing world with access to independence and livelihood through the power of bicycles. World Bicycle Relief has worked in disaster recovery, healthcare, microfinance, and education initiatives. Through simple, sustainable mobility — the power of bicycles — World Bicycle Relief improves the quality of life for men, women and children in developing nations. Through BEEP, a partnership of WBR and the Zambian Ministry of Education, students (70% girls), teachers, and community volunteers in rural Zambia receive sturdy new bicycles.