by Patricia Hamill
Fall 2014 InGear

Just recently, we received some positive updates from Ened Mato, CEO of Ecovolis in Albania. He announced that there have been 4 successful projects put in motion that were made possible through our partnership with them.

The first project he told us about was the development of an entrepreneurial endeavor called Trasta o Nona (The Sack is the Best). With the 20 sewing machines P4P was able to ship to them, 5 disadvantaged young people gained employment making cloth bags to replace the heavily depended on plastic bags from stores. In three months, 3,000 bags were sold. Even better is the fact that their overhead so far is 0 since the material comes from coffee companies and donated clothing.

The second success story is about a movement called Release Lanes or the Free Bike Lanes Movement that was started by thousands of bicycle enthusiasts in Tirana. They are actively protesting the lack of bike lanes and poor driver awareness that the cyclists must deal with daily. Funding from P4P’s involvement was the catalyst for this activism and all participants readily acknowledge our part in their cause.

As most of you know, not all of the bicycles shipped elsewhere go solely to new owners to use. In some cases, as with Ecovolis, the cycles are sold to the public and then the funds collected are used for improving the lives of the local population. For instance, the first $7,000 (USD) earned from a bicycle sale was directly transformed into something called Ecological Gardens. Five public gardens in Tirana that were languishing from neglect, now have solar panels installed, parking for bicycles, and recycling receptacles. All make these locations cleaner and more relaxing now.

Ened also informed us that some funds collected in April from bike sales was put to use building small freestanding “libraries” in some of the parks and playgrounds in Tirana. Children are able to take a book out of the little library and then return it for another. Lastly, some of the bikes at the time of the sale were reserved for the children’s daycare center Shtwpiza e Ngjyrave (House of Colors) so that the little ones would have more options for playtime.

As their web site states, Ecovolis was created to be “ . . . a program that will forever change the way people perceive [Tirana], how they experience and perceive transportation, creating a more vibrant city, a place where people want to work and live with a quality and entertaining environment.” In these days of reinventing ourselves and putting concerted effort into recycling all that we can, it’s always gratifying to learn how the donated bicycles and sewing machines from the States become more than used cycles or machines elsewhere. They become clean energy sources, earth friendly bags made by newly employed people, books for children, and even garden plots. It might be time to take a trip to see Tirana’s improvements in person.

by Ened Mato
Spring 2014 InGear

How nice it is to donate a smile! It is a grim fact that some Albanians face the indifference of passers by and the silence of fellow citizens in general. Many children are mired in a cycle of hopeless days without experiencing the joys of a real childhood and, confused, stare straight into the future without a sense of hope. Nearly 120 of these children at the Colourful Lodge and its twin centers, every day, find not only hospitality, accommodation and a warm meal, but above all the care, love and why not, the image of what they lack and miss: Home!

In the framework of the initiative which has already made possible the delivery of 100 bicycles in 10 similar centers in Albania, the New Year’s holidays at the Colourful Lodge came under the rhythm of chiming bicycle bells that were donated by Ecovolis in collaboration with Pedals for Progress. Ecovolis representatives spent the holidays with these wonderful children, helping them learn to pedal the colorful bicycles that they, before, could only watch go by on the noisy thoroughfares of the capital city. The little ones learned that use of these bicycles created an excellent opportunity to secure a beautiful, clean, green and friendly environment to live in, quite different from the dusty wild roads of the city they wander every day.

This is not all. The people from Ecovolis also promised that they would work with the children every week, to continue helping them ride safely and have fun. For these children it was wonderful discovering that bicycles from Pedal for Progress were previously used by their American peers, whose stories and names were shared.

It was so miraculous to see the smile on a young boy named Zino. He was the first to learn to ride a bike and even swore that one day he would become the fastest cyclist in the world. Little Izidora, who spent the day cleaning the windshields of “four-wheels” vehicles as they call them, said that she loved the bike exactly because it did not deliver those “disgusting fumes and that disturbing noise.” A child named Abel immediately began calculating the increased number of packages sold, if he was to rely on his own bike instead of his tiny legs.

One of the girls, Mira, she begged for one last ride and said she would have loved to have her own bicycle so she would have the opportunity to visit her mother during the day and show her her earnings. When she was told that there would be no “last ride” because those bicycles would be staying at the Colourful Lodge, her happiness was immense. Her felicity was shared among Adrian, Ihsira, Ledio, Daklea, Oriada, Teuta, Laert , Esdalin, Landi, Artemis, Donna and dozens of other children, whose smiles were the most precious gift for the representatives of Ecovolis. “This is one of those cases, when you start making a gift, but you are the one receiving the most wonderful gift of all. To us this great gift was the smile of these kids,” Ened Mato, the Director of Ecovolis said. “Ecovolis in collaboration with Pedals for Progress is determined to continue this initiative. So far we have donated 100 bicycles in 10 centers and we are merely getting started. We will make other children smile by riding bicycles. And it’s not just about entertainment, but also presenting to them the vision of a beloved city, clean, and safe, since they are precisely the ones who walk on these streets every day.”

It is great discovering that besides the gift of a smile, there has been bestowed upon these children a chance for a new world view—a new, achievable dream for those who all they have had are dreams. All this from the presence of a simple bicycle. In the mean time, they are riding—and smiling—without even knowing that this may be may be a ride towards the future.