Bicycles for Students in Cape Three Points, Ghana
the problem:
I am raising money to purchase bicycles for around 60 students who live in Cape Three Points, Ghana. Cape Three Points is a very small fishing village on the southern most tip of Ghana with a population of around 900. There is no electricity, running water, and very limited forms of transportation. Poverty plagues most of the village. All of these students who will be receiving a bicycle attend a local trade based high school called Trinity Yard School, which is about a 4 mile walk from the village of Cape Three Points. None of these kids have an income so purchasing a bicycle is not really a plausible idea for most. Thus, I think that by giving each student a bicycle, it will help them in tremendous ways in getting to school, to their farms (which are sometimes over 10 miles away), to clinics, or to neighboring villages where some have sick family members.
vital stats:
people impacted:
60people involved:
4why it's important:
This is important to me because over this past summer, I spent a month in the village of Cape Three Points and in Trinity Yard, building a Batik classroom for the high school. I really connected to Trinity Yard and the village and felt an incredible connection to the students who were helping us in the building process. I really want to continue giving back to them since they have so little, yet are some of the happiest and friendliest people I have ever met. I believe this project will help them so much in making their already hard and demanding lives as students that much easier by giving them a means of transportation.
the plan of action:
I have already contacted the Village Bicycle Project which is an established organization that collects bicycles in America and sends them to Ghana. The bikes are then distributed to villages around the country where a one-day workshop is conducted, teaching the participants how to care for/fix their bikes and how to use the new tools. The Village Bicycle Project has agreed to host 3 workshops in Cape Three Points for the students. I am planning on fund raising to raise money to pay for these 3 workshops as well as the 60 bicycles. I am having each student who is receiving a bike write me a letter saying why they want a bicycle, what they will use it for, how they will care for it, and how much effort they will put into keeping the bike in good shape. I am doing this so the bicycles will be respected and cared for rather than just taken as a gift that can be replaced by someone else if they do happen to break. I have set up a local leader, the teacher at Trinity Yard, who will relay the information I give him to the students and the people of the village. I am also hoping to fly to Ghana to be there for the 3 workshops once we get the dates set!
how you can get involved:
Others can help with monetary donations or with ideas for fund raising. Any idea or donation is greatly appreciated!
project updates:
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Comments
We have a similar situation here in Malawi, Southern Africa. We have a volunteer youth organisation called Youth Initiaves Network that try to influence school drop-out youths in the rural to go back to school but they cite transportation as a major problem. Would you mind replicating your project here in Malawi and our organisation would gladly help monitor its implementation voluntarily.
I am the organisation's Executive Director and I am really inspired with your project. You can email me on mhlangadm@state.gov or yinnac@ymail.com.
Your efforts are appreciated.
Duncan Mhlanga