Vorheriger Tag Previous day
Day 9

A bicycle part for a schoolchild in Zambia

Full speed ahead! Full speed ahead! Full speed ahead! Full speed ahead!

A bicycle part for a schoolchild in Zambia
Day 9
Bicycles for children in Zambia

By dawn, 13-year-old Lizzie – like most girls her age in Zambia – is already up and about. She has a lot to do: every morning she starts her day with the 2.5 km walk to the well to fetch water for her family. She sits on the ground in front of the hut and washes the dishes in a bucket before lighting a fire and boiling drinking water. When she didn't have a bike, Lizzie carried the 20 litres of water for her family on her head every morning. Now she can ride her bike to the well and transport the water safely strapped to the luggage rack. On school days, things remain hectic for Lizzie even after breakfast. She has a 4.5 km walk to school ahead of her. Not only is she much faster on the bike, she also saves valuable energy for the day. Lizzie dreams of becoming a nurse.

Bicycles for children in Zambia
need
Improving mobility for school children in rural Zambia, where distances to school are long.
activity
Bicycle parts are assembled and students are given bicycles to ride to school.
Measurable performance
Number of bicycle parts and bicycles distributed to Zambian schoolchildren.
Result
Children save time and energy and attend school more regularly.
Systemically relevant impact
The schoolchildren improve their academic performance, educational opportunities and have prospects for a better future.
background

According to the World Bank, more than 450 million people in rural Africa alone have no access to jobs, education and health care due to a lack of transport options (Global Roadmap of Action Toward Sustainable Mobility, 2019). This is also the case in Zambia. Far away from the capital Lusaka in the countryside, there are no school buses, no paved roads and no highways. The majority of people there live in houses without electricity or running water. The routes to the nearest water source or school, the nearest health center or market are long and often only connected by paths more than 10 km long (Schmid D. et al., 2013). Women and girls worldwide spend an estimated 200 million hours a day fetching water (Wallace RA, 2016). The long distances mean that children have to walk long distances of up to 4 hours to get to the nearest school. Most students are therefore often late or absent from school. This affects performance and it is not uncommon for students to drop out of school early. Girls are particularly affected by this because, due to their cultural backgrounds, they are exposed to a double burden of household chores.

Chongwe, Shibuyunji & Kafue District, Zambia
Day 9 Day 9
The good deed

With today's good deed you are donating a bicycle part to a schoolchild in Zambia. Thanks to your donation and the donations of many other people, children in Zambia can cycle to school instead of walking. They can cover the long journeys to school four times faster with the so-called Buffalo bicycle from the World Bicycle Relief organization. This bicycle is particularly suitable for the bumpy roads in rural Zambia. It has a very sturdy luggage rack for carrying water or food. This saves the children an average of three hours of time. This gives them much more energy to do their homework. As a result, the children attend class more often and their school performance improves. For the children and their families, the bicycle makes everyday life easier and increases the children's educational opportunities.

AboutZambia
Lusaka
Lusaka
Capital city
17,100,000
17,100,000
Population
3.577
3.577
Gross domestic product per capita per year
Rank 144 of 189
Rank 144 of 189
Human Development Index (Human Development Index)

45 percent of the population in Zambia alone is under 15 years old. The country is sparsely populated. On average, only 23 people live per square kilometer in Zambia (in Germany, the figure is 232 people per square kilometer).
About the organization and further information

organization

World Bicycle Relief eV

website

https://worldbicyclerelief.org

Further links