It’s all smiles in the BEN house today as Marchelle from Flyingfeet_SouthAfrica completes our in-house bicycle mechanics course. Marchelle feels totally empowered with the skills to maintain her tour bicycles in Montagu.
6 October 2021 – Ntando Mgidi attending a BEN Bicycling Mechanics Course.
BEN offers a 1 day, 3 day or 3 week Bicycling Mechanic course. For more info contact BEN at 021 7884174 or info@benbikes.org.za
David Bristow and Russel Yeo are attending a 1 Day Bicycle Mechanical Training at BEN.
If you interested in attending a course, then contact BEN office at 021 7884174. Courses start at R800 for a day course (depending on your specific requirements).
Congratulations to Mr Koopman, from SA Navy, for completing his 3 week Bicycle Mechanical course. For more info on our bicycle mechanical courses, contact info@benbikes.org.za.
Do you have a spare TV to donate to BEN? If you do, we could put it to very good use!
We would like to install a TV in our workshop to display the very knowledgeable Park Tool videos – “Know your bicycle mechanics”. These videos can be found on our website https://www.benbikes.org.za/know-your-mechanics/
Exhibiting these videos will be of great help/knowledge to visiting bicycle mechanics and individuals wanting to learn more on how to service and care for their bicycles.
If you are able and kind enough to donate a TV, then please contact Sue on 0718778915 or email sue@benbikes.org.za.
We would greatly appreciate it.
February 2019 – BEN’s Workshop Manager, Solly Jones, was out at Ekhaya Le Langa, Langa, empowering Mbulelo De Preez and Ntsikelelo Ntshweng with bicycle mechanical skills. Both these gentlemen will be taking care and servicing the fleet of bicycles that were handed over to Ekhaya Le Langa late last year.
15th November 2019 – BEN, Qhubeka Charity and PPA, collaborating as the Bicycle Mobility Consortium, are proud to announce a significant bicycle distribution initiative with the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works.
Please read the following media release:
The Bicycle Mobility Consortium is closing 2019 on a high note. The consortium consists of Bicycle Empowerment Network, Pedal Power Association, and Qhubeka and has won a tender to supply bicycles to communities in the Western …Cape over a three-year period as part of the Western Cape Government’s Provincial Sustainable Transport Programme (PSTP).
The PSTP is a programme run by the Department of Transport and Public Works, and aims to improve public transport and the safety of roads and communities in the Western Cape. As part of the programmes commitment to non-motorised transport, the first year of funding will see 400 bicycles distributed. However, Qhubeka Executive Director, Tsatsi Phewani says that what’s most exciting is the holistic nature of the programme. “This is one of the first tenders awarded in South Africa that looks to address the full end-to-end programming impact of bicycles on communities,” she says. “It’s not about simply delivering bicycles to people – it takes into account the full picture of creating a bicycle culture, helping people improve their access to education and employment opportunities, and moving people forward using bicycles as a tool for success.”
The Consortium explains that one of the key lessons it has learnt over the last years is the importance of programmatic sustainability. “We believe it is our responsibility to work with communities to create long-term solutions to their challenges – solutions that work for them,” says Tim Mosdell, Executive Director at Bicycle Empowerment Network.
This is why the Bicycle Mobility Consortium has developed a comprehensive programming process that takes into account everything from manufacturing bicycles to managing the spare parts supply chain and even training bicycle mechanics so that the bicycles remain rideable and people have an opportunity to build bicycle-based businesses.
“This consortium has been three years in the making, developing holistic bicycle implementation programmes,” says Robert Vogel, CEO at Pedal Power Association “It’s wonderful to see the hard work bearing fruit and we look forward to changing more lives with bicycles together.”
