Project information

West African Schools Programme (WASP)

Re-Cycle believes in an Africa unlimited by transport. We have shipped thousands of used bikes to partners, allowing beneficiaries to access transport that improves their livelihood and well being!
We are now selecting and training rural primary school students in West Africa to access a bike

September 2018 - December 2018

Charity information: Re~Cycle

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  • Need

    Need

    Rural school children in our partner countries of Gambia, Sierra Leone and Ghana often walk long distances to school! This impacts adversely upon their school attendance and academic performance.

    Solution

    Working with our African partners in select schools, we have conducted an encouraging pilot project with 120 children.
    We have identified a further 1,500 schoolchildren to receive a bike and maintenance training. Teachers will monitor school children's (girls & boys) attendance rates and academic performance (against a control and baseline) to measure the impact of access to a bike on their lives and well being.

  • Aims

    Aim 1

    Bicycle sourcing, selection and shipping


    Activities

    » Via individual donors, local bike-banks, our national network of drop-off points (Halfords) we will source at least 1,500 high quality bikes

    What success will look like

    Bike containers shipped to Gambia, Sierra Leone and Gambia.

    Aim 2

    Local Practising Repairer (LPR) Training


    Activities

    » Select LPRs in each country invited to a 5 day training hosted by our highly-trained bike mechanics.

    What success will look like

    25 LPRs trained.
    LPR - ongoing, collect and collate income generated from their small businesses, measure the impact of these training's.

    Aim 3

    Bicycle Distribution and End User Training (Learning Bicycle Basics)


    Activities

    » 720 children receive their bikes and also complete their maintenance training with our trainers.

    What success will look like

    720 children access a bike and complete maintenance training. School attendance monitored and also results/attainment for Maths, English and Science compared to a control.

  • Impact

    Impact

    Fostering a wide 'culture' and acceptance by African schoolchildren of the benefits of owning, using and maintaining a bike.

    We will (and have already) demonstrated, through recent and independent customer satisfaction surveys, the long term and positive changes made by access to sustainable, reliable and inexpensive transport.

    Risk

    Re-Cycle has developed a clear risk assessment tool that highlights key areas of potential future risk. Categories include:
    - Too few appropriate bicycles (supply drying up)
    - Our corporate partnerships stops
    - Insufficient funding
    - Adverse political/economic change in our partner countries
    - Adverse media coverage
    - Lack of volunteer support
    - Our ratifed Re-Cycle policies are robust and implemented, e.g. safeguarding.

    Reporting

    Re-Cycle has planned to implement and finalise the first phase of the WASP programme in the second half of 2018. Monitoring and evaluation is ongoing and this information will be used to compile a detailed donor report in the first quarter of 2019.

  • Budget

    Budget - Project Cost: £80,000

    Loading graph....
      Amount Heading Description
      £32,385 UK Operations Prep 1500 bikes. Salaries, rent, rates, utilities, equipment, volunteer expense, UK travel.
      £15,765 African Programme Staff Implement WASP in Gambia, SL and Ghana. Salaries, tools, travel, freight, training.
      £20,850 Fundraising Slaries, marketing and communications, subscriptions.
      £11,000 Additional Programme Cost Student tools, local bike repairers tool kit, programme coordinatoirs salaries.

    Current Funding / Pledges

    Source Amount
    Freshleaf £9,000 Guaranteed
    Essex Community Foundation £4,000 Guaranteed
  • Background

    Location

    Working through our partners in Gambia, Sierra Leone and Ghana, schools are being selected in poor rural areas. Note this is currently a work in progress through Street Child in Sierra Leone, but finalised in Gambia and Ghana, see this link: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?hl=en&mid=1T-1d68hbbGOL_us62lAJvS01ieoP5bIR&ll=6.046864275780945%2C-0.4145825888888339&z=12

    Beneficiaries

    720 schoolchildren, both girls and boys.
    18 Local practicing bicycle repairers,

  • Why Us?

    Why Us?

    Re-Cycle celebrates its 20th birthday this month, which coinciding with our 100,000 bike shipped to Africa!
    We have a professional, highly experienced and passionate operational, programming and fundraising team and arguably the largest bike recycling charity of this kind in the world!

    Read more about the Charity running this project.

    People

    Vincent Langdon-Morris

    Re-Cycle Managing Director. Implement our 5 year strategy, harvest, assess, recycle thousands of used UK bikes, a majority going to African partners.

    Claire Kettle

    Operations Manager, a highly professional and capable manager, seamlessly receiving, processing and shipping bikes.

    Jason Finch

    African Programming. 20 years of experience of working with and through African partners to provide access to sustainable transport for the poorest.