https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/events daily 0.75 2025-04-01 https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/events/village-bicycle-project-annual-spring-park-city-bike-drive monthly 0.5 2025-04-01 https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/about daily 1.0 2025-10-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/a0b0575b-0530-4150-a374-7345f0944884/MG_VBP_16.2.jpg Home - Current Progress: 159,000 bikes sent to Ghana & Sierra Leone 26,00 People Trained in Repair Skills 4,500 Women & Girls Learned to Ride 64,00 Tools Distributed to Keep Bikes Rolling ** All figures as of Q4 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638860847851-XN9DERA3FBGGJ5741NJ4/2.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638860981964-EKA3GX6PRXGHUJRSAGXX/4.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638861001585-XEPNA9MRMD845TDJZ4M8/3.png Home https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/contact-us daily 0.75 2021-12-07 https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/new-page daily 0.75 2022-03-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638912962468-F5P72OQPYVEM703JGKGW/godsend_edit.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638913068540-H63DL5YUVZADG3S6HP5N/martha_edit.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638913168774-X78SWZJ0Y6TLIDGOI4UQ/john_edit.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638913204359-46L6T719URNKX0MULIHO/Ernest_edit.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638913240701-9SY38NRBNXC2XBE2Z0RN/Kipo_edit.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638913340031-0DQ9LLMQPQPPMWUXBQRO/fatima_edit.png Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638913882616-GKEIGUENB6F4S0WNW3FE/Edith_edit.png Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638913957900-7Z80SMBV1DZ4S0CH0JYQ/Charity_edit.png Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638914040307-O4DGWVWTKIOWJ1SN5T4E/Angela_edit.png Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638914196442-6DX2TN03030TGXQKRGID/Mr.+Tejan_edit.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638914289694-T3SV7B9SHVEQ5E8Q5Z5R/Gbemu_edit.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638914370193-87GBP6WGSMZ1Q5H8KEKE/Asem_edit.png Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638914945250-MWP08QAHH79NMGO49WFB/mathilda_edit.png Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638915168992-8FF3NJ6G3AQ1HK7FH5AY/Mr.+Kamara_edit.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638915246873-3NBFBVDDMJ2GZUFR9RLF/Kwame_edit.png Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638915529208-ZM838WL733BVVGP4ABCI/Gideon+Bani_edit.png Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638915606532-DXBAWTKWY6YXIA2UOKQQ/Cecilia_edit.jpg Stories https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638915712988-5YABC8OTYUBT5PDUTF2D/Desmond_edit.png Stories https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/new-page-1 daily 0.75 2023-11-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638924342832-QJONPVET4RNUG8O52G16/team.jpg About Us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1643754421933-BN4EJ4T37TMX4I27CIS8/20171106_145252.jpg About Us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1643754460176-AEGCEDLNCABLCZAXL6U6/IMG_20181006_142001.jpg About Us https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/our-work daily 0.75 2024-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638891560169-2560AVHVFGMDYDZGHVWU/1a.jpg Our Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638891630053-MFYIC35EVQ8N9R7AQ3AZ/1b.jpg Our Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638891715458-E2YDD59KCXSCEJNFD81G/1d.jpg Our Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638892268381-JINQKK90SRDAHSD4NJF7/1c.jpg Our Work https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/bikes-w-maint daily 0.75 2022-05-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/f2459c1b-460a-4e1b-b3c1-312b3c539dd3/PAxLiZG8.jpeg Bikes w Maint https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/learn-to-ride daily 0.75 2022-05-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/37027b90-322b-4bf0-9e6f-3bc2c310d6f3/learn+to+ride.jpg Learn to Ride - Why Teaching Women and Girls in Africa to Ride a Bicycle is Important For women and girls in Ghana and Sierra Leone, learning to ride a bike is a ticket to independence and success. How does this happen? In rural communities where transport is expensive and people walk long distances every day, the ability to ride a bike means that women and girls can get where they need to go faster and for free, without exhausting themselves by walking. Once they learn to ride a bike, they can ride bikes owned by fathers and brothers. With the help of VBP, women and girls can purchase and maintain a bike of their own. For example, when women have a bike to ride, they can save taxi or bus fares for work or school. Students can use the transportation money saved to pay school fees, and use the saved time to get homework completed. Instead of walking two hours each morning to school, a teacher can ride in thirty minutes, allowing her to teach with greater energy. While a husband takes a motorbike to work, his wife can take her bicycle to the farm and carry back large loads of yam or firewood that normally would go on her head. This leads to a larger harvest, higher income, and improved quality of life for the whole family. A daughter who has to fetch water in the evenings can borrow her father’s bike to carry back the 40 pound water can. These examples are common situations where women and girls are benefiting and improving the world around them. It comes down to this: riding a bike gives women opportunity. Teaching women and girls to ride changes their world for the better. https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/bicycle-mechanic-training daily 0.75 2022-05-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/bce45b5f-2db4-4656-b0cd-d6d0efed6415/mechanic+training.jpg Bicycle Mechanic Training - Promoting the Craft and Status of Bicycle Mechanics To promote a thriving bicycle culture in Ghana and Sierra Leone, we equip mechanics with quality tools and expertise to promote confidence and sustainability. As we identify bicycle mechanics in each of the communities we serve, we invite them to participate in our One Day Maintenance Workshops and Advanced Repair Classes. For their attendance, we reward them with a set of quality bicycle tools which makes their work easier. Once there are multiple mechanics in a region who we have identified as being committed to their craft, we invite them to a 4-5 day intensive workshop. Many of these participants are self-taught with years of innovation under their belts but very little formal training. VBP senior trainers teach each component: rims, brakes, bearings, and gears. By ensuring that local mechanics are able to fix bicycles effectively, we increase the chance that riders will utilize the mechanics’ skills and bicycles will continue to be a sustainable source of transportation. https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/collection-distribution daily 0.75 2022-05-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/3aeebfad-17be-4f36-b189-ca8dbba6482c/collection.jpg Collection & Distribution https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/get-involved2 daily 0.75 2022-11-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1642480671427-698ZK18L8FG42PNY3627/bike+truck.jpg Get Involved https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1643058421336-4I9SPMSIWUENDSS14MCM/13484815303_b7b51fc288_o.jpg Get Involved https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1643058690436-8BZ0UVKWYKAYG1PSGK22/PXL_20210612_194021340.jpg Get Involved https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/volunteer-opps daily 0.75 2022-05-16 https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/partners daily 0.75 2021-12-07 https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/bod daily 0.75 2025-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638920133501-2QH6QHLB7FTKTQCZAL1B/Josh.png BOD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638920172322-49K2HCI1Q46HMHYZ9626/Meg.jpg BOD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638920231139-IAT7BI0IJSMK2993ZRXM/David+Peckham.jpg BOD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638920265992-MGBHP5LENJAKR5TRUULX/David+Mozer.jpg BOD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638920363807-YINNZ0VY9ERA212BSTNM/Charlotte.jpg BOD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638920384081-TIQZN7IUEGSUGFW201DW/Craig+Lorch.jpg BOD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638920447284-FI5RBYNJYS309EG7QMAU/Grant+Boothman.jpg BOD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638920473440-6DK7FFLQIOBNYSH3N5O2/Brittany+Richardson.jpg BOD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638920513320-FL1SSCVC4YSAJDFQGAY9/Gavin.jpg BOD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638920537442-4XUKUZSV8EWFD13NFXLX/Jamie.jpg BOD https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/39f59ad5-3685-4c85-b234-9d7c20aa97fe/IMG_8544+copy.jpeg BOD https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/sl-staff daily 0.75 2022-05-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638924661084-5FHVQPS2MHDZFEZRKPE7/Abdul.png SL Staff https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638924718334-AIDZNXV3DT11LO5KJ7WF/Karim.jpg SL Staff https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638924771922-4L440IJYLOO3T8YX35VK/Ben-Conteh.png SL Staff https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638924817431-EBYE0RXCJTSHMQ2E661K/John.jpg SL Staff https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/team-2 daily 0.75 2022-05-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638933758152-WD39DKWA9HF5ZIV87YIF/Prosper.jpg Ghana Staff https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638933833148-7F07NJRPJUK1WJA5RICK/Fatawu.jpg Ghana Staff https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638933874736-6BW2GFI1DJQND4VLH25T/Dauda.jpg Ghana Staff https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638933922406-R67YDYSFA8Z7ZIOJOXZE/Rahim.jpg Ghana Staff https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638933981914-1WVFFC275DAN16SXZS6Q/Samson.jpg Ghana Staff https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638934037309-G2R805QPHXL4Z8ZIYGI3/Moro.jpg Ghana Staff https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638934093279-5I9494PN6H4M1XHPJIHH/Abokyi.jpg Ghana Staff https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/1638934138717-1WM0WDPCLBFYB47S6R6Q/eben-dp.jpg Ghana Staff https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/ernest daily 0.75 2022-01-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/544a1b93-6a55-40e1-b7ba-3af283669e3a/Ernest.jpg Ernest - Ernest uses his bike to improve his village. Ernest Kamassah is a businessman and football coach in Dededo, Ghana. He uses his bike to ride to the local field where he teaches youth soccer teams, both boys and girls. He’s only been able to do this since having the bicycle, as it allows him to finish his errands and sales around the town by the time school gets out. Previously, he would get home just before dark, and had no time for community service work. When he got his bike, Ernest started having enough time to do things he loved, like coaching the local kids. This season they’re 3-1. Bravo Ernest! https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/kipo daily 0.75 2022-01-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/9f96089e-1571-40c2-a92c-44b3bb51fc52/Kipo.jpg Kipo - Learning to ride empowers girls and women. Kipo Kondiba was age 11 on her first day in Learn to Ride class. Sadly, she fell flat on her face after skidding on a cow paddy! Despite this rough start, she came back every day, and once she could ride, she taught her new skill to her school friend Florine. Of all the Learn to Ride girls at that site, she was the most determined and competitive. On race day she beat girls almost 5 years older, mostly by riding without fear of crashing. From then on, her goal was to perfect her skid stop. When we scheduled a One Day Maintenance Workshop in for her village, Kipo was first in line to get her own bike. Kipo loves her bike because it saves her time walking to school and gives her freedom and independence. Kipo now has more energy for school work and household chores. The extra time she spends riding her bike for fun and perfecting her skid stop. Go Kipo! https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/godsend daily 0.75 2022-01-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/f1999e40-09a6-466c-a68e-71f6f5fad407/godsend.jpg Godsend - Godsend earns more, thanks to his bike. Godsend has had his VBP bike for a few years. Before his bike, Godsend only grew maize and yams because that’s what he had time and money to grow. Godsend could only afford to plant twice a year because he had to pay a car to take his 4 kids to school every day. He had to walk the 6 km to his farm every morning and evening in the dark. Now, he drops the kids at school with his bicycle on his way to his farm—two sit on the top tube and two sit on the rear rack. He is home before dark every evening and has started to plant plantains as well as bananas to supplement his income. He uses the money he saves biking the kids to school to plant crops four times a year. When asked what he will do with his extra income from planting other crops, he says, “Easy! I’ll get bikes for my kids.” https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/martha daily 0.75 2022-01-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/b92fd2d1-7cd5-4bf3-9640-a941cf2f1969/martha.jpg Martha - Riding to school on the path to success. Martha Kamara is 15 and a student in Mashelleth, Sierra Leone. Martha rides her bike over a mile each way to school. She saves money on bus fees, and as she is also able to go home for lunch, the bike saves her family even more money in lunch fees. Martha stops at the market on the way home from school, saving her mother a lot of time. On the weekends, her father borrows her bike, which makes him very happy, too. Martha feels proud of her bike and tells everyone who asks her that biking is 4 times faster than walking. Bravo Martha! https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/mr-sesay daily 0.75 2022-01-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/97e4087f-4592-449d-9c5c-8405c67adaa1/john.jpg Mr. Sesay - Biking saves Mr. Sesay 2 hours daily. John Sesay is a teacher with 15 years experience. When we approached him to ask about his bike, he educated us for good 30 minutes on its uses, how he’s maintaining it, and his reasons for riding. Before he had his bike, Mr. Sesay got up an hour earlier every morning to walked 3 km to work. When it rained he would spend Le 2,000 ($.50) on a motorbike ride. For a teacher who gets paid less than $100 a month, that’s an expensive ride. Now that he has a VBP bike, John has time in the mornings for the things he loves (like fresh coffee) and has even started teaching mathematics class in his spare time. https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/fatima daily 0.75 2022-01-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/74580419-3252-404c-a60a-5a4dc329a39e/fatima.png Fatima - This is Fatima. She lives in Akete, Ghana, where her family farms Casava. Three days before this picture was taken she couldn’t ride. Now she can finish the course and not hit the photographer in her way. She came to L2R every night for a month, and once she learned to ride, she brought her little sisters and taught them too. When asked why she was practicing, she told us she wants to win the race her teacher has set up for the end of the class. You go girl! https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/edith daily 0.75 2022-01-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/b1cad115-46c9-4824-ae80-5672ff480c83/Edith.png Edith - This is Edith. This Monday’s Student of the Week goes out to one of our very first L2R girls, Miss Edith in Agosa. Edith showed up at her local soccer field back in March where a couple PCVs, their counterparts, and I were waiting with four bikes for five girls. She patiently waited her turn for half an hour while watching her friends ride. When it got to her turn she hopped on the bike, started pedaling, forgot to brake, and crashed straight into a mango tree! We all ran down the hill in horror; I was convinced I’d just ruined some girl’s idea of bikes forever. But when we got to her, she smiling, laughing, and disentangling herself from her brake cables so she could get up and try again. All month she came to practice and teach other girls under the mango trees in Agosa and never once uttered a word of complaint. Thank you Edith for making L2R an awesome place for everyone around you! https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/charity daily 0.75 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/bcff81c0-8945-4ab2-b26a-458276c084e0/Charity.png Charity - This is Charity. Charity Agbo will always have a special place in my heart as the first girl to come up and ask me to teach her about bikes. It was my second week in Ghana, I was in the back waters of Suhum visiting her school on M&E for ODW. She told me her bike had a flat. As soon as I pulled out my multi-tool to fix it (thanks Uncle Dan!) she took over and showed all her friends her skills. Before I knew it, they all wanted multi tools of their own. When I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she told me she wanted to be a nurse. “Not a bike mechanic?” I asked. Everyone laughed. The girls of Suhum are way too smart to aspire to bike dirtbaggery as a profession. Thanks Charity for sharing your enthusiasm and ambition with the rest of us! https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/angela daily 0.75 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/b7623d6a-8c53-448b-a75d-de0c6f67fea2/Angela.png Angela - This is Angela. This is Angela, queen of the red BMX bike, champion of small girl races, and all around bad ass. The girl who first showed up to VBP’s Learn to Ride session, hiding behind the bushes watching the other girls ride, eventually found her passion for riding. She ran away each time VBP staff approached her, but after three days of coaxing, Angela was hooked. The rest of the month was spent convincing her that she had to share the bicycles, even if she really didn’t want to. When not riding bikes, she was teaching other girls and having a blast. Angela joined a one-day workshop to learn maintenance skills, and she was able to show off by the end. The bike she chose to purchase? A red BMX – just like the one on which she learned to ride. Now, Angela races her friends after school down the main drag of her town, Akete. https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/mr-tejan daily 0.75 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/201936f5-06cf-4980-9118-02d9537fdef1/Mr.+Tejan.jpg Mr. Tejan - Riding door to door saves shoe leather. Mr. Tejan has been riding his bike every day since he got it a few years ago at a VBP program in Sierra Leone. When we ran into him recently, he told us, “When I did not have a bike, I walked 22 miles every day from Rogbare Junction to Lunsar for my door to door shoe business. I treat my bike with great care, servicing it every two weeks, because it is really important to me.” Mr. Tejan told us the bike has increased his income. “The bicycle makes it easy for me; before I put bunches of shoes on my head and walked, but now I carry the shoes on my bike, and I am much happier. “ Ride on, Mr. Tejan! https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/gbemu daily 0.75 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/97d1b5e2-e6f7-4a4e-a1a3-652e3485a200/Gbemu.jpg Gbemu - Gbemu: farmer, bike fitter. “I came; I learned something from them too. If the people [in my village] bring the bicycle I, too, I know how to repair it for them” Gbemu is the primary bike fitter (mechanic) for his small Ghanaian town. He uses bicycles himself, to be able to travel from his home to the town, and to his farm. He sees how bikes can help others around him when they also need to walk long distances for work or shopping. While the One Day Workshop is for riders who buy a new bike and may not know much about fixing it, he says that even with his experience as a mechanic, he knows he’ll help his own business with the skills he’s learned from VBP. https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/asem daily 0.75 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/0c06f43b-f7f1-4e33-8f56-5513c1d940e8/Asem.png Asem - If I walk, I miss my morning class. . . Asem Redeember – JHS Student, One Day Workshop participant: “If I walk, I miss morning class, and if I take bike, I reach early for the morning class” Asem lives far from his junior high school, and if he walks to school, he won’t reach class until 8:30 or 9 a.m., but classes start well before then! He’s happy to have his own bicycle to get him to class early, plus he’s glad to learn how to fix it if there is a problem. It’s small things, like learning not to pump a tire too hard (or it will bust), and making sure he doesn’t use too much rubber glue, that help him most. https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/mathilda daily 0.75 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/fdf93e0b-cd35-4dc8-8183-2a7a531dc507/mathilda.png Mathilda - This is Mathilda. Potentially seen as a late bloomer, Mathilda proved that just about anyone can learn to ride a bicycle. Even while she took two weeks to master the art of steering while balancing, she never gave up. Each day, her friend, Ishak, pushed her across the field; they were always working hard to keep the bike headed in a straight direction, even if Mathilda wasn’t straight herself. After many weeks of epic crashes, one day, Ishak let go of the carrier and Mathilda kept going on her own! On the last day of her town’s Learn to Ride session, this new rider topped the competition at the closing ceremony races. Mathilda came in first in her category, beating out four other girls who had been riding for weeks longer. Ishak was there to cheer her on, and no one was prouder than him. https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/mr-kamara daily 0.75 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/5b19f4e4-6d19-4029-a4a8-984d1359d446/Mr.+Kamara.jpg Mr. Kamara - Mr. Kamara: bike commuter. Mr. Kamara is a farmer and also works in mining 7 miles away from his home in Lunsar, Sierra Leone. Previously, he walked to work and paid about $1.75 to ride home. Now, he commutes easily on his bike. He uses the money he saves for school fees and food and has a lot more time to keep his farm growing. He uses the rear rack to carry his children and aspires to having a second bike for his wife to ride. Two bikes with racks can carry 6 people to the farm and make the farm more productive. https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/kwame daily 0.75 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/4b7668d0-270e-4046-adc1-5b472e9fcd67/Kwame.png Kwame - This is Kwame. Our Learn to Ride sessions rely on local riders who can help us work with the dozens of girls and women. Kwame was our first helper like this. He had been known in his hometown, Agosa, for being a rambunctious and sometimes troublesome rowdy boy, but instead of punishing him and sending him away, staff suggested that he just needed something constructive to do with all his pent-up energy. Village Bicycle Project invited him to become an assistant instructor for Learn to Ride, pushing girls who needed help and setting up the cones. By week two, Kwame had noticed that the littler girls needed more help; he took it upon himself to separate them, and invite his friends to help him teach the small girls how to ride BMX bikes. Every evening he organized the other boys to put the bikes away and check their tire pressure and brakes. Now, at every site VBP serves, staff does the same. In the month Learn to Ride was in their town, Kwame taught more than 30 girls to ride! https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/gideon-bani daily 0.75 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/91d12646-8ad9-462b-b149-78f69d89186c/Gideon+Bani.png Gideon Bani - Gideon Bani: pig farmer, one day workshop participant. “I’m very happy, privileged to have this bicycle, because from my house to the farm site is about 4km and sometimes I find it very difficult to get there with feet. So I’m very happy to have this bicycle.” Gideon Bani is a pig farmer, and while he’s owned bicycles before, they’ve broken and he didn’t know how to fix them. Thanks to VBP’s One Day Workshop, he now knows how to repair popped tires and fix chains. He knows that being able to buy his bike at a reduced cost will help him get to work much faster than if he walked. https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/cecilia daily 0.75 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/f348cc4b-2694-43a5-90e2-e3fec65e8b58/Cecilia.jpg Cecilia - Cecilia’s bike gets her to school quickly. Cecilia H Kamara, uses her bike to ride 3 miles to school in Fadugu from her home in Katimbo, Sierra Leone. There is one big hill in her commute, and the bike downhill saves her an amazing amount time and energy. Like the other female students who ride a bike to school, Cecilia gets more homework done, gets to school more often, and has more energy to help her family with chores and farming. Celia is thrilled to be on the path towards graduation. https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/desmond daily 0.75 2022-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/b82fcb56-1f43-42b2-a259-642818aec615/Desmond.png Desmond - This is Desmond. Desmond Amesimeke – Technical training center student, one-day workshop participant “Normally I would’ve walked from here to town which would take about 30 minutes, but now that I’ve been given a bike, now it will take about 10 minutes which will limit the time factor.” Desmond is an electrical engineering student at Accra Technical Training Center. He first learned to ride a bike from a cousin when he was young, but he’s never had his own. He enjoyed VBP’s One Day Workshop, learning how to adjust bikes and repair flat tires, but he’s most excited that he was able to afford his own bicycle, which will cut down on his travel time to and from school. https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/bikes-spare-parts-collections daily 0.75 2022-01-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/83caaad0-844d-42a6-841b-692159e27794/7783600254_664b2ac487_o.jpg Bikes & Spare Parts Collections - Bicycles and spare parts collections Bicycle lovers across the globe can help send functioning bikes and bike parts to Africans with little access to bicycles and become a part of our movement for mobility. We rely on donations from all over the world, shipping 20 or so containers per year with bicycles and spare parts from their country of origin to Ghana and Sierra Leone. The sale of a portion of the bicycles to local wholesalers allows us to cover the cost of shipping and ensure we have access to the bikes we need for our programs and participants. (This also increases the general availability of bikes.) We depend on volunteers to load the containers at each respective location. Donate your bike: If you have a bike that you think would be appropriate and you live near one of our collection partners, we would gratefully accept your bicycle to support our programs. Good quality mountain bikes without suspension are ideal, but we accept all bikes in moderate to good condition. https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/volunteer-info daily 0.75 2022-03-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/42d93c7c-3314-469a-8932-e55e31109559/l-ZXXBcA.jpeg Volunteer Info - Volunteer Opportunities. Village Bicycle Project is proud to employ local bicycle trainers and administrative staff in Ghana and Sierra Leone. While VBP launched from the United States, we are focused on providing opportunities for skilled staff in our respective areas. Occasionally, volunteer and employment opportunities in Ghana and Sierra Leone arise for Westerners, which we will post on our web site. Very often, however, we need as many hands as possible to pick up donated bicycles, to prepare bicycles for shipment, and to load them in containers. Please let us know if you can help us make sure bicycles make their way to African riders! Whether you are willing to store donated bicycles, host a loading, lead a container loading or lend your hands and energy on a container loading, we appreciate your support! https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/donation-landing daily 0.75 2025-12-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61af01cff2724a73ba6c9e64/4888a1fb-740d-4fa0-865b-bdb1169e0056/IMG-20251007-WA0066+bikes+for+salone+2025+2.jpg