World Bicycle Relief has a ‘double your donation’ campaign running until 10th December. Here’s why you might like to consider making a donation.
World Bicycle Relief provides bicycles for people – usually young girls – in developing nations, and those bikes are rugged, high quality machines designed to stand up to rural commutes. Hannah previously did a bike check on one of the Buffalo bikes they give.
The bikes are a little cheaper than you’re used to in high-end mountain bike land: A donation of £15 covers a wheelset, £35 a toolkit, £95 a bike, and £475 five bicycles. It’s the ultimate n+1: you pay for a bike, and it doesn’t take up any space in your shed. They just exist, somewhere out there, helping other people.
There is good evidence that investing in girls’ education has significant wider social and economic benefits, hence WBR’s focus on giving bikes to girls so they can get to school. Often this doesn’t just mean time and energy to get there, but it means a safer journey with a reduced risk of sexual assault or grooming. WBR reports that girls are at risk of being offered transport in exchange for relationships – having their own transport means the girls aren’t under this pressure to trade themselves for access to their education.
World Bicycle Relief quotes the fact that ‘Investing in girls to continue their education leads to increased lifetime earnings of 68%’ and ‘46% of Malawian children do not finish primary school’.
If you think you’d like to be part of changing those statistics, head here to donate.
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