Category Archives: bicycles

bicycles

a kid with a bike in wwII

By Neal Oussoren
Summer 2021 Newsletter

[Editor’s note: We don’t usually hear about European kids using bikes as a primary means of transportation, but we got this story from P4P supporter Neal Oussoren. He wrote us a note that mentioned an interesting experience with a bike in World War II. I spoke with Neal by phone. Here is what he told me.]

I was born in 1934 in Middelburg, in the Zeeland province in the southwestern Netherlands. I was oldest of 5 children. My father was a minister. We lived in a house next to his church.

Middelburg, Zeeland, Netherlands, May or June 1940Middelburg was occupied by the German army in 1940 in the Battle of Zeeland. Much of the old town was destroyed.

Staples became scarce. Food was rationed. We had coupons that specified what we were entitled to per week. We spread soft white cheese on bread. After the war I remember aid from the US: clothes, shoes, food, including peanut butter.

Though some foods were in short supply, my father had lots of contacts in the community. He knew several farmers who lived within a few kilometers of town. We did not have a car. It would not be easy to get food from the farms on foot; it would be much easier on a bike.

In 1941 my father bought a bicycle. You braked by pressing your shoe against the front wheel. The Germans were confiscating bikes at the time, so my father replaced the front wheel with a much smaller wheel, from a scooter, to make the bike less likely to be confiscated. Also, the Germans were less likely to take a bike from a 10-year-old. My father attached wooden blocks to the pedals so I could reach them.

My job was to visit several farms outside town. I picked up milk and bread year-round, vegetables in the growing season. During the school year I left home by 7 a.m. so I could be back by 8 to go to school. I rode about 7 miles to do my pickups.

I carried the milk and vegetables in containers on the bike. The back of the bike was piled so high I could not swing my leg over the vegetables, so I had to step over the top tube.

On one of my trips a German truck cut a corner too close. I forgot about the bag on the back of the bike, so when I tried to swing my leg over I crashed and got knocked out. I came to and made it home OK.

On another trip, I noticed that Dutch collaborators, members of the NSB party, were confiscating milk on a bridge on my usual route. I warned others. One of my friends told me that he could help me get across the river at a nearby concrete factory. I picked up the milk and rode to the factory, where my friend rowed me, my bike, and the milk across the river. I took a different route back to the city to avoid the collaborators.

I’ve lived in the US since 1951, but my wartime memories are vivid. The bike was a godsend.

bicycles, Vietnam

yen nhi, vietnam, 2021

By Nguyen Van Hanh, General Manager, Dariu Foundation
Summer 2021 Newsletter

Yen Nhi, 15 years old, was born into a poor family. Nhi is the eldest of 5 children in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long, 180 km west of Ho Chi Minh city. Her mother has some serious health problems and she has been using a wheel-chair for a long time. The family’s income has largely depended on the noodle-for-breakfast business with monthly income of around $170. This could hardly help the family make both ends meet.

When Nhi was in 7th grade, she told her parents that she had no longer wanted to go to school because she thought that they could not afford her secondary and high-school education. Her parents had been undecided between paying her school fees or letting her leave school. Luckily, they finally decided that she had to continue her education, hoping that she could have a better future.

As compared to her peers, Nhi is a strong girl at her age. Every morning, she supported her father with simple tasks at the noodle-for-breakfast business from 6:00 am to around 10:00 am. Then her father rushed to his other jobs or to buy materials at the local market for the next day’s business. She helped prepare lunch for the family and then left for school at about noon, since her classes started at 12:30 and it took her about 20–25 minutes to walk there. Nhi had several good friends, so they often picked her up with their bicycles. But when they could not come, Nhi had to walk. It was a hard walk for her, especially during sunny and rainy days.

In 2020, Nhi was referred by her teacher who knew about Dariu’s bicycle-granting program. She was granted with a bicycle from Pedals for Progress and a little financial support from The Dariu Foundation. Thanks to P4P’s bicycle, Nhi could go to school much more easily. As a result, her GPA increased from 7.5 (before being granted a bicycle) to 9.2 and she was nominated as the best student of the school year 2020–2021 at her school. Nhi graduated from secondary school in May 2021, and will start high school in this September. Although the new high school is further from home than the secondary school, Nhi is determined to complete her high school education and expects to enter university as an IT student.

Yen Nhi is among the more than 2,000 beneficiaries who, since 2012, have been granted P4P used bikes by The Dariu Foundation. The cooperation between the two organizations has enabled hundreds of poor kids in Vietnam and Thailand to continue their education with ease and prepare for a better future.

bicycles, Sewing Partners, Tanzania

report from tanzania, summer 2021

By Alan Schultz
Summer 2021 Newsletter

Pedals for Progress has received reports from The Norbert and Friends Missions, our partner in Tanzania. Their second container arrived on February 2, 2020, and was slightly delayed due to unexpected costs and delays with the Tanzania Revenue Authority. The container finally made its long-awaited arrival at the NFM headquarters and was immediately unloaded.

The Norbert and Friends Missions experience high demand for P4P bikes and sewing machines due to their reputation for quality. Word is being spread about the benefits of bikes and sewing machines. Norbert and Friends Missions are determined, and are showing, that they can continue to create a continuous, autonomous, and independent revolving fund. This has always been the primary goal when setting up new relationships with partners overseas and the Norbert and Friends Missions have successfully laid the foundation to do so. It is up to us on the domestic front to continue supplying their great demand. It has been a true inspiration to see the strides they are making.

The bicycles provided by P4P have garnered fame as they are reliable tools used by the community’s healthcare workers and farmers. Norbert and Friends Missions are reporting that farmers are increasing their production, as they can haul more product over greater distances. Healthcare is more accessible to community members, and on the inverse healthcare workers can access the community easier. School children are also making noticeable changes in attendance and their grades as they can get to school faster, and as a result, are less tired, allowing them to better focus on their schoolwork.

The Norbert and Friends Missions tell us the sewing machines and bicycles are also greatly impacting the lives of women and girls in their community. The bicycles are allowing women and girls to have reliable transportation that is safer for them than walking. Women and girls face disproportionate challenges getting transportation. However, bicycles provided by The Norbert and Friends Missions have been evening out this inequality. The sewing machines being provided also give women opportunities to create their own small business. The women doing so have been a great source of inspiration for younger generations. The women who are proving to be successful are also very motivated to pass on their skills by teaching younger generations and holding classes for the inexperienced. The sewing machines provide a regular income for people that have had no source whatsoever.

Please read these personal testimonials from The Norbert and Friends Missions. It is amazing to hear how motivated the organization is in changing their community. They wish to continue the spread of their work and have hopes of reaching every corner of their country to distribute the much-needed aid our bicycles and sewing machines provide. They certainly have this within their capacity, and we are very excited to continue to work with them to make this goal a reality.

Success Stories from Tanzania

Here are some stories from the community of The Norbert and Friends Missions, our partner in Tanzania. Norbert and Friends are located in Arusha, in northern Tanzania, not far from Mount Kilimanjaro. A couple of these stories are from the nearby Hai District.

Nzega and the P4P/SP Women’s Group

I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for getting this sewing machine. Before I got it I couldn’t even buy my own clothes, but after getting this sewing machine I can now afford my own house. I have hired people to help me sell the clothes I make. Life has become easier. Now I wish to start a small college to teach my fellow girls to build their economy. Thank you very much P4P through The Norbert and Friends Missions.

Our group would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to The Norbert and Friends Missions. Now we are meeting in unity but lacking resources; we are praying for our donors to help us with more sewing machines.

Mariam Arbetus

This family thanks the Organization for providing us with a sewing machine. We have now been able to talk about another sewing machine. We hope that my children also learn this skill as they have seen great benefits. Since we received the sewing machine it has opened the doors for my business, as I henceforth will look more professional. The Norbert and Friends Missions are the Hope for the hopeless, the Peace Makers and friends to the poor. May God help them continue reaching the unreached, and helping the left for themselves. God bless you very much.

Sewing Peace Community Impact in Hai District

We don’t have good words to say because when we started this project we were two but now we have 12 of us. There is one who was wanting to run away from his family but after getting a sewing machine with this Group he found life has become much easier and he has managed a family services business and his children are now going to school. We just need to add a sewing machine. Thank you for helping us.

Manka

From the Hai District: Manka does not believe her eyes. “I was wondering how I could lead my life without any income.” Now she has seen so much benefit from managing her own sewing project and making her own money that she is thinking of opening a tailoring shop and hiring people who will help her manage her sewing business. “Many girls are suffering from poverty and lack of income even when they have professional skills. And yet many others would like to acquire tailoring skills but cannot afford it! I promise to reciprocate to the NFM by helping any women or girls who come my way for the sake of poverty alleviation. I know what it means living without income and how it hurts! May God Bless The Norbert and Friends Missions and their partners!”

Demand for Bikes

These you see here are students who have been in our office to ask for a bike after seeing their classmates with bikes do so well with attendance and exams. Students without bikes often walk a very long distance to school.


Coming Next Up

bicycles, Collectors

faith lutheran church, new providence, new jersey, may 2021

By Alan Schultz
Summer 2021 Newsletter

In the world of Pedals for Progress, cool overcast days bring the potential for amazing collections. Sunny spring weekends give a good excuse to enjoy the day, spend the day outdoors, and have a leisurely time. On the inverse, on cloudy days people are more prone to staying indoors and getting to that long list of things to do around the house. We hope that list includes donating their old bicycles and sewing machines that have been getting pushed to the end of the to-do list. While we hope for days like these, overcast days can also bring cold rain. We operate collections rain or shine! We understand rainy collections can be difficult for volunteers and are always thankful that despite rain our volunteers push through and prevail. The payoff for operating in these conditions can sometimes be very fruitful. This was certainly the case in New Providence, New Jersey, when our friends at the Faith Lutheran church were able to hold one of the largest collections in recent years.

On May 8th, during a cold rainy collection, Faith Lutheran Church was able to collect 402 bicycles for the weekend! Over the short three-hour collection, they maintained a donation rate of nearly one bike per minute! Our collections vary greatly and can bring in anywhere from 30–150 bicycles. These numbers are typically met by a combination of luck, good planning, and most importantly — motivated hosts. The folks at Faith Lutheran Church knocked it out of the park and were able to go above and beyond for this collection.

Pedals for Progress is greatly appreciative of this great number of bicycles collected. 400 bicycles are close to what we typically send in one single container to our partners overseas. In one weekend, Faith Lutheran was able to directly impact the lives of hundreds of people associated with our partners overseas in the developing world. This collection alone was a major contributor to our loading to Rwanda and helped make possible an early shipment to Togo. What was expected to be an unpredictable, perhaps even slow, spring collection season due to Covid-19 was instantly turned around by the efforts made by Faith Lutheran Church. The rain that hit during the collection was no match for the dedicated people in the community of New Providence that came out to donate their bicycles. They directly impacted the communities in Rwanda and Togo, who, like all of us, have been in a state of uncertainty due to our global pandemic. These early shipments have brought great hope and relief to those reliant on receiving new bicycles as communities abroad have also felt the economic effects of Covid-19.

Pedals for Progress would also like to give special thanks to Casey Walsh, who manages the collection efforts at Faith Lutheran. Casey is proof that motivated hosts can change a typical collection into an extraordinary one. While not required as part of running a collection, Casey used some of his free time to personally collect bicycles and provide the necessary funds before the collection weekend. His efforts not only brought in an extra hundred or so bikes, but also spread the word of P4P and Sewing Peace. He is a true advocate of our organization and is very passionate about helping our cause. We thank him dearly.

Casey’s motivation certainly rubs off on the members of Faith Lutheran Church. I was able to talk with some of the other members volunteering during the end of the rainy collection when we had some time after the bustling event. They were all incredibly excited to help process the bicycles for shipment and manage the heavy flow of bicycles. Behind the scenes, Casey was also able to encourage the church’s public relations team to spread the word about the collection. They reached a wide audience in the community,
encouraging them to come out and support the collection drive. Creating motivation within a group is not always an easy endeavor but Casey was able to raise morale and host a collection worth talking about.

We look forward to working with Faith Lutheran Church again in the future and again thank them for their time and dedication to Pedals for Progress. It is not a common occurrence that we get collections of 402 bicycles — we commend them for their work.

bicycles, Marketing, Philippines, Sewing Partners

Rolex laureates discuss recycling

This post from our Fall 2020 Newsletter gives the background to this 19-minute discussion of recycling. The discussion, moderated by Jeff Kirschner, CEO of Litterati, was part of a collaboration between the Washington Post and the Rolex Perpetual Planet project. The discussion features P4P President, David Schweidenback, and Rags2Riches President, Reese Fernandez-Ruiz. This audio is part of the multimedia piece Trash-to-Treasure Hunters.

Click here to hear the 19-minute discussion.

bicycles, Guatemala

thanks from Guatemala, Spring 2021

[We just got this thank you note from Guatemala and would like to share it. We’re so happy it’s spring; let’s collect bikes!]

Dear DAVID SCHWEIDENBACK,

Respectful friend, we are very happy to hear from you. I am happy that you have already gotten your vaccine. Here in Guatemala we will get only four thousand for now. Maybe we will be vaccinated next year. It’s a long way to go before we open the champagne.

We want to thank you with all our heart for sending the bicycles that you collected in 2020 despite the pandemic. Because of the turn that the world took, bikes are in more popular than ever. Companies are going bankrupt because of Covid-19, and in the last few months FIDESMA has seen greater demand for our bikes. It gives us a lot of satisfaction to see our children, women, and men customers so happy with their bicycles after such a long wait.

As you know, we put aside $2.50 from each bike sale to support the most needy people in our community. We usually use this money to support various local needs, especially education. But because of the pandemic and the increased poverty it’s caused, we’re buying food for 410 families.

I want to send you our thanks and some photos of our customers, our bike shop, and the arrival of the P4P container in our community of San Andrés Itzapa, Chimaltenango, Guatemala.

We have been in a relationship with Pedals for Progress for more than 20 years, providing a transportation alternative and at the same time protecting the environment. Many hugs from the Fundación FIDESMA team for the P4P team, Don David, and his gracious wife, Dina, who welcomed us into her home on our visit a few years ago.

Margarita Cate de Catú
Presidenta, Fundación FIDESMA
March 2021

bicycles, Sewing Partners, Togo

Togo #3, Fall 2020

On 02 October 2020 we loaded our third shipment to Togo: 513 bikes and 47 sewing machines. We just got mail reporting that it arrived on November 24th.

Simon Akouete at the arrival of Togo #3

From: Simon Akouete <simonakouete@gmail.com>
Subject: Informations
Date: November 25, 2020 at 9:57:29 PM EST
To: David Schweidenback <dschweidenback@gmail.com>

Hello David,

You are fine I hope. Finally the bicycles and sewing machines arrived at the headquarters of the Association Défi et Révolution de la Vie Rurale DRVR-TOGO in Vogan yesterday. The young beneficiaries were eagerly waiting for it.

Togo #3 at Vogan, Togo

All our thanks to you especially and to your entire team for a job well done. I am sending you some photos from the opening of the container at the port and the arrival in front of our headquarters in Vogan.

AKOUETE Yawo Galé Simon
Coordinator of NGO DRVR-TOGO

On 24 December 2020 we got mail from Simon with photos of some of the people who got a bike or a sewing machine from the new container.