Bramhall and Woodford Rotary Club have sent 400 unwanted bikes to Namibia in West Africa

Our Collection Day in Bramhall

The Van took them to Colchester, from where they were shipped

and they arrived safely in Namibia

These pictures are from previous bike deliveries

The essence of the scheme is that unwanted bikes from the U.K. are collected, and sent to Re-Cycle (www.re-cycle.org.uk) They load 400 selected bikes, together with tools and spares, in a large container and ship them out to Namibia, where they are unloaded, serviced and distributed. Some are modified and sold at affordable cost to become load-carrying bikes, which can provide employment for a man acting as a deliveryman or a courier, water carrier or even, with an extended frame and seat, a family transport for husband, wife and kids!

Bikes are given free to nurses, midwives and community workers. The current rate of HIV infection is 25% of the population, and the community workers go out to the villages and provide support for the families. It is common for a 9-year-old child to be responsible for bringing up the younger siblings

They are also provided to women who head-carry water from the well to their homes. Starting before 10 years old, by their twenties the girl's spine and neck are permanently damaged. The women are happy to go to the well, as it is their social life. It may look graceful, but it is crippling.

Smaller framed bikes are given to children who often have to walk for up to 4 hours a day to get to school

The container is fitted out as a workshop, one of the staff from Windhoek goes out to train mechanics, and the project is monitored to ensure that there is a supply of spares and more bikes

The bikes need to be robust, to cope with the hard-baked roads and potholes, mountain bikes being ideal We are asking anyone who has an unwanted bike to contact us to donate it and / or give a contribution towards the cost of shipping them out to Namibia and setting up a service centre; vital when there are no bicycle shop for spares.