Photo: The XtraBike Load Carrier, converts a normal bike into a super load carrying machine!

Current Partners (top)

• Ghana
  
  • Ability Bikes Cooperative
    • run by people with disabilities, for everyone
    • good site on the story of them setting up here
  • Village Bicycle Project (VBP)
    • rural outreach, training end users and bike tools
    • their site here
• Kenya
  
  • Glads House
    • project working with street children in Mombasa
    • Their site here
• Malawi
  • The Salvation Army International Development Division
    • New project, working with trafficked children
    • how we work with them here
    • Stories of some of the children living at the centre here
    • Great photos of some of the bikes shipped by Re-Cycle with their new owners in Malawi here
• Namibia
  
  • Bicycling Empowerment Network Namibia (BEN Namibia)
    • has focus on AID and HIV outreach volunteers
    • their site here
• South Africa
  • Bicycling Empowerment Network South Africa
    • BEN promotes the use of bicycles in order to address low-cost mobility, health and access to opportunity, employment, skills and education.
• Zambia
  • The Kaloko Trust
    • A UK-based charity which works to relieve poverty and raise livelihoods in rural communities in Zambia, southern Africa.

Previous Partners (top)

Ghana (top)

The Asante Akim Multipurpose Community Telecentre

Target beneficiaries included students, teachers and local farmers. We have not shipped to them for several years since their focus shifted to running IT and other training courses sponsored by the Ghanaian government.

Ezetela

• training mechanics, helping with existing and new partners

West Coast Mountain Biking

• Mountain bike hire to promote conservation in Ghana 

Lesotho (top)

Sentebale

We shipped to this partner in Winter 2008, to a project called "Beyond Bikes", based in the capital, Maseru set up by UK charity Sentebale.    Sentebale was founded by Prince Harry and Lesotho's Prince Seeiso to help the forgotten victims of poverty and of the HIV/Aids epidemic ravaging this kingdom. The project has now sadly been discontinued and Sentebale are concentrating on other areas.

Liberia(top)

A bike workshop was set up as a micro-enterprise for graduates of a Don Bosco College. Shipments were sent in 2004, 2005 & 2006. The project struggled with various issues including a shipment of bicycles being held up for many months by Liberian customs officials. The shipment was finally released after Merlin appealed for assistance from the Liberian High Commission in London.

Sierra Leone (top)

Kambia

A medical outreach charity.  The bikes are used to support a motorbike ambulance project.   If someone needs an ambulance, a family member can use one of the bikes to cycle to the health centre to raise the alarm - photo here.

South Africa

Afribike

Our first partner in Africa that closed down but from the ashes the better founded Bicycling Empowerment Network project arose who continue to be very successful

Uganda(top) 

The Bicycle Sponsorship Project & Workshop

We partnered with a German fund raising group and sent a container of bicycles and woodworking machinery in 2008. The German group are now focused on raising money to send to Uganda for the purchase of new Chinese Bicycles

Tanzania

• UWABA
  • Based in Dar es Salaam. First shipment of bicycles dispatched in a 20' container on 6 January 2011.

FUTURE (top)

Re~Cycle is looking to expand its African partner base, particularly by partnering with medium size NGOs working in several places.

We only work with/through partners in Africa, and we don't see that changing.

We are interested in working with/through a medium size NGO (along the lines of Practical Action, ActinonAid, Care, Goal) in addition to our current commitments.
We see several benefits to working this way, including:

• NGO works with trusted partner groups
• partners would have targeted beneficiaries
• experienced with running projects
• NGO provides some support
• KEY POINT = ability to replicate/scale up in different country areas and other countries
• experienced with providing feedback (been mostly thin on the ground)
• would either be running micro-credit or working with someone who is
• would help give Re~Cycle profile
• would have money or could joint fund raise for setting up new projects

Please get in touch if you work for/know such an NGO, or are interested in partnering with Re~Cycle.

SMALL SHIPMENTS OF BIKES

We have been pleased to supply bikes to other charities and NGOs who have requested bikes from Re-Cycle to be shipped as part of a larger load of mixed aid items. In this way we have supported projects in Sierra Leone, DR Congo, Uganda and Lesotho.

See also (top)

• Feedback from partners - www.re-cycle.org/Africa/Feedback
• Photos from partners - www.re-cycle.org/Gallery/Africa

• African Partner pages:

  • Shipping dates planned
  • Partner FAQ
  • Parts
  • Tools
  • Importing info - duty, tax, etc. (need to be logged on)

To call Africa, or any international calls from the UK, save money by using a cheap prefix.  An up to date list is provided by one of our supporters, Martin Lewes and Money Saving Expert, here.