M’balu lives in Kalangba, Sierra Leone, a rural community 120 miles from the capital Freetown. Thanks to your donation, M’balu received a bike and was taught how to take care of it.

M’balu is a high school freshman who never owned a bicycle before VBP came to Lunsar. She travels 3 miles to and from school every day from her village Kalangba. Before having a bicycle, she had to leave her house by 6am to get to school on time. Now she can leave at 8am and still arrive on time! With her new bike, M’balu has more time to sleep, study, do her chores and spend time with her friends and family! Owning a bike saves time and energy for M’balu, and helps her attend school every day!

M’balu is very thankful for your donation, Mark and Lynn! Thanks for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!

Adama lives in Lunsar, Sierra Leone, a rural community 120 miles from the capital Freetown. Thanks to your donation, Adama received a bike and was taught how to take care of it.

Adama is a junior in high school at Our Lady of Guadalupe Secondary School and has never had the opportunity to use a bicycle before VBP came to Lunsar. Before owning a bicycle, she had to walk three miles to and from school every day. This took her an hour and a half each way. Now, she can easily get to school in half an hour! She loves having the use of a bicycle and has free time to sleep, study and help out with chores. Owning a bike saves time and energy for Adama, and allows her to be successful in school!

Adama is very thankful for your donation, Luke and Ani! Thanks for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!

Hawa lives in Lunsar, Sierra Leone, a rural community 120 miles from the capital Freetown.
Thanks to your donation, Hawa received a bike and was taught how to take care of it.

Hawa is a high school freshman at Our Lady of Guadalupe Secondary School in Lunsar. She did not know how to ride a bicycle before VBP offered the Learn-to-Ride classes. Hawa was chosen to receive the bicycle because her daily commute to and from school is 4 miles. She has to climb and descend many hills and travel through dangerous mining territories. By using the bicycle, she now has more time to do her domestic chores and study, as well as get more sleep and develop good physical strength from cycling. Owning a bike saves time and energy for Hawa, and allows her to be successful in school!

Hawa is very thankful for your donation, Rick and Beth! Thanks for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!

Ramatullai lives in Lunsar, Sierra Leone, a rural community 120 miles from the capital Freetown. Thanks to your donation, Ramatullai received a bike and was taught how to take care of it.

Ramatulai is a teacher at the Bakhita Kindergarten School. She uses the bicycle twice per week
to visit the homes of the children who are not in school. By going around to the homes, the teachers are able to get to know the parents and make sure the kids come to school every day. Before she had the bicycle, it took her over an hour to visit all the homes around Lunsar, but now it only takes her 20 minutes. Owning a bike saves time and energy for Ramatullai, and allows many girls to attend school!

Ramatullai is very thankful for your donation, Sterling and Melinda! Thanks for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!

Isata  lives in Lunsar, Sierra Leone,  a rural community 120 miles southwest from the capital Freetown. Thanks to your donation, Isata received a bike and basic bike maintenance teachings.

Until the VBP workshop came to Lunsar, Isata had never even ridden a bicycle. She is a teacher at the Bakhita Kindergarten School and uses the bicycle about 3 times a week to collect the children who are not in school. The kindergarten where she teaches is very poor, and many of the children are made to stay at home by the parents to help out with domestic chores. Instead of it taking 1 hour for her to visit the families within a 2 mile radius, she is now able to collect the children in less than 30 minutes time with her bicycle.  Owning a bike saves time and energy for Isata, and allows a lot more girls to attend school!

Isata  is very thankful for your donation, Julián! Thanks so much for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!

Atah is from Bodaa, Ghana, on the western border next to Cote D’Ivoire. Most people in this town of about 1000 people are farmers, and the soil is fairly good there.  People in Bodaa walk most places they go.

Atah is a farmer, and thanks to your donation, received a bicycle and learned how to care for it. Atah will use his bicycle to go to the farm, about 6 km away from his home. He is 23 years old and grows cashews at his farm.  Owning a bike saves time and energy for Atah and his family, and makes life a lot more productive!

Atah is very thankful for your donation, Mark and Lynn!  Thanks for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!

Rose is from Techiman, Ghana, a major market town on the western border next to Cote D’Ivoire. Most people in this town are farmers, and the soil is fairly good there. People in Techiman walk most places they go, and waste valuable time getting around.

Thanks to your donation, Rose received a bicycle and learned how to care for it. The bicycle allows her to go to trade school about 4 kilometers away from her house.  She will also share the bicycle with her sister who will use it to buy food for the family from the market. Owning a bike saves time and energy for Rose and her family, and makes life a lot more productive!

Rose is very thankful for your donation, Sterling and Melinda!  Thanks for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!

Charles is from Bodaa, Ghana, on the western border next to Cote D’Ivoire. Most people in this town of about 1000 people are farmers, and the soil is fairly good there. People in Bodaa walk most places they go, and waste valuable time getting places they need to go.

Charles is a farmer, and thanks to your donation, received a bicycle and learned how to care for it. Charles will use his bicycle to go to his farm, about 7 km away from his home. He has been walking there every day and is looking forward to having more time and strength for farming when he rides his bike. He will share his bicycle with his wife and children who will go to farm with it too. Owning a bike saves time and energy for Charles and his family, and makes life a lot more productive!

Charles is very thankful for your donation, Maurice!  Thanks for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!

Alhaji is from the village of Lunsar, about 120 miles from the capital city. People in Lunsar have rarely used bikes in the past, even though people commonly walk many miles every day. Thanks to your donation, Alhaji received a bicycle and was taught how to take care of it.

Alhaji uses his bicycle many times each day.  He has a good job collecting data for a company 5 miles away from his home. If he didn’t have his bicycle, he would be forced to pay Le 4,000 (about $1) per day to travel by Okada to and from work.  When Alhaji isn’t using the bicycle, he will let his 12 yr old brother uses it to go and buy food from the market in Lunsar.

Alhaji said “I want to say thank you, because without this bike I was really straining to go to work and back and it is really a great help to me now. We are the first people in Lunsar provided bicycles and we are grateful for that.”  Owning a bike saves time and energy for Alhaji and his family, and makes life a lot more productive!

Alhaji is very thankful for your donation, Akiko! Thanks for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!

Alim is from the village of Lunsar, about 120 miles from the capital city.  People in Lunsar have rarely used bikes in the past, even though people commonly walk many miles every day. Thanks to your donation, Alim received a bicycle and was taught how to take care of it.

Alim is a teacher at a Secondary School and the head of the Sierra Leone Teacher’s Union, Lunsar Chapter (SLTU). Not only does he use his bike to commute to and from school every day, but he takes the bike to visit all the other schools around Lunsar on a weekly basis. When he is not traveling to schools, he uses his bike to visit his friends and to watch sports events. His 2 younger brothers also use the bike to buy food, water, and other items at the markets around Lunsar. Alim said  “The one thing about the bicycle is it is economical and I am very much grateful.” Owning a bike saves Alim time and money, making his life more productive and much easier.

Alim is very thankful for your donation, James! Thanks for your support of the Village Bicycle Project!