I am Catherine. My two colleagues in the photos are Akouwavi and Améyo. We are apprentice seamstresses and we are part of a program that our promoter calls Youth Socioeconomic Empowerment, a program that pays the costs of the training contracts and then, at the end of our apprenticeship, provides us with sewing machines to allow us to open our own workshops. A few weeks ago, we received our machines and are already working. It is a great joy to see these photos of ourselves.
Akouwavi
With these sewing machines, we will work and save money, take care of ourselves, take care of our families and send our children to school. We have finally reached the end of our training and here we are with our sewing machines as promised. These machines are essential tools for our small businesses. All this is possible thanks to the support of the DRVR-TOGO and its partner Pedals for Progress / Sewing Peace. It is because of you, the donors, that our dreams have become realities.
Améyo
We are appealing to all P4P loyal partners and donors: Used sewing machines, bikes, and other tools as far as the eye can see are left in your garages, basements, stores, and offices. Donating them to P4P will help people and save lives in communities thousands of miles away from you on the other side of the world. Many thanks to you, David, and all your tireless P4P team for your dedication to social causes.
Essenam
I am Essenam. I am an apprentice seamstress. I would like through this little note to express my gratitude to DRVR-TOGO, Pedals for Progress, and all their partners and donors who contribute from near and far to help support vulnerable populations all over the world and as well as our communities here in Togo. I have not been to school like many young girls of my age have, so I decided to learn a trade, and the choice fell on sewing, a trade of my dreams since childhood.
Before the DRVR-TOGO bicycle program, I had to leave the house very early in the morning. I would arrive at the workshop late and tired, and then come back late at night, when travel is risky.
With this nice bike in the photo, I now arrive on time at the workshop to continue my learning with a lot of determination. Words fail me and all my family to thank the American donors to the P4P organization. Once again thank you for everything. Through my voice, I appeal to P4P and its partners to continue this program again and again to help other people in different areas of need.
Emefa
My name is Emefa and I am 14 years old. I am a student in the first-year class in high school. For the 2020–2021 school year, officials from DRVR-TOGO came to our establishment with a program to cover tuition fees and supplies and support to promote the education of orphaned and vulnerable children, especially young girls. I was the first in my class for the end-of-year exam. To continue my study in high school, I have to travel impossible kilometers to go to my classes, because there is no college in my village. You have to go to the town next door instead. With this bike from DRVR-TOGO and P4P, I could not hide my joy and that of my entourage. We sincerely thank you. My wish is that this program continues so that other students can benefit from it.
Afiwa
My name is Ania and I am a widow with two children: Afiwa is ten years old and Komlan is six. I sell boiled meat on the side of the road in my neighborhood to feed and take care of my children and especially to send them to school. Every morning I have to leave my activity and bring my children to school and pick them up in the evening at sunset.
Komlan
Some time ago a client told me about a DRVR-TOGO bicycle program and a child who had already benefited. I went to inquire about the program, and to my great surprise my two children got their own bikes. Now they leave the house every morning and came back in the evening after class without difficulty.
My two children and I say thank you to you the donors, to P4P, its president, David, and all his staff. We also offer a big thank-you to DRVR-TOGO here with us in our community.
Pedals for Progress would like to congratulate Warren County Habitat for Humanity (WCHFH) for celebrating 10 years of service and operation of their HFH ReStore. Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to the pursuit of building homes, advocating for fair housing policy, and providing resources for home repair for local families in need. One of their programs is their Habitat for Humanity ReStore where they recycle and resell at affordable rates donated furniture and appliances that would otherwise be destined for landfills. The ReStore has been serving the area for ten years and has been a fantastic resource for the community since its inception.
WHHS Computer Science Club 5/15/2022
We are fortunate to have a close relationship with Warren County Habitat for Humanity; they have been a collection partner since 2018. Our relationship is due to the dedication of Daryl Detrick, a volunteer with the WCHFH and a faculty member of the Warren Hills Regional High School who also serves on our board of directors. Thanks to Daryl, we have been able to use the ReStore as a site to collect a percentage of bikes donated by Warren County residents. Daryl graciously uses his own barn to store the bikes to help kick off his yearly collection with students from the Warren Hills Regional High School Computer Science Club. This collaboration has allowed Daryl and his volunteers to collect a substantial number of bikes prior to the main collection. This year on Sunday, May 15th they collected 153 bikes and 53 sewing machines!
Community Center Grand Opening 4/6/2022
In pursuit of continuing service to their community, the WCHFH recently had the grand opening of their new community center where residents, clubs, and groups can rent the space for meetings or events. It has been a successful year for them as they hope to use this space to connect the community and broaden the scope of their mission of giving back to residents. The new space has a rich history and has been fully rebuilt and repurposed to serve the community.
Warren County Habitat for Humanity does amazing work helping families and individuals in need, not merely in the square mile of Washington, New Jersey, but across distant corners of the globe. We’d like to encourage you to check out their cause. The commitment and generosity displayed by their program and volunteers are infectious. Cheers to another great 10 years!
In November 2021, Dave Schweidenback and I went on a trip to Arusha, Tanzania, to make a visit to our partners at the Norbert and Friends Missions. While Pedals for Progress has made shipments to Tanzania in the past, our relationship with Norbert and Friends is still fresh, starting in the fall of 2019. We took the opportunity to meet Norbert and his dedicated team, give advice, and to learn from them on both a professional and cultural level.
Arusha was busy. Fast moving taxis, buses, trucks, and motorcycles dominate the roads. The biggest takeaway was the sheer number of people who walked among these fast-moving vehicles. Everyone walks. You’d often see small children, five or six years old, walking with their much younger siblings in large groups. Mothers walk with babies on their backs. Marching squads of school children in matching clothes rush to and from school. Even along desolate, secluded roads you would pass people every mile, wondering how they got there. The number of bicycles was high, and it’s clear why bicycles are important – the pace of living is fast, and you need to keep up to make a living.
There is so much activity, so much movement, that you need a smart way to keep up. The bicycle fills this need. It shrinks the massive size of the country and makes distance more manageable. You instantly see the benefits when passing school children miles away from their schools. You see how the further you get from the main city, the more life gets stretched out. The doctor is further, schools are further, markets are further, everything is further away, yet the need to reach these destinations remains.
Moving along the roads you notice that nearly every home is transformed into a storefront during the day. Tin roofs cover the cement buildings, many open to the street, so you can get a glimpse of what’s inside. Hairdressers, art sellers, convenience stores, grocers, food vendors, clothing stores, carpenters, masons. It seemed that all business was done inside or at the doorstep of someone’s home. This began to excite me; I wanted the chance to meet some of these people who ran these shops, especially those associated with Norbert and Friends Missions.
We met with Norbert and his team several times during our trip. We were able to talk about our organizations and exchange expectations, problems, and plans. Seeing their bicycle operation was an incredible experience. Their bike shop was like many of the shops along the main roads. It was modest, bare, but getting the job done. They had a handful of bikes on display with another 20 or so in storage as they were getting down to the last of their shipment. This was good to see, as it means the 444 bikes we shipped in July 2021 have been successfully distributed.
What blew me away most was recognizing some of the bicycles that I had a direct hand in loading. There was even a small motor we shipped that was donated by an individual at Faith Lutheran Church in New Providence, New Jersey! After making the long journey, standing there in the middle of their shop in Tanzania was an impressive reminder of how far our goods travel.
As we started to meet people, the significance of what we do continued to bloom. One of the groups associated with Norbert and Friends Missions is Master’s Men Africa, a religious men’s group focused on bringing awareness to mental health among men in Tanzania and Kenya. They advocate for removing the stigma of talking about mental health among men and they bring awareness to the high suicide rate of men throughout Africa.
I spoke with a new graduate of the group named Abura Markson from Uganda. We shared stories and spoke about our organizations. He was very interested in hearing about Pedals for Progress and happy to know that we were working so closely with Norbert. Talking with him made me realize a nuanced and overlooked aspect of the P4P mission. Poverty is a tremendous weight that people bear and deal with, in a multitude of ways. The emotions associated with poverty, such as shame, helplessness, and depression, can well and bubble within a person and across a community. Africa has the highest suicide rate in the world. Whatever the reasons may be, there is no doubt that extreme poverty has something to do with it. It was in that moment talking to Abura that I realized what we are doing could be saving people from taking their own lives, through the simple act of donating a bicycle.
Joel, our main point of contact with Norbert and Friends, and Sanai, an employee of Norbert’s, graciously took us around the city of Arusha and the surrounding areas, to introduce us to some of the recipients of our sewing machines.
Sarah outside her shop
One of the first people we met who received a Sewing Peace machine was a woman named Sarah. Her small sewing studio is in the center of Arusha several levels up inside a multi-use apartment building. The small, dimly lit room, six by twelve feet, overflowing with fabric, was a sure signal of a hard-working individual. Sanai translated for us and retold bits of her story. She has been sewing for six years and since then has been able to put her children through school. Her four children are either now enrolled, or graduated university. She stays busy by making custom dresses, producing two or three elaborate dresses per day.
Access to electricity is the main challenge brought up by everyone we visited, Sarah being the first to mention it. The machines that are donated to us are mostly electric machines, and access to reliable electricity is simply something that the infrastructure of Tanzania cannot maintain. There is access but it’s sparse, as it will frequently shut off without warning with no telling when it will return. Manual treadle machines are great but older women like Sarah, who work long hours behind the machine, feel tremendous strain on their knees. Sarah mentioned how she likes to alternate to utilize the moments of electricity and to give her joints a rest.
Sarah also told us about the challenge of finding specific and specialized machines and attachments. At our collections we often say, “if we get it, they get it.” Sewing Peace simply does not have the capacity to seek out specific machines like overlock machines, which are highly sought after by independent seamstresses. These machines are highly desirable but relatively rare at our collections. At our most efficient we try to send at least two of these machines with every pallet of Sewing Peace sewing machines. However, that only accounts for two out of seventy-two, and even that we cannot guarantee.
We moved a little further outside of Arusha, passing a road-side bike stand where we took a moment to stretch our legs and talk bikes. This shop at the crossroads of two main roads was relatively large, with a good range of quality bikes. We took the moment to explain to Joel and Sanai about bicycle quality differences so they could price P4P bikes accordingly. Our partners must be able to provide a fair range of prices, while also maximizing their profits by selling quality bikes to those that can afford them.
Rachel
About 45 minutes outside of Arusha, we met a second sewing machine recipient, named Rachel, who has been running her shop within a busy market area for five years. She commented on how she loves the quality of her Sewing Peace machine but still runs into the same problem operating an electric machine on an unpredictable power grid. She works from the center of her small shop that has a counter with various sewing notions enclosed in a glass case. The back three walls have shelves filled with hygienic products, larger spools of thread, and a large assortment of fabric for sale.
Danielle
Later, we met Danielle, Norbert’s wife, who has been running a small shop in their neighborhood for the past two years. Her shop is very similar to Rachel’s, as she sells various goods surrounding her sewing machine in the middle of her shop. She mostly uses her shop as a convenience store for the neighborhood, selling soap, candy, cooking oil, and other goods. She uses her sewing machine to supplement shop income. She specializes in embroidered cloth used as dining mats or decoration. It is incredibly impressive as she uses a basic sewing machine to embroider flowers and other designs on colorful fabric. She takes custom orders for dresses and other commissioned design work.
It’s incredible to see firsthand how these women have created a life around one single machine. Hours upon hours of dedication have allowed them to build sturdy businesses around a specialized skill. It’s inspiring to see how they navigate problems beyond their control, all while continuing their enterprises. They either switch machines or find other ways to make money in the off time. Our machines donated by individuals in the United States end up in the hands of truly powerful businesswomen.
We left Tanzania feeling extremely satisfied. We have confidence in the Norbert and Friends Missions as they showed a high level of motivation and sense of urgency to supply their community with bicycles and sewing machines. We are excited to continue our relationship with them and to continue to supply them with the used bicycles and sewing machines donated by our generous donors throughout the tri-state area. The support we receive from our donors, volunteers, and organizations in the United States lifts the lives of others by helping build business, improve mental health, provide reliable transportation, and give hope and ambition to those who eagerly need a helping hand.
The last newsletter featured a memorial to Bob Gleason. It got me to thinking that I should write about other individuals who have had a profound impact on Pedals for Progress and me personally.
I would like to tell you about Ernie Simpson. He was a soft-spoken, simple man. He was a good old farm boy from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. To be a farmer you have to be a mechanic. Ernie served in the army during World War II in Europe, fixing jeeps, and returned home to work his farm.
As he was just about retiring from farming he started collecting bikes. He started to see bicycles being thrown into the trash that had nothing wrong with them or needed a simple fix. To him, it was wrong to be so wasteful so he decided to do something about it. He started collecting bikes he saw and soon had quite a few and he managed to give away some children’s bikes to local kids.
Soon he had so many bikes that they filled his barn. He reached out to Bob Nordval, who was a Dean at Gettysburg College and an avid bicyclist. Bob went over to see Ernie and was shocked to find Ernie had almost 200 bikes; the vast majority were adult bikes. Every one was totally repaired and ready to be ridden. Bob realized that he could never find a home for all of those bikes in Gettysburg so he did some research and found Pedals for Progress.
Ernie Simpson and friends
As soon as Ernie had a place to send the bikes he jumped into action. He produced 800 bikes per year for more than 10 years. He scoured Western Pennsylvania and restored every bicycle to perfect condition. If there was a little rusty spot he would sand it and paint it. He patched or replaced every inner tube and tire. He was so proud that he was saving these perfectly good bicycles from the landfill and getting them to people who truly needed them.
In 1999, when we started collecting sewing machines, he quickly ramped up sewing machine production and recruited his friend Dick Swisher (a sewing machine mechanic) to go over and refurbish each of the machines he collected. As most of the sewing machines came out of cabinets, Ernie built wooden shipping boxes for each one and he printed a copy of a generic operator’s manual for each machine. Besides the 800 bikes per year, he was soon collecting 50 or 60 sewing machines per year.
Ernie Simpson and Charles Mulamata from Uganda
I cannot do justice telling his story but here is a Spring 2008 Newsletter article that gives a more complete picture of the character and generosity of Ernie Simpson. He was humbled and proud to meet Charles Mulamata from Uganda. He was thankful to have the opportunity to perform the service of collecting, repairing, and processing bikes for shipping overseas. He dedicated the last 12 years of his life to rescuing bicycles for overseas communities. We got to be very good friends as I drove a truck to Gettysburg seven or eight times a year for 12 years. Ernie was one of the best men I have had the honor to have known. He was truly inspirational.
Long before there was Pedals for Progress, there was Ernie Simpson, who collected old bikes, fixed them up, and gave them to poor children in his community at Christmas. He began doing this in the 1950s. Over the years, as word got out and people donated more and more bikes, Ernie faced a situation that we’re very familiar with here at Pedals for Progress—an abundance of used bikes. His barn was overflowing with them. Needing a means to give them away, he found us. That was in 1996.
Ernie Simpson and Charles Mulamata from Uganda
Ernie initially gave us fifty-five bikes. These days, he’s our largest single source of bikes, collecting close to a thousand a year for us. More recently, he and one of his friends began refurbishing sewing machines for our sister project, Sewing Peace. Just like he does with bikes, he provides us with more sewing machines than anyone else. And in addition to putting the machines in working order, he has compiled a library of instruction manuals for all the makes and models that come his way. Ernie includes one with every sewing machine he gives us.
Ernie Simpson and friends
Typically, the bikes we receive come to us as-is, needing some work, and always needing to be prepped for shipping. The bikes we get from Ernie, on the other hand, are practically as good as new. He and his helpers take the time to fix each bike and put it in good working order, even replacing parts where needed, then they prep each bike for shipping. As if Ernie doesn’t do enough already, he also raises a monetary donation with each bike—just like we do at our collections—to help us with shipping.
Ernie’s community service extends well beyond his work with bikes. He taught machining at the Paradise School for Boys, where they named the machine shop after him. He also taught lawn mower maintenance and landscaping from his shop in Gettysburg. And during the 1960s, he established a local rehabilitation program for juvenile offenders.
In 1997, we honored Ernie with our Pedal Wrench Award. But we aren’t the only ones to recognize Ernie’s altruism and service to his community. In 2002, he was given the Lifetime Peacemaker Award from the Interfaith Center for Peace and Justice in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, his hometown. And in 2005, the Rotary Club of Gettysburg presented him with the Dwight D. Eisenhower Award. In addition to these accolades, Ernie was named a Paul Harris Fellow, received an award from the Adams County Bar Association, and received citations sponsored by Pennsylvania Senator Terry Punt and Representative Steve Maitland.
Ernie’s devotion to helping others is remarkable, and inspiring. That he’s 87 years old, and working as hard as he does for us and others, makes his story even more remarkable and inspiring. He’s touched numerous lives with his kindness and generosity, and we’re grateful that he chose to help us— thousands of families overseas live better lives because of him.
[This is a lightly edited version of the original PDF article from the Spring 2008 InGear newsletter.]
In our fall 2021 newsletter Dave Schweidenback, founder and president of Pedals for Progress, graciously introduced me as his successor and outlined the steps the organization will be making upon his retirement. I would like to personally introduce myself.
I grew up in High Bridge, New Jersey, just a few houses down from Dave. If you don’t know High Bridge, it’s a small factory town in the heart of our very rural Hunterdon County. I grew up riding my bike with my friends up and down every street, alleyway, and trail of the two-square-mile borough, enjoying the safety, comfort, and tranquility of my hometown.
My very first job was working as a loader for Pedals for Progress. I would listen to Dave tell hundreds of stories about the countries where we were sending bikes and the way they transform people’s lives. My worldview began to expand as I started to hear about countries I’ve never heard of, unrealized challenges people face, and all the change that can come from a bicycle.
I continued to work for Dave and Pedals for Progress off and on, working other jobs through high school and college, none resonating with me nearly as much as Pedals for Progress. I graduated from Montclair State University with my master’s degree and started looking for work while working as a warehouse manager at Pedals. Dave gave me a call one day to tell me about his planned retirement and to ask if I was interested in continuing our cause. A small side job suddenly became a career.
I am honored to be able to work with an amazing organization that continues to expand my mind and the way I look at the world — a world that now seems more interesting and nuanced than it did before my work with Pedals. I am humbled by the generosity I have seen in our partners, sponsors, and donors in their commitment to helping those that need help around the world.
Pedals for Progress is simultaneously a small-town organization and an international shipping company. We are facing the challenges of the times with grace and stability. Despite increased costs that are hitting businesses world-wide, the state of our organization is strong. We are excited to begin partnering with more collection groups now that people are starting to feel more comfortable attending public events. My journey with Pedals for Progress is merely beginning and I am incredibly excited to take on the development of our organization and to continue our mission of sending used bicycles and sewing machines to motivated individuals in the developing world. I would like to invite you to accompany me on this journey. Thank you for your support.
In September 2021, “The Ideas Partnership” (TIP) non-governmental organization based in Kosovo used GoBike sewing machines to deliver training to women from the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities of Janjevo and Fushë Kosova. The aim of this project, “Women and youth for community development and cultural heritage”, is the empowerment of women and youth from marginalized communities through skill building activities promoting cultural heritage and diversity.
After 3 months, a group of 20 women and girls from the Roma, Ashkali, Egyptian, and other communities of Janjevo and Fushë Kosova have completed the skills development training on tailoring and handicrafts. During their training, the women learned how to use sewing machines, to work with materials, to sketch and sew, including learning handiwork with simple motifs and embroidery (bags, table covers, etc.). In addition, they have also created a network where they feel productive and are more confident that one day they will own a business or find employment. The sharing of space for mutual support, connection, and learning has shown them that no matter where they are from or what language they speak, it is cultural diversity that unites them more than ever, that they are all the same, and can make a difference in Kosovar society. This training was led by 5 women trainers of the Social Enterprise “Sa-Punë“, who share the same experience with participants and now are making a living of their own.
After this training, the TIP organization will continue to make use of GoBike sewing machines to train future cohorts of women and girls interested to learn a new skill and to socialize with one another. While in the past, TIP used to buy sewing machines in Albania, the GoBike partnership with P4P has enabled a much easier access to good quality sewing machines without the need to import from another country.
We hope that GoBike can continue to cooperate with similar organizations and noteworthy projects to put sewing machines to good use in empowering and improving the lives of many Kosovar women and girls.
The TIP project is part of the financial grant issued by “Cultural Heritage as a Driver for Intercommunity Dialogue and Social Cohesion” project that is funded by the European Union’s Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP) and implemented by UNDP Kosovo.
From: Simon Akouete <simonakouete@gmail.com>
Date: December 12, 2021 at 6:24:12 PM EST
To: David Schweidenback <dschweidenback@gmail.com>
Hello David,
I hope you and all your team are doing well. I would like to confirm that we have finished the procedures for getting the container through port and customs. The bicycles and sewing machines as well as all spare parts have arrived at the headquarters of the DRVR-TOGO association in Vogan. All our thanks to the PEDALS FOR PROGRESS team and especially to you David, without forgetting the multiple partners and donors among the American people who have made this initiative a reality.
We want to confirm to you that your will to act in favor of aid for the development of communities on the other side of the world can only arouse great admiration on the part of the beneficiaries for this noble action that you continue to bring to vulnerable and marginalized populations languishing under the effects of misery and poverty, who need you more than ever for their survival. We cannot write this note without referring to this pandemic of the century which has taken human lives, wiped out our efforts, and brought us to our knees. We are asking ourselves one and only one question: Covid-19, when is the end? …
We are not going to give up, we are going to work, we are going to get up again and again.
A big thank you to you David and especially to your dynamic and tireless team.
Simon Yawo Galé AKOUETE, Coordinateur Association DRVR-TOGO
On August 19, 2021, on behalf of Pedals for Progress, I had the great privilege to be sent to Albania to visit our partners at Ecovolis, to meet with Ened Mato and the rest of his extraordinary team to get to know them and discuss their operations.
For the past eight months I have been working closely with Dave, Gary, and the rest of the team at P4P, as the newly elected Vice President of Operations. Working for Pedals for Progress since high school has always been a joy for me. The work we do here is truly inspirational and makes any day of hard work loading a container well worth it. I was offered the full-time position and instantly knew it was something I wanted to take on. I was extremely excited to accept the position to dedicate more of my time and skills to our cause of shipping bikes and sewing machines to motivated people in the developing world.
Dave was very aware of the biggest flaw in my resume (and life experience) when hiring me for a larger role in an international organization like P4P. My lack of travel. I had never left the country. The furthest north I had been was Boston, furthest south was the Outer Banks, furthest west was Central Pennsylvania and furthest east was swimming at the Jersey Shore. Lewis and Clark would be ashamed of my lack of westward expansion. Dave knew I needed to learn from the world, to get a better understanding of our mission and what we’re up against.
I woke up one morning at the end of June to an email with the Subject line: Crazy Idea. I opened it and read a thread of messages between Dave and Ened, asking if he’d be interested in hosting me at his summer camp in Jale for a week to give me the opportunity to learn about the world by seeing it on my own. Ened was instantly on board with the idea and more than happy to host me. I was in shock, filled with excitement, anxiety, and joy.
Jale, Albania
Fast forward to mid-august, I was boarding a plane to Albania alone with a backpack and newly acquired passport on my first journey out of the country thinking “what did I get myself into.” I had often dreamt of going abroad. The experience didn’t feel real stepping outside onto the tarmac at Tirana International Airport. I was picked up by Ervin, a long-time employee for Ecovolis. The four-hour trip from Tirana to Jale was spent getting to know Ervin and the work Ecovolis has done for the capital city of Tirana. Their biggest program is a bike sharing initiative where residents can rent bikes for a very small fee to navigate the city. This greatly helps people commute while alleviating some of the traffic of the small but bustling city. To better accommodate cyclists, Ecovolis also has been pushing the city to create, grow, and maintain bike lanes and other infrastructure that will make it much safer to travel throughout the city. Ervin expressed the great need for bicycle safety and advocacy to draw the public’s trust to this method of transportation. This is something that is essential for any city that wants to successfully reduce traffic and emissions made by cars and buses. Ecovolis does not simply distribute bikes, but is making a difference by having bicycle transportation not just reliable and available, but sustainable and appealing to the public.
Ecovolis in Albania is a fascinating organization as they have a true passion for environmentalism on several fronts. As we made our way to Jale, we traversed breathtaking mountain views overlooking wonderfully blue seafront. Ervin was describing the eco-tourist campground that we would be staying at for the week, one of the many programs Ecovolis is involved with. He had been there for two months prior, and came to Tirana to pick me up and collect more tents and other supplies for the camp. It was one of the many initiatives they take part in to return to nature and help strengthen people’s connection to the natural world. In the off season while not at the camp, they return to Tirana for their bike initiative while also working on other projects like planting trees with local volunteers to revitalize the diminished forest in Lurë.
When we arrived at camp, I was blown away at what they have created. Two blocks away from the beautiful beachfront was the entrance to the camp that scaled the steep mountain. It was broken up into several levels. Entering camp at the bottom-most level there was a volleyball and soccer court where young people can play games and relax. A handful of bikes were positioned here and available to anyone at camp, allowing them to ride around the small town and get to the beach. Climbing the stairs that led up to the various levels there were some RV-campers and other common areas. On the third level there was an open-air kitchen and a large area with plenty of tables and chairs for people to gather and eat meals. Further up the mountain, following the rocky steps, I approached the several levels of campground with 150 or so tents placed beautifully under the abundance of olive trees. Ping pong tables, common areas, a bar with drinks, and fire pits were also sprinkled about the area. Painted wooden paths and fences brought an elevated level of color to the already vibrant camp. It was an intimate community with plenty of friendly faces with welcoming smiles.
Alan and Ened
Settling in, I was finally able to meet Ened, the lead organizer of Ecovolis. He instantly made me feel at home and was extremely hospitable. He told me more about the camp and the many things him and his team are involved with throughout Albania. The camp was set up in the early 2000s with the idea of bringing eco-tourism to Albania to build the country’s economy in an honest, fair, and sustainable manner. Ened is a true trailblazer, inspiring several other camps up and down the coast for others with like-minded ideas of providing people with peaceful eco-tourism opportunities. Ened’s camp has the capacity to hold up to two-hundred people with full amenities. He hosts various youth programs and students throughout the summer. Travelers and other youth from several different parts of Albania and Kosovo are also welcomed and bused to and from the camp. For a small fee of US $7 a day, each tenant has access to a tent, showers and running water, bathrooms, and breakfast and dinner. There is access to an on-site bar with espresso, water, and flavored drinks that cost less than they would at the beach. These funds supplement the camp allowing them to continue to buy necessary food and supplies.
Camp Bar
Ened explained that the growth of the camp, in its 20th year, has been very promising and stronger than ever. The entire experience is a great way to remove oneself from the typical consumerist vacation that many people grapple with. Cell phones and social media use are frowned upon to the extent of one sign encouraging people to have conversation eye to eye. The culture at camp revolved heavily around companionship and camaraderie. Camp felt tight knit, as if everyone knew everyone.
Camp Kitchen
One night, Ened and I were sitting a bit removed from the campfire as many of the other campers surrounded it while listening to a performer sing songs playing an acoustic guitar. We were talking about the mission of Ecovolis and the reason behind the camp. Albania’s history is very dense, especially in the last 50 years as they have grappled with corruption, civil war and reconstruction. Ened has a deep desire to be able to create and maintain a community – his country – of people dedicated to peace and environmentalism. He is proud of what he has created as the camp reflects these desires to create a community of people that are self-sufficient and making efforts to remove themselves from the rat-race of the 21st century. Paraphrasing, Ened said “take for example these kids, what they are doing is so anti-system, they are young and can go down to the bars down below, but instead choose to be here singing around the campfire under the stars.” He continued to explain his greater mission of using the bikes we send him as “soldiers in a bigger fight” against the various forms of corruption within the country. They are used as tools to mobilize the community, to allow them to get to where they need to be, to build something from the ground up that they can all call home.
The people at camp certainly follow Ened’s vision. Among the people at camp I came across a group of friends close in age to myself that stand out most in my mind. They were bused down from Kosovo and invited me to have espresso with them down at the beach one morning. Like any new group of friends, we talked about our backgrounds, hobbies, interests and what we do for a living. I told them about Pedals for Progress and while they did not work for Ecovolis, and were in Jale for a short vacation, they instantly gravitated to and understood our mission. It was a moment of clarity for me, and a sobering reminder of what we do. They didn’t have the same kind of interest in our organization that people my age have here in the United States have for P4P. It was through a different lens I saw how important our work is. They instantly recognized how useful a bicycle can be for someone. They thought of how important a tool like a bicycle can be for the people back home in Kosovo. When my friends from the United States see a bicycle, they do so as a product of leisure or exercise. Abroad, in a developing country, it is much more. I was blown away seeing the agency this group of guys had when they heard more of our program. They explained how Kosovo and Albania, like many countries in the Balkans, are struggling to build themselves, many being newly formed governments. They know that the bicycle is a way to achieve a fulfilling, successful life with long-term security. They saw the tool and thought of their homes and the people they care about, people who can use that tool to greatly change their lives.
Throughout the week, staying and working at the camp, I was constantly surrounded by hard-working people dedicated to a greater cause. Ervin, who I spent the great majority of the trip with, was a well of knowledge and inspiration. One day, Ervin, the chef at the camp Ari, and I went a few towns over to pick up mattress pads to bring back to camp. They were in storage located behind a group of bungalows accessible only by a tight winding path that went up the mountain. We loaded over 200 foam pads onto a flatbed parked at the bottom of the road. Relentlessly hauling ten mattresses at a time, Ervin and Ari showed an energy that never flagged. Ervin’s mindset is captured by this image and another moment when we were paddling a canoe in the sea. We were paddling against the wind to access a small private beach. The closer we got the harder it was to paddle, yelling to me in the back he said “Do you see the beach? We must keep going! We can see the beach, so we can go touch the beach!” It is that mentality that stuck with me the most. Ervin and the rest of the people at Ecovolis can see the beach – they see a community that can be better, that can serve a purpose and be peaceful. They are pushing to touch that beach and make it a reality.
One of my main jobs here at P4P is loading our containers. Before my trip to Albania, closing the doors and putting a seal on the container, with the bikes officially on their journey to a new country, the destination always seemed vague and distant. Being able to interact with people who receive our bikes has closed that gap and has given me a better understanding of the extent of our mission. It was an amazing experience to be thrown headfirst into the world, beyond the two square miles of High Bridge, New Jersey, to face a previously unseen part of myself and the world. It’s motivating to know the groups we work with have a deep desire to change the communities they love. Traveling to Albania, the concept of mobility was hard to escape. It’s intrinsic to what we do, as the bicycle gives people the opportunity to be mobile, to go beyond what they are capable of on foot. When you have mobility, you have the opportunity to create change. This change is multifaceted and goes beyond simple transportation to work and school. It includes personal and private change. Cycling gives personal freedom to expand your reach within your community, to be active with your friends and family. To be able to connect with the people in your life, to see them eye to eye and live comfortably beside them, gives a community greater strength to push forward and grow on so many different levels. While this has always been a core tenet of Pedals for Progress, it resonated at a much deeper level to me after this trip. It was truly an honor to see the camaraderie, companionship, hard work, and passion I came across during my time in Albania, generated from people who simply want to improve the world.
It has been such a tumultuous year. Pedals for Progress and Sewing Peace have been working within our pandemic limitations. It is hard to sum it all up. Maybe it should be “the mission continues”. In our fiscal 2021 we got back to our 2019 production levels. 2022 should be even better.
P4P became 30 years old this year. I have had the immense pleasure of being President of P4P for 30 years. Parts of the job that require physical ability I can no longer have. Over the last 10 years I’ve gotten a lot of help from younger folks but it is time to start a transition to a new team with a much younger, more vibrant President. We have completed three decades but we now must plan for the next few.
Alan Schultz loaded containers all through high school. Went off and got a Masters degree and graduated into the teeth of a pandemic. For over a year he has been managing the loading of the containers: five men, four hours, 20,000 pounds. I was impressed with his management skills with those work crews.
I asked him this spring if he would like a greater role in the organization and he said yes, what would it be, and I suggested it be President. You have seen from the newsletters his excellent writing skills. Another important element of the job is public speaking; his public speaking is as good as if not better than his writing skills. I’ve already mentioned his exceptional skill managing a work crew.
We plan an 18-month transition period that started in April 2021. Alan has been my shadow since then. This fall he’ll follow Gary Michel, going to collections with Gary. We always need multiple people to run collections and no one will teach him how to run collections better than Gary.
Alan has been watching the international shipping arrangements, but I will involve him more in the actual Magic of having a 40-foot container arrive at our loading dock and then reappear halfway around the world, somehow getting through customs in a partner country. In the spring of 2022 he will start moving the paperwork for the containers and I will be his shadow.
Then in the fall of 2022 he’ll begin all the messy details of running a business: insurance companies, bookkeepers, budgets, accountants, federal and state tax authorities, state registrations, commonwealth registrations, bank accounts, …
In December 2022 Alan will be the president. I am still on the board of trustees. I don’t plan on going anywhere and I only live four houses up the street from Alan so he can involve me in whichever way he wishes. It will be a decision the new president has to make but I will be here to help in any way I can.
Pedals for Progress should have been cash positive in fiscal 2021 but we were slightly in the red because we have been carrying an extra payroll burden for 8 months. This is the cost of a succession plan. For fiscal 2022, for the first time ever, our budget shows a −$18,000. P4P is quite self-sufficient but really can’t afford an extra salary spot. Yet that is the cost to continue for decades more. For the next 12 months we are just going to have to accept that added payroll cost so that we can have a smooth transition into the future.
I had not planned on retiring, in part because I didn’t think there was any possibility of anyone else taking on the job. I had assumed we would just fold the organization at some point. When I realized that there was an alternative and a potential candidate who could keep P4P going, it was an opportunity too good to miss.
I want to express my personal deep gratitude for all the support you have given P4P over the years. I want to assure you that the mission has not changed. Alan will continue this vital work for decades to come. Please support him and the organization in the future.
I started Pedals for Progress in 1991 in my late 30s. I ended up recruiting a number of recent retirees in their early 60s who were looking for a second career. They became the core of our bicycle collections. I am now 69. We have lost many of these important cogs in the wheel.
In the next couple of newsletters I would like to honor some of these good friends and instrumental movers in the success of Pedals for Progress. I did not create this organization by myself. I have had a lot of help, from many role models.
Here I would like to speak about Bob Gleason, who passed away on October 1st, 2021. (Obituary) Entrepreneur, bike shop owner, such a good soul. Bob built the first BMX course in New Jersey to promote the sport. He served the greater Freehold, New Jersey, area as a predominant bike shop for decades.
Through his bike shop he offered trade-ins, at his loss, which he donated to P4P. Late in life he became interested in antique bikes and he helped market the rare antique bikes we sometimes receive.
Bob always had a smile on his face and a chuckle in his speech. He was a truly jolly person and you came away from meeting him with your day improved.
Men like Bob Gleason have inspired me to be a better person. To work harder and longer for the disadvantaged. They became my role models.
Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association uses bikes to help protect and manage important wetland areas. Rugezi Marsh is a 6,735 hectare wetland protected by RAMSAR. We have a team of 50 community Marsh Rangers patrolling the wetland and watching out for activities that are not allowed and will destroy the marsh habitat, such as grazing livestock, cutting down trees in the buffer zone, hunting wildlife or cutting grass.
To improve the management and law enforcement of this important wetland, we also work in close partnership with local leaders around the marsh.
With the bikes from Pedals for Progress we were recently able to distribute bikes to all local leaders working near Rugezi Marsh – a total of 187! They were so happy to receive these bikes. The bikes will make a big difference in their communities and will increase collaboration with the Rangers.
During the event, one leader made a speech about the significance of the bikes and how much they were appreciated by him and his colleagues. He described how the projects at Rugezi are life changing. He believes that the bike will help him respond quickly when Rangers call, especially during their patrols when they need support in resolving illegal activities. The bikes will also help in daily life, providing transportation to the market or to church. Having a bike will also save money that they might spend on public transport and save time getting where they need to go.
Once the local leaders have started using their new bikes, we will check in with them to better understand the impact they have had on their job roles and family life. Thank you to Pedals for Progress for helping support conservation at Rugezi Marsh in Rwanda.
On behalf of the Mityana Open Troop Foundation, I have compiled a progressive report for May to October 2021.
Mityana Open Troop Foundation is a registered Community Based Organization, with a Vocational Skills Training Centre, which recruits and trains vulnerable youths, mostly young girls formerly selling sex for survival and girls expelled from schools due to teenage pregnancies. We teach our students sustainable vocational skills. Before the closure of all institutions due to Covid-19, the school had a total enrollment of 92. Since the inception of vocational skills training at our centre in 2007, a total of over 800 have graduated. Some got employed while others set up their own workshops. Every graduate of our program is given a sewing machine from Sewing Peace, USA. Without equipment, the graduation certificate is no help, as 90% of graduates can’t afford tools.
Students are trained for 2 years in Sewing & Fashion Designing, Hair Dressing & Weaving, Motor Vehicle & Cycle Mechanics, Carpentry & Joinery, or Metal Fabrication.
Every year, there are 3 training terms of 3 months each; for each term the centre recruits whoever wishes to join.
Achievements
Madison Sewing Workshop
The Sewing Workshop floor has been renovated and we installed 2 cutting tables with a micro loan from M/s Ivonne Reilly Sencebe of the USA. The workshop floor had been dusty, not conducive to learners and damaging sewing machines. This Madison Sewing workshop was constructed with support from Madison Ardizzi of Canada.
The project sewing shop has been producing face masks and selling them at a price lower than our competitors’.
Tyne Hall Renovation
The Tyne Hall hair dressing workshop roof has been renovated with support from Mr. & Mrs. Jane Louise Colin Neil Dippie, of the UK. The roof has been leaking for a long time. The construction of Tyne Hall workshop floor and boundaries was sponsored by Mr. Chris James Eldridge of the UK.
Challenges and Limitations
By the second lockdown and school closure in mid-June 2021 due to Covid-19, a number of students had not fully paid their school fees. All training institutions in Uganda had been under lockdown since March 2020. This has caused serious loss of income for our project!
The Organization still encounters challenges in raising funds for shipping Sewing Machines from Sewing Peace USA.
The Organization lacks a computer, printer, and photocopier, which we need to print end-of-term exams and other office documents. Currently all computer work is taken to town.
The project needs a computer lab with internet access, to enable students to find dress fashions, learn computer skills, and get Health information. In addition, this computer lab would be used by our community volunteers to access the Ministry of Health for health-related issues.
The project requires a new embroidery machine that can use a USB drive and that can run faster. The current machine is slow and often needs routine maintenance and servicing.
The Organization requires office furniture and a staff room, as instructors don’t have a place to sit and keep their kits.
The Training Centre lacks clean water. There is a very small (2000-liter) water tank, which lasts 2 days. Then students have to go on foot 1 km in search of water from unprotected water sources. This has resulted in many cases of Typhoid.
We have many cases of malaria among project trainees, as they lack mosquito nets.
Our project lacks a toilet for boys. Currently boys and girls share one pit latrine, which is not recommended by the Ministry of Education.
The project lacks an incinerator, where sanitary pads and other wastes can be burnt easily.
Community Impact
The Mityana Open Troop Vocational Skilling Project offers affordable training to school dropouts from our communities, including unemployed youths. The project trainees come from the 6 surrounding districts: Mityana, Mubende, Kiboga, Kasanda, Kyankwanzi, and Hoima. The non-formal skills training we offer has very much benefited parents whose children have dropped out of school, as most institutions in the area offer only formal education only.
Over 800 trainees have graduated since our inception in 2007. These graduates go back to their communities and set up their own workshops, passing along their acquired skills to fellow youths who didn’t join our project.
The community can also buy inexpensive goods and services from trainees in the carpentry workshop and the sewing project, where we make uniforms and offer sewing repair services.
Our sewing shop also offers embroidery services to schools formerly traveling to Kampala.
The Mityana Open Troop Foundation is the only shop in the area delivering high quality used sewing machines at inexpensive prices. The machines are from Sewing Peace USA. Many schools and tailors in the area have been supplied with these machines.
Way Forward and Recommendations
We are fundraising for a new 2-classroom block, to enable us to create a conducive training environment and have room for more students.
We need a new toilet for boys, who currently share facilities with girls.
We need embroidery machines with USB input, as the one we have is very slow and requires mechanical servicing all the time!
We need an incinerator for burning sanitary pads and other wastes.
We welcome volunteers who can teach sustainable skills to our youths. We would like to partner with similar vocational training institutions elsewhere in the world. This will help us learn how they operate. Plus it will help our Ugandan youths create friendships with fellow youths and learn about their cultures.
We are organizing a Christmas children’s party for December 27th, with guest speakers, drinks, cakes, biscuits, music, and gifts.
Conclusion
In conclusion, on behalf of the Mityana Open Troop Foundation, I extends our sincere thanks to the following great friends and partners: Mr. Chris Eldridge, Mr. Colin Dippie & Mrs. Jane Louise Dippie, Mr.Nino Ardizz, M/s. Madison Ardizzi, Holly Williams, M/s. Ivonne Reilly Sencebey. You have all been so supportive to our organization, during this pandemic lockdown and before. This has been and still is a very challenging season of limited funds and people losing their jobs.
I also extend our thanks to Mr. David Schweidenback, President of Sewing Peace, and the generous communities of the USA, who have been donating high-quality refurbished sewing machines to our needy Ugandan communities. Please, the used sewing machines which seem unimportant in the USA have uplifted our communities, changing peoples’ lives by creating a daily source of income. Thanks to all the volunteers involved in the collection of sewing machines and bicycles.
Please Continue Giving a Hand Up, Not a Hand out.
Stay safe from the Covid-19 Pandemic.
God Bless You.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2022
Yours,
Mathew Yawe, Executive Director, Mityana Open Troop Foundation
“Freedom and Unity” is the motto of the great State of Vermont. Much of what we do at Pedals for Progress is based on this exact principle. Our goal is to send used bicycles and sewing machines to motivated people in the developing world in the hopes that they can have the freedom to get to where they need to be, creating a better life for themselves. This goal requires a great amount of unity here in the United States. We cannot do what we do without the help from hundreds of dedicated people throughout the country. The Green Mountain Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (GMRPCVs) of Vermont are some of our most productive domestic partners. Every year for 22 years they’ve sent bikes and sewing machines from 300 miles away.
FedEx, another generous domestic partner, ships the bikes at no charge from Vermont to our warehouse in New Jersey. In 2020, FedEx delivered the 4000th bike from Vermont.
The GMRPCV operation, led by Joanne Heidkamp, Paul Demers, and Bob Thompson, along with the rest of the volunteers, requires a great deal of hard work and dedication. We are happy to report that, this year alone, the members of the Green Mountain Returned Peace Corps Volunteers collected 312 bikes and 204 sewing machines from hundreds of Vermonters throughout the state. They held collections on Friday 9/24 in Montpelier and on Saturday 9/25 in Burlington. We here at Pedals for Progress would like to share a little bit about what they have done over the years and give thanks to the many people and groups involved with this difficult endeavor.
Getting the word out about our collections is always the biggest hurdle when organizing an event. What makes a successful collection is not simply stating that there will be a bike collection, but communicating to the public exactly what the collection is for. The GMRPCVs have been able to nail it year after year. MyNBC5, the local NBC station, ran a fantastic news piece that does exactly that. It perfectly showcases what they aim to do and where the bikes will be going and the lasting impact the bikes will have on the communities they are being sent to. Press releases like this not only spread the word, but convey infectious motivation that encourages people to come out to the collections. Here is the two-minute video from MyNBC5.
Vermont’s collections are particularly impressive because of the large number of sewing machines collected. Most of the machines are collected by Mary O’Brien, who works in the solid waste management department of Windsor County. She collects machines all year round, cleans, oils, and tests them. She uses pretty cloth, sometimes handkerchiefs or napkins, to hold sewing notions, a pin cushion, and reading glasses, and puts it all together in a kit for each machine. She also includes user manuals for the machines. The machines and their accessories must be astonishing to our overseas partners who get them.
This year, Mary also donated her classic, dearly loved road bike, which she had owned for most of her life and which she rode across the US in 1981. The bike has a personality of its own, reflecting the life-long activist and humanitarian that rode it. The bike is equipped with red panniers and an “anti-nuke bicyclist” sticker. The well-loved bike that has seen a lifetime adventure will continue its journey in its new home in Guatemala. It will double its life as a bicycle and see even more of the world while providing someone with a valuable means of transportation.
It is truly inspiring to see the great work that The Green Mountain Returned Peace Corps Volunteers have done for Pedals for Progress and the countless people and families associated with our international partners. We would again like to thank everyone involved. This year’s collection was certainly one worth celebrating. We greatly look forward to continuing this fantastic relationship and we are filled with excitement for next year’s collection.
My name is David. I am from Njiro Arusha Tanzania. I am so thankful to God for getting a bicycle for exercise and also as a tool to enable me to ever be in my workplace. Congratulations to the P4P Project under The Norbert and Friends Missions for the excellent work you are doing to help us young people by providing work tools such as bicycles so that we can build a body and use a bicycle as a means of transportation.
From Mrs Johari:
My son loves cycling and has now been crying for P4P bikes for him to exercise. I wish I could continue to pay a little more so that my son can exercise using this bike, which is his size.
From Raphael:
My name is Rafael. During this corona period I was lucky enough to get a bicycle from the P4P Center under The Norbert and Friends Missions in Arusha. The bike has helped me get to work on time but most of all my health has improved and I am currently not having trouble breathing. My chest feels strong.
From Norbert:
My name is Dr Norbert Mbwiliza. I am the founder of The Norbert and Friends Missions. I have been fortunate to be among the project beneficiaries who have received a practice bike from the P4P Project. Fortunately I have found a bicycle with which we are encouraged to exercise in Tanzania as part of the fight against Covid-19. As you can see, my health is improving thanks to the exercise I get by cycling. I thank my friend David and the entire P4P team for your great support, which has helped us earn an income by selling bicycles and sewing machines. Through your support the incomes of Tanzanians are strengthened.
Jamie Acosta
Jerry Agasar
John Alexander, Treasurer
Daryl Detrick
Ann Fitzgerald
Sarah Jannsch
Richard Millhiser, Chair
David Schweidenback, President & CEO
Casey Walsh
Andrew Williams
Bob Zeh, Secretary
Shipment totals for a country include shipments to previous partners as well as to active partners in that country.
Shipments of bicycles since 1991 have gone to other partners in Appalachia, Cameroon, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mexico, Moldova, Mozambique, Namibia, New Guinea, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Senegal, Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Vietnam, and Venezuela.
Shipments of sewing machines since 1999 have gone to other partners in Cameroon, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Nicaragua, Panama, Perú, Senegal, St. Vincent/Grenadines, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Yemen.
The P4P fiscal year runs from October 1st through September 30th.
A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS AND MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS:
Susan Alden
Andrew Aprill
AXA Foundation
Chad & Cecilia Bardone
Biovid
Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church
Ernest & Marilyn Businelli
Sherman Carll & Jane Tant
The Jos Claerbout Fund
Clif Bar Family Foundation
The Alexander Divinski Family Trust
ExxonMobil Foundation
FedEx
John & Jane Fisher
Anne Fitzgerald
John & Scarlet Gorton
Jack & Donna Haughn
Robert & Laura Hockett
Leo & Helen Hollein
Sarah Jannsch
Johnson & Johnson Foundation
K & E Jones Family Trust
Gary & Mary Kamplain
Barbra A Kelly Charitable Gift Fund
Susan Ritchie-Ahrens
Margreet Ryan
David Schweidenback & Geraldine Taiani
Theres & Eric Shick
Joseph Brooks Smith
Ronald W. Subber & Martha C. Wood Charitable Fund
Warren County Habitat for Humanity
Carol Weismann
Mark Wheeler III
Andrew & Emily Williams
Chester County PA Solid Waste Authority
Congregation Beth El – Ner Tamid, Broomall, PA
Emmanuel Bible Church, Schooley’s Mountain, NJ
Green Mountain Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, VT
Memorial United Methodist Church, Avon, CT
Newtown, NJ, Rotary Club
Raritan Valley NJ Habitat for Humanity
Rotary Club of Branchburg, NJ
Saint Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Youth Group, Lebanon, PA
Saint John’s Memorial Episcopal Church, Ramsey, NJ
Saint Joseph Church, Bogota, NJ
Saint Stephen’s United Church of Christ, Perkasie, PA
Westfield, NJ, Rotary Club
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