Category Archives: bicycles

bicycles, InGear - The Newsletter of P4P, Kosovo

Report from Kosovo, Fall 2018

By Kushtrim Gojani
Fall 2018 InGear


Kujtim Mehmeti is one of the co-owners of an auto-repair shop called “D-Max”. The service is located near Vushtrri, a town about 10 miles from the capital, Prishtina. Owing to his profession, Kujtim inevitably loves wheels and speed. He is very fond of bicycles, too, to the point that he still cannot part with his very first BMX bike—on which he learned to cycle and which he still keeps in the attic of his house.

However, when Kujtim (whose name means souvenir, or a memory) bought a big black and green P4P Huffy bike from the GoBike store on July 16th, he didn’t just buy it for himself. He primarily bought it for the employees of his auto shop, Altin Istrefi and Muhamed Shabani. Up until then, they used to hop in the car for everything. As the shop is located by the main road from Pristina to Vushtrri, they had to use the car whenever they needed to go into town or to a store for supplies or food. They have now replaced the car with the bicycle—and they are loving it! Kujtim hasn’t really crunched the numbers to know how much he is saving on fuel costs by using the bike instead of the car. But the benefits to the environment and to their health are invaluable.

On Sundays, when the shop is closed, Kujtim and his friend Alban Kasumi (who also bought his bike from GoBike) go cycling for 10 miles just to keep fit. Kujtim was the first to buy his bike. Alban bought his the very next day, after spending a sleepless night from the fear that his favorite Kent 700 Roadtech bike might be sold. Both love the effect the bicycles are having on their fitness and general well-being. They can’t wait for Kosovo’s infrastructure to recover to enable people to change—where possible—from cars to bicycles.

Marjana Neziraj, whom her family and friends call Jana, is 9 years old. She lives in Pristina with her mom Kristina, dad Bruno, and her brother Daniel. Jana loves being outdoors. She thought she liked only swimming during the hot summer months, but after her father bought her the Venus Rock Candy bike on August 1st, from the GoBike store, she discovered how much she misses cycling too. Whilst she was off school during the summer break, she used her bike almost every day. The bike was a tool for Jana and her favorite doll of more than 7 years, Beba Trashe, to go for a ride around the neighborhood, or to go to visit her grandfather, aunts, and uncles. Now that school has started, her father often takes the bike to school when he goes to collect her. Jana then rides home, under the guidance of her father, as Pristina is not yet a cycling friendly city for adults, let alone children. Jana’s one regret is that her father works very hard and does not have time to go riding bicycles with her in Germia Park, just on the outskirts of the capital city. However, she is determined to carry on cycling, on her own if needs be. She is a very determined girl, and the bike is not only helping her with mobility, but also to learn to be independent.



Albania, bicycles, InGear - The Newsletter of P4P

Fall 2018: Bike School and Bike Jobs in Tirana, Albania

By the Ecovolis Team
Fall 2018 InGear


It was a Saturday afternoon when the activists of EcoVolis went out as usual to patrol the new bicycle lanes here in Tirana, Albania. In one lane there was a motorcycle driving fast, in another a car that had completely blocked the bike lane. A total of 12 miles of lanes built in a very short time by the head of PASS/Ecovolis, now titled the “Bike Mayor”. PASS and Pedals for Progress are the right combination to turn Tirana into the City of Bikes.

In just a moment we counted over ten bikers using the lanes. It was a rare emotion for the activists who have fought for ten years for protected lanes. Now these lanes are flowing rivers of bikers. Just like boats on true rivers, these bikers go about their days on these lanes.

We take a look back in time: How did we get here? The collaboration with Pedals for Progress gave the opportunity to PASS, the mother organization of EcoVolis, to undertake tens and hundreds of activities with the mission to return bikes to Tirana. It was the start of this partnership in 2000 that decided how things were going to be for the bikers of Tirana today. And how beautiful things are!

There are daily bikers for the Day Care, Two-wheels Academy, Free the Lanes, weekend biking, tour guides for guests, bikes for kids who cannot afford them, bikes for the elderly and the communities that need them. One great example is the transformation of 30 bikes from P4P into cargo bikes for the Romani community to work in the recycling field (a total of 60 new jobs).


The number of bikers in Tirana has grown tenfold. At the EcoVolis Service shop a lot of bikers come to repair or exchange their bikes for better ones from the U.S.A. This led us to start to train young girls and boys to repair bikes in order to open more EcoVolis Service points and also to create new jobs for more people.

Now that there are more than 7000 bikes from P4P, EcoVolis has another ambitious mission: to open a bike school. Taking as examples other countries where bikes are ubiquitous—the Netherlands and Denmark, for example—Tirana is also at the point in which it is opening the first schools for bikes, with the full support of P4P. This school, now in the planning stages, is expected to add 3000–4000 bikers to the lanes per year.

To change movement in a city with over 1 million inhabitants is the story of the success of a strong partnership like the one between U.S.A./P4P and Albania/PASS. When we look back we cannot believe that fate and time approached us with such a virtuous organization, whose support and energy helped us to create so many jobs for the community and to make a two-wheel revolution for our city. Thank you, Pedals For Progress. You are already a Nobel Prize organization.

bicycles, InGear - The Newsletter of P4P, Vietnam

Report from Vietnam, Fall 2018

By Nguyen Hanh
Fall 2018 InGear


Nhi Cao, 10 years old, was born into a poor family with five children in a village in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The family lives in a dilapidated house that was built in 2008 with the help of generous donors. Her father, 48 years old, has been working in construction for more than ten years, and can make only irregular visits home from his far-away construction sites. Her mother, 42 years old, earns income for the family with all kinds of work, including selling lottery tickets. Though she is the youngest child, Nhi helps her mother with the house work, and earns a little income by knitting, feeding chickens, and harvesting vegetables after school.

Two of Nhi’s sisters are already out of school after they completed their secondary education, but are still struggling with finding vocational training programs. Most of the time, Nhi and her sister and brother walked more than 2 miles to school while her mother also walked around 25 miles per day selling lottery tickets, earning $10–$15. Nhi’s mom usually works from dawn to dusk but is still unable to meet the family’s expenses. In early 2018 the mother was provided with a micro-loan from The Dariu Foundation (TDF) to invest in raising 100 chickens with the hope of earning some profit and enabling her to afford a new bike by the end of the year.

In June 2018, The Dariu Foundation received a container of bikes from Pedals for Progress (P4P) and Nhi was among the eligible recipients. After TDF refurbished the bike, they sold it to Nhi in June 2018. TDF also used some spare parts from the P4P container to fix Nhi’s old bike.

Nhi and her brother share the P4P bike to ride to school in the morning. The third child uses the repaired bike to ride to school in the afternoon. Nhi’s mother uses the old bike in the morning and the P4P bike in the afternoon, and as a result has nearly doubled her income from her lottery ticket sales.

At the end of August, her mother got a second loan of $400 from Dariu, which, together with the profit of $230 from selling the chickens, she invested in raising a cow. She expects that she could earn $800 from this business by end of 2019, along with an annual profit of around $2,400 from selling lottery tickets. This money should help her repair the house and invest in her children’s education.

In July 2018, Nhi joined Dariu’s coding skill training program (Scratch) for secondary students. She completed a project at the end of the training course, and entered her project in Dariu’s competition among primary students. Unexpectedly, Nhi was among the top ten project winners of Dariu Scratch Summer Camp 2018.

Nhi studies hard and is one of the best students in the class. “Thank you Dariu for giving me such a beautiful and good bicycle. It not only helps me to ride to school but also my mom in her business,” said Nhi. Her mother explained, “I don’t have to use the broken old bike all the time. I am very grateful. I hope in the future my children can continue their education and that Nhi can achieve her dream of becoming a doctor”.

bicycles, Kosovo

July 2018: Kosovo #1 Arrival Report

By Kushtrim Gojani

Dear David,

Hope you are well.


Many many apologies for this late reply. The reason I am writing this late is due to a ton of work dealing with bicycles to bring them to good use. The container honestly caught me a little off guard. I knew it would be a container with 450 bicycles but I guess I did not prepare for the work required to assemble them. I am aware of the challenge and sacrifice it took P4P to establish this project in Kosovo, and I am very thankful. This very fact gave me extra pressure, because I don’t want to let you down and I want to make the GoBike & P4P partnership successful.

I managed to clear the container on 11 July 2018 after only 2 nights at customs. This was my first import experience with Kosovo customs, and we had a few problems that I hope we can handle better in the future.

We are a little cash poor, so I could not hire extra mechanics for the bicycles. I have been working intensively myself with the support of friends and family to prepare the bicycles (many of us were inexperienced) and this kept me away from all office work. Apologies once again for responding late.

Now some good news 😃

From the moment we unloaded the container we were very pleased with the reaction of the people here. They appreciate the quality of the bicycles and are eager to buy them. They are quite surprised to see that we brought American bicycles to Kosovo, and they are happy to find bikes that vary from quite inexpensive to professional quality, so there is something for everyone! So far, we see quite a lot of interest in children’s bikes.

The location of the GoBike warehouse is very strategic. It is in the main road between the capital Prishtina and a famous city in north Kosovo called Mitrovica, so people who travel this road and families who live nearby are already stopping by our shop.

We managed to sell 25 bicycles so far, but we are having some overhead. We gave top priority to security so we installed cameras and hired a guard to look after the bicycles during the night.

I will get back to you again once we manage to prepare all the bicycles (another 250 to go) and I will keep you informed about GoBike news and events.

Here is our facebook page.

Thank you ever so much.

All the best,
Kushtrim

bicycles, Vietnam

Report from The Dariu Foundation, Vietnam, June 2018

By Hanh Nguyen (General Manager of The Dariu Foundation, Vietnam)


The Dariu Foundation (TDF) was established in 2002 in Switzerland with its mission to empower low-income families with microfinance and education. Over the past 15 years, we have advanced the mission objectives by providing access to affordable and readily available microfinance services to thousands of rural low-income women, who are considered as unbankable, in Vietnam and Myanmar. Since 2007, we have provided more than 14,000 scholarships, as well as notebooks, school books, pens, uniforms, rice and bicycles to the disadvantaged and neediest students among the poorest families in the rural areas to prevent them from dropping out of schools at an early age.

We have had fruitful cooperation with international partners, of which Pedals for Progress (P4P) is the organization that has shipped us the most bikes. So far, three containers of bikes and sewing machines have been donated, benefiting around 1,500 families in the rural areas.

We are looking forward to a strong partnership so TDF and P4P can go further with comprehensive social projects in Vietnam.

Case Study in Vietnam

Binh Nguyen was born into a poor family in the mountainous district of Dong Nai province. He is now a secondary-school student, grade 6. One year ago, because of a kidney problem, his mom’s health went bad, and all housework was put on his shoulders and his dad’s. Besides doing all the housework, he got a part-time job as a fruit deliverer to earn some income for the family.

Every morning, Binh had to wake up early, preparing breakfast for his mom and two sisters before he took a four kilometer (2.5 mile) walk to school. When the kids were small, the dad took them to school, but now they have to walk. The family is too poor to afford a bicycle, so two kids had to walk by themselves. After school, Binh again walks home to help his dad harvest fruit, and to do the cooking and other housework. “I was sick and unable to do any job, even a little housework. So Binh has to do all the housework. He is a hard-working and good son. This year he was awarded the best-student prize. I am so proud of him,” said his mom.

In June 2018, he is among 500 students to receive scholarships of bikes donated by P4P via The Dariu Foundation in Vietnam. “I am very happy with my first bike. Now I can take my sister to school with me. And we no longer have to walk to school,” said Binh.

bicycles, Kosovo

New Partner: GoBike Kosovo

By Kushtrim Gojani
Spring 2018

GoBike LLC is located in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, Europe’s youngest country. Kosovo is a landlocked country bordering Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia. Kosovo owes its independence largely to U.S., U.K. and other European partners who intervened in 1999 to stop ethnic cleansing of the Kosovo Albanian majority by the policies of Slobodan Milosevic, the President of ex-Yugoslavia. NATO troops are still present in Kosovo, and the U.S. Army has a base in Kosovo, Camp Bondsteel, which can hold up to 7000 soldiers.


The partnership between Kosovo and the U.S. is strategic. Kosovars are extremely grateful towards the U.S. for its continued support, and Kosovar Albanians (more than 90% of Kosovo’s population) tend to be very friendly towards the U.S. This gratitude is visible across Kosovo’s cities, but most notably in Pristina, where one can walk down Bill Clinton Boulevard, turn onto George Bush Street, and end up in Madeleine Albright Hall.

Like all post-war countries, Kosovo faces many political, economic, environmental and social challenges. Although it has the youngest population in Europe (more than 60% are below 25 years old), the unemployment rate remains at 30%, and at around 60% for youth and women. Kosovo is entirely reliant on energy produced from lignite, which is extremely polluting and a perennial health hazard. Post-war development and the corruption associated with it have taken a negative toll on the environment; quality of air, water and soil; increased congestion in cities; and deforestation in rural areas. Kosovo’s capital is often ranked one of the most polluted cities on earth.

In response to these problems, I established GoBike LLC in November 2017 with the mission to promote cycling and bicycle use in Kosovo, reduce transport-related carbon footprint, and improve Kosovo cyclists’ well-being. The vision of GoBike is a Kosovo society with an improved quality of life and environment. Partnering with Pedals for Progress has been crucial to getting this start-up business going.

GoBike aims to stimulate bicycle use, increase the number of cyclists in the city and thus reduce pollution from traffic, and make cycling in Kosovo safer and enjoyable for all. We seek to identify, support, and promote all those who use bicycles as a main mode of transportation, and to lobby for improvements of urban infrastructure for cycling.

GoBike strives to be the number one bicycle provider in Kosovo, with specialized bike shops for rentals, sales, and maintenance. Our business will focus on the organization and promotion of cycling events (excursions, festivals, cycling clubs, etc.) and education of citizens on the importance of bicycle use. This, indirectly, will affect the greater demand for bicycle rental and sale services. In the future, GoBike plans to establish the very first public bicycle rental system, initially in the capital, with the hope of expanding to other cities.

GoBike’s chosen area of focus is not only important in and of itself, but it also has multiple benefits to the environment, contributes to health, and supports Kosovo’s economy and tourism. Kosovars brand themselves as “The Young Europeans”. Hopefully, Pristina and other Kosovo cities will have the cycling infrastructure and attitude towards bikes as other European cities like Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and London.

Pedals for Progress, thank you ever so much for your contribution and support. I look forward to reporting on the contribution our joint endeavor is making to address Kosovo’s environmental and economic challenges.


Kosovo
Population: 1,920,079 (2017 est.)
Area: 10,908 sq km (slightly larger than Delaware)
GDP per capita: $12,003 (2017 est.)

Albania, bicycles

Report from Albania: A Special Day for Bulqizë Kids and Communities

By the EcoVolis Team
Spring 2018

Bulqizë is an Albanian town about 40 miles northeast of Tirana, the capital. During the Communist era Bulqizë was a mining town well known for the high quality of its chromium and copper. At its peak it was home to around 50,000 people with full employment and excellent infrastructure – including schools, health centers, and roads. Mineral enrichment and smelting factories also provided employment for surrounding rural communities.

Today Bulqizë has been reduced to an isolated settlement with fewer than 14,000 inhabitants, who still live in the old and decaying Communist-era apartment buildings erected 45 years ago. Unemployment is high and the majority of families live at or below the poverty line. The tragic loss of life of men who work in the mines has left their families with little or no income. Community members and children thus feel financial and other kinds of pressure, and social problems continue to worsen.


On 1 May 2018, EcoVolis Albania headed to Bulqizë to meet with these communities and donate more than 20 bicycles to the most needy children and families. We also distributed boxes of clothes, toys, books, and modest supplies, providing some much needed relief. EcoVolis activists spent the day in the town talking to people about their lives, hardships, experiences, and daily issues. They also helped children to get on their bikes for the first time in their life, talked to them about their school, dreams, and what it is like growing up in Bulqizë. A local organization joined EcoVolis in this activity, helped us identify the most needy families, and facilitated our interaction with the local community.

At the end of the day, our EcoVolis team headed back to Tirana with fond memories of the children and their excitement when they got their new bikes. At the same time, we realize how much more support is needed in Bulqizë. With a series of similar activities in other vulnerable communities across Albania, our EcoVolis Team has given people there a happy break in their everyday routines. Though we can’t make a fundamental change in their lives overnight, we can give children the hope that their future can be different from their parents’ and we can inspire them to dream big like their peers elsewhere in Albania and the world.

bicycles, Guatemala

Report from Guatemala, Spring 2018

[We just got this short note from FIDESMA, our long-time partner in Guatemala.]

Maria Arecely Reyes Tala is an eight-year-old fourth grader.

She is a girl with dreams. She is a happy, playful little person. She used to see the other girls with their bikes, and was always hoping to have a bicycle of her own. Now she has one.

From the first moment that she got her bike from FIDESMA, she was very eager to learn how to ride it. She learned very fast and now handles the bike very well. She rides a little every day. She likes to run errands at the store and ride all around town making mischief.

Pedals for Progress and all their collaborators and volunteers bring smiles to Guatemalan and many other children.

Thanks to P4P for your support, which allows us to offer bikes at prices that everyone can afford.