BikeTown Africa (BTA) is a charity founded in 2006 by two cyclist friends, David B. and Steve M. Between 2006 and 2012, BikeTown Africa delivered more than 2,000 new, custom-made bicycles to healthcare workers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The charity has operated largely as a partnership between Bicycling Magazine, the Rodale Institute, Bristol Myers Squibb, UTi, and Kona Bicycle Company.[1] In 2013, BTA incorporated as a stand-alone 501(c)3 organization in the United States.[2] Each year, BTA donates bicycles (and tools) to healthcare workers in Africa, particularly those involved in HIV/AIDS-related work.[3] BTA volunteers travel to Africa to assemble and give away bicycles to recipient organizations (typically established, qualified HIV clinics, hospitals, or NGOs). BTA then documents the impact these bicycles have on the personal and professional lives of the recipients. Besides healthcare workers, BikeTown Africa has also donated bicycles to orphans and farmers as well as working in other countries outside of Africa, notably Afghanistan. The organization also includes training for mechanics in the areas the bicycles are distributed, as well as providing tools to equip the trained mechanics.

History

The project started in 2006 with 200 bicycles donated to HIV/AIDS healthcare workers in Gaborone and Bobanang, Botswana.[4][5][6]

In 2007, BTS expanded. 150 bicycles were distributed in Katima Mulilo, Namibia, and 169 in Tambacounda, Senegal.[7][8][9] That same year, BikeTown Africa changed some of its policies, insisting that the bicycles must be owned by individual recipients rather than the organization, so as to promote personal responsibility for the maintenance and repair of the bikes. In return, each recipient must agree to volunteer with the organization for a fixed amount of time or devote an agreed amount of time to help sustain the project. Recipients in Lesotho earned their bicycles through attending races, cleaning up rubbish in the city, and good attendance at school.

1,000 AfricaBikes were donated in 2008. These bicycles were distributed in South Africa,[10] Swaziland, and Mozambique. In 2009, 750 bicycles were distributed. During September 2009, an international team of volunteers assembled 268 bicycles in the Orange Farm township of Gauteng, South Africa. These were donated to the Catholic Healthcare Association of South Africa for distribution to their affiliates in South Africa, Botswana, and Swaziland. The final two projects for 2009 happened in Kibaha and Bukoba, Tanzania.

In March 2010, 100 Specialized Fuse BMX bikes were distributed to four tracks built by AMA Rider for children in townships around Cape Town.[11] In August 2010, 120 Kona AfricaBikes were distributed in Malawi at the Baylor Tingathe Community Outreach Program. A further 120 bicycles were donated to Foundation Rwanda.[12] In September 2010, 250 bikes were distributed in The Gambia, with assistance from the HopeFirst Foundation.[13]

In 2011, BikeTown Africa was approached by AMA Rider to assist with its children's mountain biking league. BTA volunteers traveled to Lesotho to work with the Lesotho Cycling Association in building a cyclocross track and providing 33 mountain bicycles for all schoolchildren to use for a season of four races. The track was built on the Lesotho Olympic Training grounds in Maseru. After the series of races during the season, all 33 bicycles were handed over to the children who performed best on and off the track.

In 2012 BTA traveled to Mwanza, Tanzania to assemble and give away 100 bicycles to HIV healthcare workers at the Baylor Pediatric AIDS Hospital there.

Bicycles

The primary bicycle used in BikeTown Africa is called the Kona AfricaBike. It was designed by Kona Bicycle Company to fit the unique needs of healthcare workers in Africa. Over the project's lifespan, the bicycle has undergone various changes and additions.[14] BikeTown Africa also has distributed bicycles manufactured by Specialized.

Current status

As of July 2013, the last status update on the Facebook page is a year old. The Kona website still lists the AfricaBike 3 for sale, but links to the project are all no longer active.[15] A search of the current Rodale, Inc. and The Rodale Institute websites returns 'There are no results for "AfricaBike".'[16][17][18] The last mention of BikeTown Africa in Bicycling magazine is in 2009.[19][20] The last tweet was on 28 October 2010.[21] On 4 January 2011, Maria Rodale, then CEO and Chairman of Rodale, Inc., published an article about BikeTown Africa in The Huffington Post.[22]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Bicycling Magazine's Second Annual Biketown Africa Aims to Improve Health Care in Africa One Bike at a Time". Business Wire. 24 July 2007. Archived from the original on 16 August 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  2. ↑ "Details about". apps.irs.gov. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  3. ↑ "Going Global: Biketown Africa". Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. 2 March 2006. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  4. ↑ Sarah Rich (26 June 2007). "Kona Biketown Africa". World Changing. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  5. ↑ Steve Madden (24 May 2006). "Kona Africa Bike Delivers Hope". Bicycling. Archived from the original on 9 October 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "Bicycling Magazine Teams with Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Kona Bicycle Company to Launch 'BikeTown Africa'". CSRWire USA. 29 November 2005. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  7. ↑ "BikeTown Africa". Gandhi's Be Magazine. 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  8. ↑ James Startt (2008). "The Road to Chokwe". Bicycling. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "VT Kona BikeTown Africa Fundraising Campaign". Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  10. ↑ "Bicycling BikeTown Africa assists MaAfrika Tikkun". Archived from the original on 18 April 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  11. ↑ "Bicycling BikeTown Africa assists Afrika Tikkun". Afrika Tikkun. 2008. Archived from the original on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  12. ↑ "Foundation Rwanda & BikeTown Africa Bike Build 2010". Foundation Rwanda. 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  13. ↑ "Help Send 300 AfricaBikes to Gambia". Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. 19 November 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  14. ↑ Karl Rosengarth (1 March 2008). "Kona Biketown Africa In High Gear". Bicycle Times. Archived from the original on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  15. ↑ "2010 Bikes, Asphalt: AfricaBike Three". Kona Bikes. Archived from the original on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  16. ↑ "Search results for "AfricaBike"". Rodale.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  17. ↑ "There are no results for "AfricaBike" in products". Rodales.com. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  18. ↑ "Search Results for Biketown africa: Sorry, no results were found". The Rodale Institute. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  19. ↑ "Search Results 1–4 of 4 for BikeTown Africa". Bicycling. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  20. ↑ "Ride RAGBRAI with Bicycling's BikeTown Africa". Bicycling. 13 March 2009. Archived from the original on 24 August 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  21. ↑ "BikeTown Africa @BikeTownAfrica". Twitter. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  22. ↑ Maria Rodale (4 January 2011). "BikeTown Africa: Transforming Rwanda". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
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