Category: Media

World Bicycle Day – 3rd June 2020

June 3, 2020

Bike4All, a joint partnership with Bicycling Empowerment Network and Pedal Power Association have joined forces with Khaltsha Cycles in Khayelitsha on a #HeroesOnBikes campaign to raise funds for essential workers who are in need of safe, reliable and convenient transportation to get to and from our communities during the COVID19 pandemic.

Our wish is to help raise funds for 20 bicycles to ensure that we can continue to assist mobility in the communities through the use of the bicycle.  All donations received will not only be greatly appreciated but will change many lives.

For more information and donations please go to: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/heroes-on-bikes

Container delivery over Covid-19 Lockdown

May 20, 2020

The Re~Cycle UK container arrived at BEN on Friday, 15th May 2020.  We unpacked the container, social distancing with less staff. All staff were masked, gloved and constantly sprayed with sanitizer and disinfectant. This was no normal container delivery.  We made sure that every COVID-19 safety and regulation was put into place before the delivery.  Our biggest concern was to get the bicycles into the warehouse the safest way possible.
Thank you Re-Cycle UK for our blessing of bicycles. In the meantime Tony from BEN has worked hard to get permits for our BEC’s to operate in the communities. Great team effort.

Langa Bike4All project being proactive during COVID19

May 14, 2020

Amid the nationwide lockdown, a group of entrepreneurial teenage boys from Langa are doing good for their community by offering a R9 delivery service for essential items and takeaways.

The service, called Cloudy Deliveries, is operated by nine boys from the Langa area who ride their bikes to bring deliveries to their community. Deliveries cost a flat fee of R9.

The drivers range from 16-19 years old. The youngest team member, 12-year-old Olwethu, looks after the bicycles to make sure they are working properly and ready for the road each day.

“Our vision for Cloudy Deliveries is that we want it to be a reliable alternative to the way we do shopping or the way the exchange of money and goods take place between vendors and customers in black communities. While also having an impact in the lives of young boys in our townships,” they explain on their Facebook page.

“We would like to invite you to be part of a vision that seeks to move the community forward and a vision that wants to improve young lives by requesting a delivery and making your R9 count.”

While R9 might not seem like much, every bit helps.

“Your R9 does count and it does make a difference. It brings us closer to our vision which is to impact the lives of young boys and of providing you with a reliable alternative to the way you buy goods,” they say.

Deliveries can happen through a number of means. Customers may contact the boys on the numbers listed below, place an order at a specific shop and can ask the owner to request the delivery or simply stop the boys on the street and ask for a delivery to be made.

If you’d like a delivery, you may contact 062 412 8804. Visit their Facebook page HERE.

 

 

BEN, Qhubeka and PPA awarded tender for WC Government Provincial Sustainable Transport Programme

November 18, 2019

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.”

Born in Africa receives Bicycles through Rotary Club in Stuttgardt, Germany

September 6, 2019
Extended thanks to Steve Staresinic of Rotary Club of Stuttgart who organised the collection of bicycles, where we assisted with the clearing of the container for Born In Africa in Plettenberg Bay. Great to see where the bicycles have been distributed. Thank you to all involved with this exciting project

Thank you About Branding CPT | JHB

September 4, 2019

Special THANK YOU to Christa and Kobus Badenhorst from About Branding CPT | JHB for the generous donation of BEN and Bike4All stickers.

Bike4All gives wheels to Security Guard in Pinelands

April 10, 2019

10 April 2019.  Sandi Huskisson contacted Bike4All last week as they have a security guard who works long hours at their residential complex in Pinelands, who desperately needed a bicycle. Soyiso lives in Langa and walks to work everyday, as the train is not a safe option. He starts work at 6am and finishes at 6pm. We were lucky enough to be funded a bicycle by Malcolm, which made a very happy Soyiso today. He couldn’t believe the bicycle was for him. Thanks to Carmen and Sandi from the complex. Soyiso – enjoy your new mode of transport and stay safe. Pedal Power Association Bicycling Empowerment Network (BEN) Qhubeka Charity

Birthday celebrations benefiting BEN!

April 3, 2019

We felt very honoured when Grant Moore contacted BEN and asked if we were open to him using BEN as a fundraiser (for his 50th Birthday) to get some children onto bicycles. Both Grant and his wife Janine, are avid and passionate cyclists. In lieu of gifts he asked his friends and family to rather donate money towards bicycles for children of need. He managed to raise enough money to sponsor 7 x Bike4All. The Spartan Harriers Youth Development team were the excited recipients of the bicycles.  In the past two months the coach, Michael Faulman, has reported that not only have their running times improved with the cross training, but they are enjoying the freedom of transport, cycling to practice and school.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank both Grant and Janine for affording this opportunity. If you would like to sponsor donations to a good cause, then contact sue@benbikes.org.za

Matthew Goniwe Memorial High School

November 2, 2018

#NewBikeDay for 50 school children from Matthew Goniwe Memorial High School in Khayelitsha who earned their bicycles through a Qhubeka Charity learn-to-earn programme. Bicycles were funded by Spar Khayelitsha and Hilltop Spar in Harare, and distribution was implemented by partners #Bike4all (BEN/Pedal Power Association)

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