Posts Tagged ‘Kona Bikes’
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Thanks to generous donations and Kona’s AfricaBike ‘ 2-for-1′ program, we are in the midst of planning another great year of AfricaBike handovers in Africa. Who’s excited? Well, we certainly are.
So check out the projected dates below and mark your calendars for what is sure to be another successful year of AfricaBike projects. This year, recipients will include both health care workers and rurally located students who would otherwise be unable to attend school due to mammoth walking distances. If you’re unable to make a trip this year, you can always help out by donating at KonaBasicNeeds.
- Handover #1:Mid-July- 120 bicycles to Tingathe Baylor Community Outreach Program in Malawi
- Handover #2: TBD – 120 bicycles to Foundation Rwanda
- Handover #3: September – 300 bicycles to Gambia with assistance via the HopeFirst Foundation
The third project listed will be the first of its kind for the Kona AfricaBike program. Recently, we were graciously approached by HopeFirst to partner for a project in Gambia to donate 300 AfricaBikes to students in rural areas. The bikes will belong to the school and loaned to the boys and girls that travel the farthest to school. Also, 135 bikes will be donated to a village with 135 children who would go to school if they could just get there. Above is HopeFirst’s donation check for 150 AfricaBikes; and they plan on donating 50 more. Excellent!
Stay tuned as more breaking news will be announced here in the future.
PermalinkTags: africa, africabike, aids, bikes for africa, cycling, healthcare workers, hiv, HopeFirst Foundation, kids bikes, kona, Kona Africabike, Kona Bikes
| Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
Outside’s Gear Girl, Stephanie Pearson, highlighted the Kona AfricaBike as one of the “Best of Winter Gear” items. Noting the AfricaBike program’s aim to provide bikes to home healthcare workers in sub-Saharan Africa and how the AfricaBike is perfect as a commuter rig, the Gear Girl applaudes all the work that’s being done.
PermalinkTags: africa, aids, bikes for africa, commuter bikes, health care, hiv, kona, Kona Africabike, Kona Bikes
| Posted in AfricaBike News | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Ever wonder where exactly the Kona AfricaBike and Kona Basic Needs have been in Africa?
In an effort to bring the projects in Africa a little closer to home, we’ve created a Google map that highlights all of the places the AfricaBike project and Kona Basic Needs has made an impact since we began in 2006. Don’t worry, we won’t test you, just think of it as a complementary resource to our reports about, say, the handover in the Gamalahke Township, South Africa.
Not only does the map’s directory point you to the exact location of Orange Farm, South Africa, for example, but it also gives you a little background about the respective project and how many AfricaBikes were donated.
So check out the site HERE. Further updates will be made to the map throughout 2010.
PermalinkTags: africabikes, aids, biketown africa, bmx, cycling, google maps, hiv, Kona Africabike, Kona Basic Needs, Kona Bikes, Kona World, mtb, south africa
| Posted in AfricaBike Development | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
MODSquad Cycles, the only bicycle shop in Harlem, will honor Black History Month by donating 10% of its February 2010 revenue to Kona AfricaBike and Project Rwanda. In support of the shop’s initiatives, Kona Bikes has offered to donate an AfricaBike for a raffle in which customers who purchase at least $10 at the store will be entered.
Owner Oyé Carr says, “AfricaBike combines capitalism with good works. For every two bikes purchased by Kona retailers, Kona donates a bike to an AIDS worker. Bikes are not just for sport. They are also a means of environmentalism and a source of social change.”
Kona would like to give a big shout out to MODSquad Cycles for reaching out to the Kona AfricaBike program and the global community this month. If you live in or around the area, stop in and enter the raffle to win an AfricaBike or check out the selection of AfricaBike t-shirts - where all process go to Kona Basic Needs.
PermalinkTags: africa, aids, bicycles, BikeTown Afirca, black history month, harlem bike shop, healthcare workers, hiv, kona, Kona Africabike, Kona Bikes, mod squad cycles, mounatin bikes, nyc bike shops
| Posted in AfricaBike News, Africabike Partners | No Comments »
Monday, January 18th, 2010
Last September, BikeTown Africa donated and built 268 Kona AfricaBikes in 48 hours for health care workers of an organization called CATHCA, which educates and cares for those afflicted by HIV/AIDS. The handover took place in Orange Farm, South Africa. To read more about the donation click HERE.
As always, if you would like to help donate more Kona AfricaBikes, click HERE.
PermalinkTags: africa, biketown africa, bmx, cycling, HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS health care workers, Kona Africabike, Kona AfricaBikes help HIV/AIDS health care workers, Kona Basic Needs, Kona bicycle company, Kona Bikes, KonaWorld, mtb, orange farm
| Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
Today there are 33 million people living with HIV/AIDS. An estimated 2 million people died from AIDS in 2008. Of those 2 million, 35,000 babies and 330,000 others died prematurely of AIDS in South Africa due the government’s delay in providing treatment.
Today, however, strides have been made by South African President, Jacob Zuma, to alleviate those without access to treatment in South Africa. In conjunction with WORLD AIDS Day, President Zuma announced today in a national address that the drug therapy reach for HIV positive pregnant woman and babies would widen. As South Africa has more people infected with AIDS than any other country (5.7 million), these initiatives mark a major step in the right direction for South Africa and the overall fight against HIV/AIDS.
The Kona AfricaBike has aided hundreds of HIV/AIDS healthcare workers in South Africa to help treat patients in rural areas since the inception of the program in 2006. Since then, we have donated more than 2,500 AfricaBikes to more than 10 countries in Africa – including more than 600 this year. With hopes of having the opportunity to contribute hundreds more in 2010, we aspire to continue to assist in expediting the healing/distribution process for HIV/AIDS patients throughout Africa.
PermalinkTags: africabike, aids, bikes for africa, hiv, jacob zuma, kona, Kona Africabike, Kona Bikes, mountain bikes, new york times, NYT, south africa, world aids day
| Posted in News | No Comments »
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
As we continue to expand our program’s initiatives beyond the cause of HIV/AIDS healthcare workers, Kona has partnered with the HopeFirst Foundation to provide children in Gambia, Africa a better way to get to school. HopeFirst’s goal is to deliver 300 Kona AfricaBikes (100 donated by Kona) to middle-schoolers in rural Gambia as a more reliable means of travel to school. Most secondary schools are located outside most villages and since there’s no public transportation, some children walk up to 12 miles to school round-trip.
The headmaster of each secondary school will distribute, or loan, the Kona AfricaBikes to the children who travel the farthest to school. The security and maintenance of the bikes will also be overseen by the respective headmasters.
Girls are at a particular disadvantage when it comes to attending school as they’re not seen as equals. Thus, girls will especially benefit from the availability of AfricaBikes, as they are vulnerable to harassment and rape on long walks to and from school. Similarly, many girls are kept home from school due to chores, so if they spend less time getting to and from school parents may agree to let them participate in becoming better educated.
HopeFirst Foundation’s mission is to transform the lives of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, as well as the general well-being of children in both the U.S. and Africa. In addition to their ongoing work in Zimbabwe, Sandy Murray, a foundation member and registered nurse, oversees projects based in Gambia - including the AfricaBike project.
Wanna take part in the HopeFirst Foundation’s AfricaBike funrasier to send bikes to Gambia? It’s easy.
Donate HERE.
PermalinkTags: africa, aids, bicycles, biketown africa, gambia, hiv, HopeFirst Foundation, kona, Kona Africabike, Kona Bikes, Kona World
| Posted in AfricaBike News | No Comments »
