Garten lives in Guri, Ghana, 40 miles north of the main town of Wa, in the Upper West region. There are no paved roads and no public transportation, even though there are numerous communities in the area. The road is too narrow for two vehicles to pass, and is used mostly by pedestrians and bicycles.

There are few shops in this region, so most major trading is done on market days, rotating every six days among various towns and villages.  Garten can use the bike to get to market days and to visit her farm which is about 3 miles from her house. Also, Garten will be able to sell her produce in the market farther from thier village which will increase her income, and save her a lot of time.

Thanks, Todd and Heija, for your donation!

Dabuo Kyemwaa, lives in Ping, Ghana, 40 miles north of the main town of Wa, in the Upper West region. There are no paved roads and no public transportation, even though there are numerous communities in the area. The road is too narrow for two vehicles to pass, and is used mostly by pedestrians and bicycles.

There are few shops in this region, so most major trading is done on market days, rotating every six days among various towns and villages. Dabuo can use the bike to get to market days and to visit her farm. Also, Dabuo is a shea nut butter maker, and will use her bike to take the shea nut butter  to markets in Heng and Ullo, 8 -10 miles away. Being able to sell in the main market will increase her income, and the opportunity for her family.

Thanks, David, for your donation, and for making life easier for Dabuo !

Kobina Lariba, lives in Dereyiri, Ghana, north of the main town of Wa, in the Upper West region. There are no paved roads and no public transportation, even though there are numerous communities in the area. The road is too narrow for two vehicles to pass, and is used mostly by pedestrians and bicycles.

There are few shops in this region, so most major trading is done on market days, rotating every six days among various towns and villages. Kobina can use the bike to get to market days and to visit her farm. Also, Kobina is a shea nut butter maker, and will use her bike to take the product to sell at the main market in Jirapa, about ten miles from her home at Dereyiri. Being able to sell in the main market will increase her income, and the opportunities for her family.

Thanks so much, Emily and Chris, for making life easier and more productive for Kobina!

Kaaramwine Sonbaare, lives in Ping, Ghana, 40 miles north of the main town of Wa in far Upper West region.  There are no paved roads and no public transportation, even though there are numerous communities in the area.  The road is too narrow for two vehicles to pass, and is used mostly by pedestrians and bicycles. There are few shops in this region, so most major trading is done on market days, rotating every six days among various towns and villages.

Kaaramwine can use the bike to visit her farm, about a mile away. Her family will also be able to use the bike. But mostly, Kaaramwine is delighted that she can now visit her father’s family in Kanne, about seven miles away, which is too far for her to walk.

Owning a bike will make Kaaramwine’s  life easier and more productive, and allow her to help her family more easily.

Thanks, Jeffrey, for your donation!

Samata Tekaazema lives in Jirapa, Upper West Region, Ghana, is the village of Ping, with easy gentle topography, and lush tall grasses. From the crossroads at Jirapa, 40 miles north of Wa, the pavement ends. There’s no transport to the east, even though there are numerous communities. The road is too narrow for two vehicles to pass, and is used mostly by pedestrians and bicycles

The local district area government has an office to support women, organized into area councils, which meet to cover a wide range of issues, from nutrition, family planning, water and environmental sanitation, to women’s rights  and more. Representatives of the Ping-Guri Women’s Area Council were given the opportunity to receive bicycles at Village Bicycle Project’s most recent repair workshop and bicycle distribution. Among other mobility benefits, the bicycles will help the women to attend Area Council meetings. Samata is an outspoken leader of the Ping group, and will use her bike to organize the women to improve their lives. She will also ride the bike to go to the Sabuli market 6 miles away. Her new bike replaces another one that is worn out, and it will make a huge difference in her life. Thanks so much for your donation, James!

Fati Abu lives near Konjiahi, Ghana, which is 7-8 miles from Wa, and 2 miles from the “main road” where  if you wait long enough one might find a ride into Wa. There’s no electricity here and almost everyone is a farmer. Fati is sharing the bicycle she got from Village Bicycle Project with her husband. They use it to go to the 15 miles round trip to Wa to buy food at the market and also to go to their farm which is just outside of town.

Thanks  so much, Sophie, for your donation and for making life better for Fati and her family.

Yakubu Sakara is a farmer in Konjiahi, Ghana.  His farm is seven miles from his house, so the bicycle  he received last week  from Village Bicycle Project saves him a lot of time. Without a bicycle he has to walk that distance, fourteen miles round trip, six days per week. He goes to his farm every day except Fridays, the muslim day of prayer. By riding instead of walking he saves at least 2 hours every day, and he has more energy to get the farm work done. Improved productivity helps his family get ahead. Yakubu let his neighbors use the bicycle to do errands, too, which makes everyone lives easier.

Thanks so much for your donation, Sophie!

Ibrahim Momori is from Konjiahi, Ghana and his main occupation is farming. Ibrahim is seventy years old and his farm is 4 miles away from his home. He finds the bicycle good for going to farm because his knees hurt when he walks the 8 miles round trip. But when he takes the bicycle he feels fine. He received his bicycle the day this picture was taken and he says that the first thing he is going to do is get a rack for it so that he can also carry loads to and from his farm.

Ibrahim reveived his bike last week when he attended a Village Bicycle Project bicycle repair workshop to learn how to care for his bike.

Thanks for your generous donation, Sophie!

Abdulai Nantiaha received his bicycle in late October 2010 from  Village Bicycle Project.  He lives in a village called Konjiahi in Ghana, where there is no public transportation to town or to neighboring villages.  Without a bicycle, he has to walk several miles to the main road where he can get a ride to town if he waits long enough.  He is a farmer and uses his bike to go to his farm which is about one mile from his house.  He also takes his bicycle to the market at Wa, about 7 miles away, to sell his produce.

Owning a bike will make life better for Abdulai and his family.  Thanks Sophie for your donation!

Lambert Stella, of Guri, Ghana, about 40 miles north of the main town of Wa.  There are no paved roads and no public transportation, even though there are numerous communities in the area. The road is too narrow for two vehicles to pass, and is used mostly by pedestrians and bicycles.

The local district area government has an office to support women, organized into area councils which meet to cover a wide range of issues, from nutrition, family planning, water and environmental sanitation, to women’s rights and more.  Representatives of the Ping-Guri women’s Area Council were given the opportunity to receive the bicycles at Village Bicycle Projects most recent repair workshop and bicycle distribution.  Among other mobility benefits, the bicycles will help the women to attend Area Council meetings.

Lambert is a Women’s Group leader, and will use her bike to attend meetings and to visit her father’s family in her home town of Ullo, 6 miles away.  The bike allows her to visit her family more often, to be a more active member of her community council and much more.

The bike will make life easier and more productive for Lambert, and save her many hours every week.

Susan, thanks so much for your donation!