Here are Qhubeka’s 2015 numbers. Thank you to everyone who supported us and helped us to mobilise more people with bicycles throughout the past year!
Of the 9 391 bicycles delivered in 2015, 2 027 were purchased from Qhubeka, either by companies or individuals. Many people sponsored bicycles for other people that they knew who had no transport, which helped them to get to school, work, shops and clinics, while some companies helped employees to pay for the bicycles so they could get to work more easily. Others bought Qhubeka Buffalo Bicycles to ride themselves because the bikes are so robust and long-lasting. If you’d like to find out about buying a bicycle, you can do so here.
Throughout the year, we held distributions across South Africa. These events are where Qhubeka programme participants receive the bicycles they work to earn. They are wonderful community celebrations and each one is special. During 2015, we distributed bicycles into Qhubeka programmes in communities in five different provinces:
These bicycles were distributed to people in various programmes who either earn bicycles by working to improve their communities, the environment or their academic results. Our Qhubeka Eco programmes are currently run in partnership with Wildlands Conservation Trust, while our Qhubeka Education programmes are run in partnership with World Vision.
Below you can see the break-down of the bicycles that went into the various programmes. 2015 was a year where we focused on our Bicycle Education Empowerment Programme (BEEP), thanks largely to the #BicyclesChangeLives campaign, which raised 5 020 bicycles over the year. The campaign aims to raise fund for another 5 000 bicycles in 2016, this time for men, women and children of all ages across the country, who are participating in various different Qhubeka work- or study-to-earn programmes.
For every 500 bicycles that Qhubeka distributes into a community, we also train at least one bicycle mechanic to ensure that these bicycles last many years and their recipients have access to maintenance services. This helps to create employment opportunities within the communities in which our projects are based.
We hope to mobilise even more people with bicycles in 2016. If you’d like to help us, donate towards funding bicycles here.
