WorldBicycleRelief.org -- what's going on?

Recently Chris Strout from World Bicycle Relief took the time to answer a couple of questions about their efforts to use the Power of Bicycles in their mission to spread a little love. Check it...

* How long has World Bicycle Relief been in existence?

We started 3 years ago in response to the Tsunami of December 26, 2004.
Within 14 month following the disaster, World Bicycle Relief provided
24,000 bicycles as a way to help the recovery efforts on the island
nation of Sri Lanka.

* Man! That's a lot of wheels! What is the status of World Bicycle Relief today? Where do you find yourselves?

That IS a lot of wheels ! Right now our efforts are focused now on sub-Sahara Africa, where there is a great need for simple, sustainable transportation. Our largest project is providing 23,000 bicycles to volunteer, community-based HIV/AIDS caregivers, disease prevention educators and vulnerable households in the nation of Zambia. This is Zambians helping Zambians, in a country
about the size of Texas with about half the population (11.5 million
people.) More than 900,000 people have HIV/AIDS, and there are more than
1.1 million orphans and vulnerable children.

We are committed to building a sustainable solution, and so the project
also includes training for 400 field mechanics, in-country bicycle
assembly, and a measurement and evaluation phase that will help us
continually improve our efforts and prove The Power of Bicycles.

* How many bicycles have been shipped so far and where have they
gone?

We delivered 24,000 bicycles in Sri Lanka, and nearly 13,000 so far in
Zambia.

* Wow - nice work...what is the easiest way to understand the impact of the program?

There are many stories that show the impact a bicycle can have on
someone's life. One of the more illustrative is that of a woman who is a
volunteer Caregiver, who rose at dawn in order to walk to the next
village to care for her patients. It took so long that she stayed
overnight, before traveling back to her own village the next morning,
again leaving before dawn. With the bicycle, she is able to travel back
and forth in one day, and her ability to care for her patients has
increased dramatically.

* What is some of the feedback you have received? either from gov.
officials, NGO's, recipients etc.

The response to our programs have been overwhelmingly positive. Both the
Zambian Ambassador to the U.S. and the U.S. Ambassador to Zambia have
taken a keen interest in what we're doing, and we have worked closely
with the First Lady of Zambia to support her education program.

For the recipients, it's too hard to put into words just what a
difference it makes in their lives. We have a video library on our web
site, and a couple of videos on YouTube, that tell the story better.

*I saw some of the videos you are talking about. When you see that, you KNOW that it is making a HUGE difference. Can you tell us some steps you are taking towards partnering to increase your effectiveness?

Our programs are most effective because of our partnerships! At the
front end, we partner with Tata Industries, the bicycle manufacturer, to
work with us to make improvements to the bicycles themselves, all while
keeping the bikes compatible with the spare parts available in Africa.
On the ground, we partner with a USAID-funded relief consortium called
RAPIDS, Reaching AIDS Affected People with Integrated Development and
Support, headed by World Vision International. In simple terms, we are a
supplier to RAPIDS, but the bonds go much deeper than a traditional
vendor relationship. That said, their expertise is working with
volunteers; ours is providing bicycles, and in this way we are both
successful!

* Please tell us the quickest easiest way our readers can help make
a difference.

Because we work within the existing supply chain, the best way to make a
difference is to visit our web site and contribute to the program. Just
$109 purchases a complete bicycle, and any amount will help save lives.
While there, you can also sign up for our monthly e-mail newsletter, and
receive notices of volunteer opportunities. Every single person can help
spread The Power of Bicycles!

Thanks Chris -- we hope you get some more love from the RideClean readership!

The site is very informative and thorough -- look at just this page here

http://www.worldbicyclerelief.org/impact/index.php

and see what impact using a bicycle has for people in need.