Atoyine lives in Kandiga, a village in rural northern Ghana. She earns her living by making and selling pito, a traditional drink in this area made from fermented millet.

Thanks to your donation, Atoyine received a bicycle and was taught how to take care of it. She will use her bike to go to the market to buy and carry the millet to her house, and to transport the pito to the market in the bigger towns. Without a bike, she carries the millet and the pito on her head while walking to the markets. She knows that using the bike will increase her income, as she will be able to buy more millet and transport more pito to the market. She is very excited about this!

Atoyine is very thankful for your donation, Chris! Thanks for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!

Abia lives in Kandiga, a village in rural northern Ghana. She is a homemaker, farmer, and community activist.

Thanks to your donation, Abia received a bicycle and was taught how to take care of it. Abia uses her bike to go to town to run errands about a mile away. She can carry her goods back to her house on the bike, instead of carrying them while walking. She also lends her bike to her son, who is a good student. Most students have many morning chores at home, such as feeding animals and hauling water, which makes it hard for them to get to school promptly. Riding the bike allows him to get to school on time every day. Abia said “The bicycle has helped us a lot because if I want to go to any place, like a meeting, I can go fast and still come back in time to cook for the children.” Owning a bike will save Abia’s family time, money and help them all be more productive.

Abia is very thankful for your donation, Adam! Thanks for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!

Kwaku is 12 years old and lives in Kandiga, a village in rural northern Ghana. Kwaku helps on his family’s farm and cares for their animals. Kwaku uses his bike to go to the farm (5 miles away) and to the market (.5 miles away).

Kwaku told us this about his life, “In the morning, I feed animals at home. I use ground millet and flour. I go to the Kandiga market everyday to buy this. Next thing to do is I fetch water from the borehole near the market for the animals. I use the bicycle to fetch food and water for the animals. When the animals go far away, I retrieve them with the bicycle. When it is the season for farming, I use the bicycle to go to farm.” Owning a bike allows Kwaku to save time, haul the feed and water instead of carrying it while walking, and to do a better job of caring for his family’s valuable animals.

Kwaku is very thankful for your donation, Cady! Thanks for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!

Peter is a photographer and a subsistence farmer who lives in Kandiga, a village in rural northern Ghana. He will use his bike to go to his farm which is 4 miles away, and to bring food home. He will also travel to other larger towns to sell his photographs, run errands for his family, and go to the market.

Peter is thrilled with his new bicycle. He says, “The bicycle makes me happy because I used to have to get up so early to walk, but now in 30 minutes I can be in Junction (a town 5 miles away).” Owning a bike will allow Peter to save hours every week and save money. It will also help his business and farm to be more productive and successful.

Peter is very thankful for your donation, Madeleine! Thanks for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!

Akuyare lives in Kandiga, a village located in rural northern Ghana. She is a farmer and a small merchant.

Thanks to your donation, Akuyare received a bicycle and was taught how to take care of it. She uses her bike to go to her farm 2 miles away, and to the larger towns in her area, which are between 5 and 11 miles away! Owning a bike allows Akuyare to ride to town instead of paying private transport fees, which are quite expensive in Ghana as there is no public transportation. In the larger towns, she is able to buy goods not available in her town, and sell them at a profit to her neighbors who cannot get to the town. Akuyare says, “The bicycle changed my life because I am able to come and go to market as I like. I buy goods to sell; such as books, pens, and other things. The bicycle is a benefit because I can do as I like while others without bicycles cannot, and it brings honor to my family. I bought a cargo carrier in Bolga. My new bicycle is good because it goes fast!”

Akuyare is very thankful for your donation, Maria! Thanks for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!

Apagabonoh Akazua lives in the village called Kandiga, in rural northern Ghana.  She is a homemaker, farmer, and community activist.  Thanks to your donation, Apagabonoh received a bicycle and was taught how to take care of it.

Apagabonoh uses her bike to go to town to run errands, about a mile away and to attend meetings for the area’s  Woman’s Association.  She can carry her purchases back to her house on the bike, instead of carrying them.  Apagabonoh said, “In the meetings for the women’s association we share ideas on how to help ourselves, and we also have a handcrafts project.  Before the bicycle, I would be late to meetings because my place is far away and they would fine me.  When I am going to market, it will take just a short time to come back and cook for my children.” Owning a bike will save Apagabonoh’s family time, money and help them be more productive.

Apagabonoh is very thankful for your donation, Amit!  Thanks for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!

Mary is the preschool teacher at Gbare primary school, located about 11 miles east of Jirapa in Upper West Ghana. Mary is one of 20 women who attended the Village Bicycle Project repair workshop in Gbare.

Thanks to your donation, Mary received a bicycle and was taught how to take care of it. She put her teaching skills on display in the workshop and, in addition to learning repair skills herself, she was a leader who helped the other women to learn. She is excited to use her bicycle to go to school and visit friends and family in neighboring villages. The nearest major town, Jirapa, has a large market every Sunday and now these 20 women can access the market more easily. They can also reach their farms and move around town more quickly and efficiently.

Owning a bike will make Mary’s life much easier, save her time, money and lots of walking in the hot sun!  Mary is very thankful for your donation, Emily and Drew! Thank you for your support of Village Bicycle Project!

Charity is from the village Tizza, located in the Upper West Region of Ghana, 6 miles from the town Jirapa. 18 women received bicycles in Tizza at a Village Bicycle Project repair workshop. The Tizza women were all leaders of local women’s groups and they were a very dynamic group. Few of the Tizza women are literate, despite their status in the community. They brew pito, a very popular mildly alcoholic beverage made from millet. Many of them are also farmers, growing yams, peanuts, millet, maize, sorghum and guinea corn. The women were extremely enthusiastic about learning and asked lots of questions. Our hope is that they take the skills from the workshop and share them with their respective groups. Normally the women walk to the nearest town, Jirapa, but now they will be able to ride to Jirapa to sell their produce, go to the hospital and buy goods that are not obtainable in Tizza.

Thanks to your donation, Charity received a bicycle and was taught how to take care of it. She showed a knack for mechanics so we invited her to be an assistant instructor at workshops in neighboring villages. She came and worked for us for two days; she even used her new bicycle to Jirapa to meet us in the early mornings!

Owning a bike will make Charity’s life much easier, save her time, money and lots of walking in the hot sun!  Charity is very thankful for your donation, Pooja! Thank you for your support of Village Bicycle Project!

Francisca is a student in Gbare in Upper West Ghana. The nearest major town is Jirapa, 11 miles away. Francisca is one of 20 women who attended the Village Bicycle Project repair workshop in Gbare.

Thanks to your donation, Francisca received a bicycle and was taught how to take care of it. Francisca will use her bicycle to go to Gbare primary school and to do errands for her parents around town. She will also ride the bike to Jirapa market on Sundays to sell produce and to buy things that are difficult to find in Gbare. Owning a bike will make Francisca’s life much easier, saving her time, money and lots of walking in the hot sun!

Francisca is very thankful for your donation, Doug and Robin! Thank you for your support of Village Bicycle Project!

Anastasia is from the village Tuggo, located in the Upper West Region of Ghana, 10 miles southeast of the town Jirapa. Most women in Tuggo are farmers or brew pito, a traditional beverage from this area. There is no reliable public transportation from Tuggo to Jirapa or neighboring towns. Without a bicycle, people living in Tuggo have to walk everywhere they go or they will wait by the side of the road and flag down a passing car if they want to go to Jirapa. Village Bicycle Project held a workshop in Tuggo and 19 women received bicycles. The women will use their bicycles to travel back and forth from neighboring markets at Babile (2 miles away) and Jirapa.

Thanks to your donation, Anastasia received a bicycle and was taught how to take care of it. Anastasia was the best student in our workshop at Tuggo. She will use her bicycle to go to Tizza (6 miles away), where her father’s side of the family lives. She also goes to Jirapa on Sundays for market day and will take the bike there rather than waiting hours for unreliable motorized transport or spending hours walking. Owning a bike will make Anastasia’s life much easier, save her time, money, and lots of aggravation!

Anastasia is very thankful for your donation, Doug and Robin! Thank you for your support of Village Bicycle Project!