HOW BICYCLES ARE TRANSFORMING GIRLS' EDUCATION IN AFRICA
World Bicycle Relief
Dianah fetches water for her family early in the morning. ©World Bicycle Relief
For many girls in rural Africa, life is a race against the sun.
They wake up before dawn to complete household chores, from making breakfast to collecting water. Those who are still in school must then walk long and difficult distances to get to class.
After school, girls reverse their arduous commutes. They often arrive home at dusk or in the dark, where evening chores await. After a long, physically draining day, there is not enough energy or sunlight left for the girls to study.
Long distances, sexual assault, early marriage, and household obligations force many girls to drop out of school early. In addition, girls often have to face harassment, discrimination, threats, and even violence just to get an education The result of these challenges is that 29 million girls around the world never attend secondary school. When girls do not get an education, they are more likely to remain poor for the rest of their lives. Since girls in poor families are less likely to get an education to begin with, the cycle of poverty perpetuates itself. Breaking the cycle benefits the girls, their future families, and the entire community.
Over the past ten years, World Bicycle Relief (WBR) has supported girls education with simple, sturdy Buffalo Bicycles. With a bicycle, students can cut their commute time by 75%. And the bicycle’s utility stretches far beyond school commutes; a single Buffalo Bicycle typically impacts five individuals’ lives, allowing whole families to use the bicycles as a tool for household economic development.
Through their Bicycles for Educational Empowerment Program (BEEP), WBR distributes specially designed bicycles to students in an innovative study-to-own model. BEEP initiatives involve the whole community. A community-led Bicycle Supervisory Committee selects the students most in need and oversees bicycle use. Selected students must sign a contract agreeing to attend classes regularly for two years, after which they will own their bicycles outright. All students, plus their family members, are encouraged to use the bicycle for improving their household livelihood when school is not in session. 70% of BEEP bicycles are distributed to girl students. The remaining 30% go to boys who are encouraged to offer rides to fellow girl students, promoting good citizenship and a strong student community. A complementary Field Mechanic training program keeps the bikes rolling while providing new economic opportunities for mechanics and their families.
The impact of WBR’s BEEP distributions reaches far and wide. In the short term, students are safer, school attendance increases up to 28%, academic performance increases up to 59%, and school administrators note a sharp decline in early pregnancies among students. In the long term, children are more likely to complete their education, providing children with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life. When school is not in session, families use the bicycles for faster and easier access to healthcare, an efficient method of transporting goods to market, and to visit distant relatives.
With bicycles, students like Dianah and Angela now have the capacity to dream bigger. Dianah, 18, hopes to be a college professor. Angela, 15, is studying to become a doctor. Both professions are unusual choices for girls in rural Kenya, who tend to become nurses or teachers if they do finish their education. But it’s also quite unusual for Kenyan girls in rural areas to ride bicycles. Perhaps by riding their Buffalo Bicycles and defying cultural expectations, Angela, Dianah, and hundreds of other students in rural Africa have built up the confidence they need to break down barriers in other aspects of their lives. This generation of remarkable young women is in pursuit of an education, thanks to The Power of Bicycles.