Fall 2007 InGear

One of the difficulties in establishing any new program overseas is getting that first shipment there. Customs, politics, cultures, languages, international trade laws, and even weather can make for a trying experience in getting a shipping container filled with 450 to 500 bikes to a destination hundreds or even thousands of miles away. In trying to get our first shipment to Jamaica, people wanted the bikes, but local politics and Hurricane Dean caused significant delays.

We had been trying for many years to establish a program in Jamaica. Finally, in August of this year, we shipped our first container to our new partner organization, ECODAC, in Ewarton, Jamaica. As with many of our partner organizations, the first shipment will establish a bike shop. But in this case, it will also be a shop that students use for business training. So, not only will bikes serve the local community by providing clean, affordable, reliable transportation, but these bikes will create a business, a business education model, and a training ground for bicycle mechanics. That’s really getting the most out of P4P bicycles.

Ewarton is a rural community with no public transportation system. Taxis exist, but the fares have continually increased to the point where most people can no longer afford them. So walking is the primary means of mobility. Bikes from Pedals for Progress will change this and significantly improve the lives of many Ewartons. And now that they received their first shipment, the following ones will be much easier to deliver. And Ewarton will soon have many more citizens pedaling instead of walking.