Category Archives: bicycles

Albania, bicycles

Report from Albania: A Special Day for Bulqizë Kids and Communities

By the EcoVolis Team
Spring 2018

Bulqizë is an Albanian town about 40 miles northeast of Tirana, the capital. During the Communist era Bulqizë was a mining town well known for the high quality of its chromium and copper. At its peak it was home to around 50,000 people with full employment and excellent infrastructure – including schools, health centers, and roads. Mineral enrichment and smelting factories also provided employment for surrounding rural communities.

Today Bulqizë has been reduced to an isolated settlement with fewer than 14,000 inhabitants, who still live in the old and decaying Communist-era apartment buildings erected 45 years ago. Unemployment is high and the majority of families live at or below the poverty line. The tragic loss of life of men who work in the mines has left their families with little or no income. Community members and children thus feel financial and other kinds of pressure, and social problems continue to worsen.


On 1 May 2018, EcoVolis Albania headed to Bulqizë to meet with these communities and donate more than 20 bicycles to the most needy children and families. We also distributed boxes of clothes, toys, books, and modest supplies, providing some much needed relief. EcoVolis activists spent the day in the town talking to people about their lives, hardships, experiences, and daily issues. They also helped children to get on their bikes for the first time in their life, talked to them about their school, dreams, and what it is like growing up in Bulqizë. A local organization joined EcoVolis in this activity, helped us identify the most needy families, and facilitated our interaction with the local community.

At the end of the day, our EcoVolis team headed back to Tirana with fond memories of the children and their excitement when they got their new bikes. At the same time, we realize how much more support is needed in Bulqizë. With a series of similar activities in other vulnerable communities across Albania, our EcoVolis Team has given people there a happy break in their everyday routines. Though we can’t make a fundamental change in their lives overnight, we can give children the hope that their future can be different from their parents’ and we can inspire them to dream big like their peers elsewhere in Albania and the world.

bicycles, Guatemala

Report from Guatemala, Spring 2018

[We just got this short note from FIDESMA, our long-time partner in Guatemala.]

Maria Arecely Reyes Tala is an eight-year-old fourth grader.

She is a girl with dreams. She is a happy, playful little person. She used to see the other girls with their bikes, and was always hoping to have a bicycle of her own. Now she has one.

From the first moment that she got her bike from FIDESMA, she was very eager to learn how to ride it. She learned very fast and now handles the bike very well. She rides a little every day. She likes to run errands at the store and ride all around town making mischief.

Pedals for Progress and all their collaborators and volunteers bring smiles to Guatemalan and many other children.

Thanks to P4P for your support, which allows us to offer bikes at prices that everyone can afford.

Albania, bicycles

Diary, Container Albania #12, Fall 2017

On October 21, 2017, we loaded P4P container Albania #12 bound for Durrës, Albania: 494 bicycles and 30 sewing machines. The container got trucked to Port Newark, then shipped to Haifa, Israel. The container vessel was the Asiatic Liberty. The route of the Asiatic Liberty in December 2017 included Haifa and Ashdod, Israel; Koper, Slovenia; Venice and Ravenna, Italy; and Durrës Albania.

[More photos]


Our international shipments always include a heap of logistics. But because of bad weather in and around the Mediterranean Sea, the Albania #12 container had more drama than usual, including a failed attempt to dock in Albania.

The good news is that Ecovolis, our partner in Albania, finally got the shipment on 29 December 2017, and unloaded it around midnight the same day.

Here’s the story. Roxana and Lauren work for the shipping companies we use.

On Thu, Oct 19, 2017 at 8:40 AM, Roxana wrote:

Good morning David,

We are waiting for the OBLS (Original Bills of Lading), I think we will receive them tomorrow or Monday, once I have them I’ll send them you.

Thanks!

On Tue, Oct 24, 2017 at 11:00 AM, Roxana wrote:

Dear David,

We will send OBLS to you.

Tracking number 770572513697

Thanks!

On Thu, Oct 26, 2017 at 11:06 AM, Roxana wrote:

David

We just received a notice from the SSL that ETA change

On Tue, Oct 31, 2017 at 11:01 AM, Roxana wrote:

Hello David!

Happy Halloween =)

I’ve not received the OBLS yet, I’ll check and advise

Thanks!

Best Regards,

Roxana

On Fri, Nov 3, 2017 at 12:01 PM, Roxana wrote:

Dear David

Please find below tracking number for your OBLS

770665449880

Best Regards,

Roxana

On Nov 6, 2017, at 9:48 AM, Roxana wrote:

Good morning David

Could you please confirm that you have received OBLS?

Thanks!

On Wed, Nov 15, 2017 at 8:04 AM, Roxana wrote:

Dear David

Please find below tracking of this shipment for your reference

On Tue, Dec 5, 2017 at 9:51 AM, Roxana wrote:

Dear David

The vessel has ETA for today, I’ll keep you posted about any update

Thanks!

On Dec 6, 2017, at 9:57 AM, Roxana wrote:

Hello David

Please consignee is doing customs clearance.

Thanks.

From: Roxana

Subject: Re: 13877 Re: ZIMUORF0741498
Date: December 11, 2017 at 11:22:15 AM EST
To: David Schweidenback

Dear David

Good morning,

Kindly note that the container did not discharge in Durrës port.

Below you will find the email we received from ZIM Line Albania:

Dear Client

We would like to inform you that vessel Asiatic Liberty arrived Durrës on Saturday 9th of December but due to bad weather conditions and huge delays, vessel omitted call. We will keep you informed about arrival of containers as soon as possible.

On Tue, Dec 12, 2017 at 4:11 AM, Lauren wrote:

Dear David,

I apologize due to the delay at the Port, I hope it is promptly fixed. Roxana and I will continue to update you on the status of this shipment.

Please let us know if you need anything else,

Lauren

On Thu, Dec 14, 2017 at 9:51 AM, Roxana wrote:

Dear David

Please note that consignee is still doing customs clearance, I’ll let you know once shipment is released.

Thanks!

On Thu, Dec 14, 2017 at 10:50 AM, Roxana wrote:

Dear David,

Hope you are doing well

Please note that we have not received any update yet.

I’ll keep you posted

Best Regards,

Roxana

From: Roxana
Sent: Friday, December 15, 2017 11:58 PM
To: David Schweidenback Subject: Re: 13779 II Re: 8016759110

Dear David

Website shows that shipment was delivered, I’m waiting for agent confirmation and I’ll confirm you.

Best Regards,

Roxana

From: Lauren
Date: December 19, 2017 at 6:32:27 PM EST
To: Roxana, David Schweidenback

Dear David,

The agent confirmed the shipment has been cleared from Tema Port.

From: Fran
Subject: Re: 13877 Re: ZIMUORF0741498
Date: December 22, 2017 at 10:20:14 AM EST
To: Roxana
Cc: David Schweidenback

Hello David!

I hope you are well. Here is the latest update:

Container ZCSU7071639 is expected to arrive tomorrow at the afternoon in Durrës port, Albania.

Thanks.

On Sat, Dec 30, 2017 at 5:40 PM, David Schweidenback wrote:

Howdy,

¿Did you get the container?

From: Ened Mato
Subject: Re: container
Date: December 30, 2017 at 12:48:36 PM EST
To: David Schweidenback

yesterday

Ened Mato
Ecovolis Director

Here are the ports of call of the vessel Asiatic Liberty on the fateful voyages. In the first voyage, the vessel bypassed Albania because of “weather and huge delays”.

Port Name Direction Local Arrival Local Departure
Haifa W 29-Nov-2017 30-Nov-2017
Ashdod W 30-Nov-2017 01-Dec-2017
Koper E 05-Dec-2017 06-Dec-2017
Venice E 06-Dec-2017 07-Dec-2017
Ravenna E 07-Dec-2017 08-Dec-2017
Haifa E 13-Dec-2017 13-Dec-2017
Port Name Direction Local Arrival Local Departure
Haifa W 13-Dec-2017 13-Dec-2017
Ashdod W 14-Dec-2017 15-Dec-2017
Koper E 19-Dec-2017 19-Dec-2017
Venice E 20-Dec-2017 20-Dec-2017
Ravenna E 21-Dec-2017 21-Dec-2017
Durrës E 22-Dec-2017 23-Dec-2017
Haifa E 27-Dec-2017 28-Dec-2017
bicycles, Collectors

Rotary Club of Norristown, PA, December 2017

by Mark Call

[The Norristown, Pennsylvania, Rotary Club is one of our most successful long-time collectors. We just got this end-of-season report. They are already collecting for next year.]


Janet Steiner is a friend of the club who makes numerous donations to our collection each year. She runs ads in her church bulletin asking for bike donations, and she stores donated bikes in her garage.

Ginny Politz is the owner/operator of Bikesport in Trappe, PA. Bikesport makes several deliveries to us each year of trade-in bikes that people no longer want.


We have the use of a trailer generously donated by G. L. Sayre trucking in Conshocken, PA. We process the bikes and store them in the trailer until the next P4P collection. We already have 45 bikes and 10 sewing machines.

Our last two collections have netted 97 and 95 bikes. Our next collection is May 19, 2018, at the Norristown Area High School lot during West Norriton Community Day.

bicycles, Guatemala, InGear - The Newsletter of P4P, Peace Corps

Pedals for Progress Bike 150,000

Fall 2017 InGear

The Summer 2017 InGear newsletter has a partial report on bike number 150,000. The report was partial because at publication time we had collected, packed, and shipped the bike, but it did not yet have an owner. Now that it does, we want to tell the whole story in one place.

Collected on Long Island


On April 1, 2017, the Long Island Returned Peace Corps Volunteers collected P4P bike number 150,000. The Long Island RPCVs have been one of our most successful collection partners. They rotate collections around Long Island to maximize their reach. Their first P4P collection was in 2003, their second in 2005, and they’ve held collections every year since. The Long Island RPCVs are featured in this article from Summer 2011.

Shipped from New Jersey


On April 22nd, volunteers from the Warren Hills High School Chess Club helped us load 575 bicycles into a 40-foot container bound for Chimaltenango, Guatemala. The Chess Club and their faculty advisor, Daryl Detrick, are no strangers to P4P. Along with the Computer Science Club, they have run 8 collections and packed 4 containers.

This was our 18th shipment to our partners at FIDESMA, for a total of 9,460 bicycles.

Arrived in Guatemala


Our partners at FIDESMA report that bike 150,000 arrived in San Andrés Itzapa, Guatemala, at midday, June 6th.

FIDESMA, our Guatemala partner, got our 100,000th bike in 2006. FIDESMA has been our partner since 1999. Besides their bike program, FIDESMA runs programs in health and special ed, job skills and training, and environmental conservation.

We are good friends as well as professional partners with the staff at FIDESMA. The summer 2012 InGear newsletter has an article about a visit to New Jersey from Señora Maria Margarita Caté de Catú, founder of FIDESMA.

Here is the note and the inventory report from FIDESMA about Guatemala container #18 with the famous bike:

Good day David,

Thanks for thinking of us when you were ready to ship bike number 150,000. On behalf of our team and our community leaders, many thanks for your support.

Sincerely,
Margarita Cate
Arnulfo Catu
Isabel Luna
Pedro Catu
Roxana Cate
Paty Luna
Sebastian Quina
Jose David Catu
and all of us here at FIDESMA

Bicycles
Mountain bikes 179
BMX bikes 253
Road bikes 31
Touring bikes 58
Tricycles 1
Tandem bikes 1
Choppers 1
Total 524
               

Accessories and Parts
Water bottles 7
Baskets 10
Pumps 2
Bike bags 2
Helmets 6
Plywood sheets 8

P4P keeps track only of adult versus kids’ bikes. FIDESMA categorizes bikes in much more detail than we do! Also, we sometimes forget that plywood, which we use in the containers to separate rows of bikes, can also be useful to our partners. We translate the FIDESMA reports from the Spanish. In case you’re wondering, the Spanish word for chopper is ‘chopper’.

Delivered to Its New Owner


The owner of P4P bike number 150,000 is Noelia Chiquitá, a 17-year-old in her third year of high school. Noelia lives in Chimaltenango, Guatemala.

She plans to use her bike every afternoon to buy supplies for the family store, where she helps her mother in the afternoon after school.

The bike will also help her stay in shape and stay healthy.

Onward!

Recent collections have made a good start on our next 150,000 bicycles. Our trailers are full and we are waiting for the next opportunity to make a shipment.

bicycles, Sewing Partners

Total Shipped

Bikes shipped since 1991
(Countries with two or more shipments)
Country Shipped
 
Nicaragua 42,879

El Salvador 24,457

Ghana 15,458

Guatemala 9,409

Barbados 7,876

Honduras 7,376

Panama 6,520

Albania 5,982

Uganda 4,140

Moldova 3,684

Dominican Republic 3,560

Eritrea 2,761

South Africa 2,180

Colombia 1,699

Ecuador 1,555

Fiji 1,452

Vietnam 1,135

Costa Rica 1,027

Sierra Leone 938

Senegal 890

Namibia 824

Mozambique 800

Solomon Islands 623

Madagascar 72
 
                    
Sewing Machines shipped since 1999
Country Shipped
 
Ghana 758

El Salvador 609

Uganda 441

Tanzania 406

Nicaragua 349

Guatemala 338

Albania 230

Moldova 165

Costa Rica 137

Cameroon 87

Georgia 82

Ethiopia 72

Liberia 70

Fiji 68

Yemen 60

Kyrgyzstan 55

Honduras 46

Kenya 34

Dominican Republic 30

Sierra Leone 30

St. Vincent 20

Panama 14

Jamaica 6

Domestic USA 3
bicycles, Ghana

Ghana: Water as a Necessity

By Ohemaa Sarfoa
Fall 2017 InGear

One of the most important commodities in the lives of all living things is water: the body is made up of 70% water, and plants as well as animals need water for growth. Water is an undeniably substantive commodity in the livelihood of humans.


In spite of the importance of water, access to potable water is a great hurdle in some parts of West Africa, specifically Ghana. In some parts of the northern region of Ghana, human beings share the same water with animals. Animals also need water, but in these areas cattle drink and release their droppings in the same lakes and streams humans use.

Sabulugu is a village in the northern region of Ghana where there is little or no access to clean water. Inhabitants have to walk 3.5km to get drinkable water.

This has been the situation in Sabulugu for many years. Thanks to WEBike, though, there has been a change. The need to walk long hours for clean water has now been eliminated. Residents simply tie their water containers to their bicycles and bike to the stream and back in 30 to 40 minutes.

WE EXPRESS OUR PROFOUND GRATITUDE TO WEBIKE!

[Editor’s note: Although we have not been able to get a picture of the water carriers in Ghana, we have seen bicycle water-carriers before. In rural areas, the average Ugandan lives 4 miles from the nearest well. The photograph in this post is of a water carrier from Koytera Uganda. Water carriers put a 10-gallon jerrycan on each side of the back wheel, suspended from a piece of 1” x 3” wood, and then place two more 10-gallon jerrycans on top. That is almost 350 pounds of water! Then they push the bicycle to someone’s house where they dump the water into that person’s cistern for a few shillings and then ride back to the well with the empty plastic containers on the bicycle. They repeat this process dozens of times per day to earn a living and to supply people with the water they need.]

bicycles, Ghana

Ghana: Values of the Bicycle

By Ohemaa Sarfoa
Fall 2017 InGear

Because of its numerous uses, a bicycle could be a very cherished vehicle for its possessor. Forty-year-old Mr. Sapaku is a tailor. He has been using a bicycle in his daily dealings for the past ten years. Aside from the thrifty significance of the bicycle, it unknowingly gets rid of some health-related deficits in his body, as biking is a form of exercise.

As part of his schedule, he rides his bicycle to Winneba and back and so is able to keep fit. With his bicycle, he is able to procure all his sewing materials. Further, he distributes his finished garments on his bike. Owing to his work ethic, he never runs out of customers and this is so because of the bicycle. It has contributed a significant increment to his income.

However, recent years have not been so favourable for Mr. Sapaku. His bicycle broke down and efforts to repair it have been futile. Despite his efficiency in his work, his productivity saw a drastic decline. Without his bike, he was not able to deliver finished garments on time. Neither could he save money, now that he had to spend so much on public transportation.

Getting a new bicycle from WEBike caused a remarkable change for Mr. Sapaku. He is now able to save money he used to spend on transportation. In addition, he no longer has to deal with heavy traffic jams.

In summation, the bicycle is a frugal, time-efficient, and health-improving vehicle.