Seasons Greetings and Happy Holidays from the Kona BikeTown Africa crew. For all that helped and dedicated their time and resources to the program in 2008, we can’t thank you enough for such a successful year.
Best wishes for the New Year and look to see you in 2009!
Cheers!
On Dec 1 - World AIDS Day – the final basket was tighten on the 1,000th Kona AfricaBike bring to a close BikeTown Africa 2008. Over the last two months-plus, the AfricaBikes have been donated to home healthcare workers in four different areas of South Africa, Chokwe, Mozambique and Mbabane, Swaziland. Over the course of the builds dozens of volunteers, program organizers, honors students, ski bums, professional photographers, bike-lovers, humanitarian-lovers and good people helped get the wheels rolling to better the lives of many in the communities they touched. And the communities touched us as well.
Back in September, Kona donated 100 AfricaBikes to assist in a water project in Iringa, Tanzania.
The bikes will be used by members of the Water User Associations of the Great Ruaha River project run by World Wildlife Fund For Nature. The bikes will help these members monitor the river and conserve and preserve its resources which touch the lives of 6.35 million people.
CLICK HERE to check out a video from the project. You can also view it HERE.
Also, muchos thank you’s to Park Tool who donated a bunch of gear and tools to make the bikes come alive.
Check www.konabasicneeds.org for more info.
After assembling 160 Kona AfricaBikes in the rural township of Bizana, South Africa with nineBikeTown Africa representatives, a handful of local bike recipients and at least 104 eager school kids at the local Love Life Center, the handover was a complete success. One of the main highlights of the bike build was riding in the rain through the streets of downtown Bizana escorted by the blaring sound of police car sirens. Thirty or so riders got to feel what it’s like to ride an AfricaBike – or any bike for that matter! It was a huge deal.
