On 15 January 2016, there was joyful singing from residents in the Ledig, Freedom Park and Boitekong communities near Rustenburg in South Africa’s North West province. The reason was the arrival of brand new Qhubeka Buffalo Bicycles, funded by the Tapologo Bike Project and facilitated and delivered through the P.E.A.C.E. Foundation, a charity that finds holistic, innovative solutions to rural poverty alleviation and people development.
The funds for the Tapologo Bike Project were donated by a large circle of friends living in upstate New York, USA. Many of them are athletes and like bikes, but they are primarily interested in supporting the education and betterment of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs) served by Tapologo.
Tapologo Bike Project raised funds for 15 bicycles, which will help health workers like ‘Big Boy’ (aka Josef) and Jackie to travel to work every day – a distance of more than 10km, that previously needed to be walked every day. They visit sick children with AIDS and cancer in the community, and cycle to shops to buy food to distribute to the children.
The carrier rack on the Qhubeka Buffalo Bicycle is built to hold up to 100kg, which will make the transporting of food and groceries much easier and faster. Where there is no running water, water will also be carried to the children by using the bicycles.
Here’s a video that shows the bicycles arriving:
Photos and video courtesy of Gert Vermeulen from P.E.A.C.E. Foundation