Bikes help break the poverty cycle

For this blog post, we are looking at how bicycles are being integrated into two programs run by Australian-based INGO Global Hand Charity.

Global Hands Charity

Global Hand Charity (GHC) is an Australian international NGO founded in 2008 that works to improve educational opportunities for children in remote communities in Laos, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and now Cambodia.

During their initial programs, GHC quickly realised that before children could learn, basic needs like access to drinking water and toilets or WASH (Water and Sanitation and Hygiene) needed to be addressed. So before working on education, they built wells, toilets and showers near the schools before introducing learning interventions.

GHC have a strong supporter base and links to a number of Australian universities (like Curtin University). 100% of all money raised by GHC go directly to people in need. They are completely volunteer-run and do not take any money for administrations costs. Their running costs are supported by government grants.

Two of Global Hands Charity projects involve bicycles. First, GHC’s Education program Bicycles Program: Bicycles break poverty program has provided bicycles to remote communities to help local Laotian children access schooling. Second, Trade school: building a sustainable future is a bicycle repair and trade skill workshop space to upskill children with diff-abilities (deaf and mute).

Bikes help break the poverty cycle. Bicycles Create Change.com 30th Nov 2019. — Schoolgirls in Laos

Bicycles Program: Bicycles break poverty program

In remote villages where schools are scarce, many kids walk on average 4 hours a day to attend school. Some travel up to 8 hours return. With a bike, these same children can ride the 10-15 km to get to their local Secondary School in less time, more safely and still have the energy to learn.

Currently in Laos, only 50% of students attend secondary school because they are usually further away. Most primary schools are located in villages, so the travel is less and attendance is usually about 85%. The transition from primary to secondary school is a critical aspect of continuing education – and bikes are a way to address this issue.

To test the program, initially 50 bikes were donated by GHC as well as another 50 bikes going to Sister Catherine’s Trade School (Laos). Since then, the program has expanded and more bikes have been distributed.

Trade school: building a sustainable future

GHC has built a bike and carpentry shed at the Disabled Children’s School for Deaf and Mute in Luang Prabang (Laos). The Shed is a place for students to learn how to repair and service bicycles donated through GHC’s Bike Program. This program is specifically for the deaf-mute boys at the school.

So far over 100 bikes have been purchased to enable children in remote villages to attend secondary school up to 20 km away. Working alongside the Bicycle Program, students who extend skills in bike repairs and carpentry skills as a way to build skills for future employment opportunities.

Another Trade School project taught girls commercial cooking, hospitality, hair and beauty skills to reduce the risk of girls crossing the border into Thailand and ending up in sex work on living on the street.

GHC Core Programs

Global Hand Charity has 4 core programs: Education, Schools & Buildings, Healthcare and Community. Here is an overview of some of their initiatives:

Education

Textbooks: Books for education (Laos)
Professional Learning: Teacher Education (Vietnam)
Bicycles Program: Bicycles break poverty Program (Laos)

Schools & Buildings

Dormitories: A Safe place for girls to realise dreams (Vietnam)
Community Centres: Community hubs for families (Laos)
Trade School: Building a sustainable future (Laos)

Healthcare

Deaf & Mute Orphanage: Hearing for the first time (Laos)
Mobile Eye Care Camps: Seeing a way out of poverty (Laos, Sri Lanka)
Medical Visits & Funding: Making lives easier (Laos)

Community

Clean Water: Tippy Tap saves lives (Universal)
Girls Hygiene Project: Laos girl power (Laos)
Hygiene Bags: Hoikor Bags (Laos)

Helping others

Global Hands Charity is committed to making positive change for rural kids in Laos and Sri Lanka which are among some of the poorest countries in the world.

In these rural villages, there are no doctors or hospitals and children stop going to school because it is too far and too difficult to walk.

GHC is providing community nurses and running free medical clinics in rural community centers, building schools, learning centers, dormitories and providing bicycles so kids can access education. They also provide specialist educational and medical programs, such as vision and hearing initiatives, that are not available in many parts of South East Asia.

Organisations such as Global Hands Charity can help improve education, employment and health opportunities for locals living in remote areas– and it is great to see bicycles playing an important part in these projects.

28/06/201901/07/2019

Tibetan Bike Rider Combating Climate Change

Nâm Arya is a first generation Tibetan-America. In 2016, she spent a year undertaking an epic bike-packing and speaking tour of the U.S called Bike for Tibet.

Her goal was to spread the word about the impacts of climate change in Tibet and to seek climate justice for Tibetans.

I got excited to find out more about the trip online. I went to Nâm’s online journal, but there was not much content there. Bummer because the trip itself sounds awesome! Even so, this initiative is so worthwhile. I suppose you have to go to one of the talks in order to get all the details! Fair play!

What is Bike for Tibet?

It was a year-long bicycle tour of the U.S. for the purpose of bringing Tibet and Tibetans into the global conversation on climate justice.

Along the way Nâm offered 60+ min presentations to discuss and dissect climate change issues in Tibet.

During these discussions, she highlighted key concerns including the displacement of nomads, the effects of dams along Tibetan rivers, and mining.

Nâm also outlined root causes, false solutions, issues of colonization, and how democracy features within the context of exploited communities.

A central theme in all the presentations is inter-dependence. She also linked wider issues from other communities seeking environmental justice in the US and abroad.

Who is Bike for Tibet?

Nâm is an exiled Tibetan woman who was born in Mungod Resettlement Camp in southern India. As a youth, she attended Tibetan boarding school in the northern India until she immigrated to the US in 1996 where she now lives.

She and her bike-riding-mad partner Jonni undertook the 12-month Bike for Tibet journey together.

Jonni is adventure bicyclist and Instagram celebrity under the moniker UltraRomance. If you have not seen Jonni’s IG before, check it out – he is hilarious!

What a brilliant idea for a bike project! Get out on the road with your favourite person, ride around living a simple life and promote a very important environmental and social issue at the same time– wicked!

How did Bike for Tibet get started?

Nâm says she was inspired by Drukpa Rinpoche’s Eco Pad Yatra and the enduring work of Tibet climate change organizations working to vision to bring stabilise the Himalaya Plateau.

She created Bike For Tibet to be a nexus for these projects, influences and practices – as well as something she loves best to do – biking!

The Bike for Tibet project builds on Nâm’s decade-long leadership and work within the environmental movement.

Nâm used crowd funding to get Bike for Tibet up and running. Although she is advocating for climate action, Bike for Tibet is independent and not affiliated with any one particular group.

Some parts of this post were taken from the Bike for Tibet website to ensure accuracy of facts. All images by Bike for Tibet or IG UltraRomance unless otherwise indicated.

05/02/201925/02/2019

Happy Chinese New Year! Year of the Pig

Happy Chinese New Year!

The Chinese New Year is also called the Spring Festival or Luna New Year.

The 2019 year of the Pig is predicted to be a particularly auspicious and lucky year. And with the zodiac sign of the pig representing diligence, kindness and generosity, people working on projects (like PhDs and other ventures) can look forward to some super positive changes in the next 12 months!

Hooray!

The Chinese fortune calendar combines solar, lunar and 60 Stem-Branch counting systems. The 60 Stem-Branch calendar uses the names of the Yin and Yang Five Elements (Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth) and 12 animals to rank the yearly sequences. The five elements are connected to five colors – White, Black, Green, Red, and Brown. So the new year uses an element, its color and the animal name to count the year. In this system, 2019 is the year of the Female Earth Pig – and given that brown is connected to the Earth it is a Brown Earth Pig Year.

February 2019 is also an especially fortuitous month.

February 2019 will only come once in a lifetime. This is because this year’s February has 4 Mondays, 4 Tuesdays, 4 Wednesdays, 4 Thursdays, 4 Fridays, 4 Saturdays and 4 Sundays.

This only happens once every 823 years!

The Chinese New Year is celebrated worldwide and this year, I was delighted to see this Irish bicycle-assisted celebration for Chinese New Year – Dublin’s Lazy Bike Tours Asian Flavours Event.

Asian Flavours on a Lazy Bike

Lazy Bike Tours offer three-hour electric bike tours that celebrates the Chinese New Year and highlights Dublin’s enduring connection to China. While on this guided tour, participants are given an informed account of Dublin’s Chinese migration and history whilst riding around Chinatown. As part of the tour, riders get to visit the Spring Festival Fair at the CHQ building and check out the market stalls. As a finale, the tour finishes up at a local Chinese restaurant to experience traditional new year cuisine and culture.

What a great way to start the Luna New Year … being out and about, happily social, interacting with community, learning about culture and having fun on two wheels – awesome!

However you celebrate Chinese New Year – I hope it’s also on two wheels!

恭喜发财，红包拿来 Gōngxǐ fācái!

27/01/201918/02/2019

The Orange Bike Project in the Phillipines

For many years, World Bicycle Relief (WBR) has supplied bicycles to some of the world’s most vulnerable people to help increase access to education, healthcare and income-generation opportunities. WBR has a number of corporate sponsors and partnerships. This story details a unique collaboration between WBR, ING Bank and World Vision, called the Orange Bicycle Project. This story comes courtesy of WBR and serves as a reminder that bicycles really do create change. Enjoy! NG.

Dutch financial institution ING has built their corporate purpose around “empowering people to stay a step ahead, in life and in business.” While ING remains committed to this purpose in their day-to-day banking work, they also wanted to integrate it into their corporate giving efforts.

And if they could find a way to honor their Dutch bicycling heritage at the same time, even better! The organization did just that by developing a sustainable transportation relief program: the Orange Bike Project.

The Orange Bike Project in the Phillipines. Bicycles Create Change.com. 27th Jan, 2019. — Image: World Bicycle Relief

ING collaborated with World Bicycle Relief (WBR) and World Vision Philippines to bring bicycles to children living in remote locations in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand.

The project is modeled after WBR’s Bicycles for Educational Empowerment Program (BEEP) and aspires to raise enough funds over five years to build and distribute 5,000 bicycles to students who must walk long distances to school every day.

WBR’s educational programs in Africa have demonstrated that reducing students’ travel time to school helps improve attendance and performance.

Bicycle-riding students are more likely to stay in school, improving their career prospects and future income potential as well. As Mark Newman, CEO of ING Asia, says, “We hope that the ING Orange Bike project will be able to create a lasting impact that empowers the students, their families and the community to keep moving forward in life.”

The project’s orange ING-branded Buffalo Bicycle is specially designed for rough, rural terrain and can carry loads up to 100 kg – making it useful for the student’s family to transport crops and goods to the market when school is not in session.

As of December 2016, 3,200 bicycles have been distributed through the Orange Bike Project. The program’s impact is carefully monitored by a local implementing agency, and the results have been spectacular!

In several beneficiary schools in the Philippines, attendance has increased by at least 33% and grades by at least 51%. The bicycles have also helped recipient families bring more goods to market, increasing their income.

ING has plans to raise $200,000 annually to continue the program through 2018. Employee fundraising groups like the ING Orange Bike Cycling Challenge have helped ING reach its goal by raising $75,000 in 2016. The program has benefited from the enthusiastic support of ING employees and friends who all share the organization’s commitment to empowering individuals.

Shayne Prashan, ING employee and team leader for the ING Orange Bike Cycling Challenge, was motivated to fundraise for the project because of the emotional enlightenment it offered him. “It’s about the only superpower that makes us human: empathy.”

Shayne says. “It invites us on one of the greatest and most courageous adventures of our lives: to step into someone else’s shoes to understand their struggles and to help them walk through life with confidence and faith.”

22/01/201918/02/2019

Epic Bikes Rides of the World

If you can’t actually be out riding your bike, then reading about cycling and planning your next trip is the next best thing.

Book and bikes are a regular theme at BCC.

We have previously featured schoolteacher Saber Hosseini who cycles his home-made library to far-flung rural Afghani villages so locals there who have no access to books can learn to read, the whimsical children’s storybook Along a Long Road, book, how bicycles can be promoted in local libraries and BCC’s own project A bike in my life – Recycled Dreams Community Storybook.

This week, I picked up a copy of Lonely Planet’s Epic Bike Ride of the World.

This book details 200 of arguably ‘the best places in the world to ride a bike’. The book is a colorfully illustrated hardback and is a delight to read.

It was published in 2016, so is still pretty current, although I’d love to hear how they decided on what rides to include and what to leave out.

Epic Bikes Rides of the World. Bicycles Create Change.com. 22nd Jan, 2019.

Key Features

The book is divided into continents chapters. This means you can quickly find what you are looking for and get info on exactly what you’re interested in.
Each entry has a visual grading: green for ‘easy’, blue for ‘harder’ and red for ‘epic’.
It covers all types of cycling: individual, family, sightseeing, road, mountain biking, bikepacking, urban rides and a heap of ideas for those into epic off-track adventuring. off the beaten track.
Each ride is accompanied by awesome scenic photos and a map. There are also toolkit and advice boxes to help with the practicalities of planning that particular trip.
The photos are ohhhh, sooo very motivating. I like how they include not just cycling and scenery, but also lifestyle, people, culture and travel vignettes that really showcase the uniqueness of riding in the region.
The locations included show judicious selection. What wonderful geographic spread: Moab, California, Canada, India Himalayas, NZ, Vietnam, Norway, Argentina, Japan, Denmark, Wales, Thailand, Australia … and heaps of other places. Impressive!
At the end of each section (which is more descriptive), there is a short factual ‘more like this’ section, which includes suggestions for other rides elsewhere in the style of that ride – what a great idea!

It was really inspiring reading this book. I’ve definitely added a few more thumbtacks into my bikepacking map of the world!

And it’s not just me who liked it. Ed Wright from Roadcycling.co.nz gave it a rave review as well.

This book won the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 and was the winner in Favorite Travel Guide category.

So do yourself a favor – next time you’re in a library or bookshop, see if you can grab a copy of this book and check it out.

I guarantee, if you are a bike rider of any type, you will not be disappointed!

All images: Epic Bikes Rides of the World

03/12/201801/01/2019

Paulus Maringka’s Greencycle Research

Today I read Paulus Maringka’s Greencycle Masters Thesis.

Paulus undertook this research with Auckland University of Technology in 2010. I found this manuscript online and was initially drawn to read it as this bicycle-inspired community development project had a number of cross-over themes with my own current PhD research project.

This thesis was a pleasure to read. It was clearly written, on-topic and full of interesting images to help break up blocks of text.

It was great to see a new approach to many of the issues I can currently researching, like bicycle use in developing countries, local adaptations and resources, impacts of cultural needs and contexts, and how users personalise their bicycles.

Equally, reading the chapters on the technical design and development phases was also interesting as this project centres on a product creation and intervention, whereas mine does not.

Below is Maringka’s thesis’ abstract, thesis organisation and some of the key images from the thesis, which gives a solid overview of the project without having to read it in its entirety.

Download a copy of Marinkka’s (2010) Greencycle thesis here.

Greencycle Abstract

This Greencycle project applies a system approach to shift design thinking and practices away from the ongoing unsustainable use of resources towards a more sustainable framework of consumption whereby local cultures, skills, resources and technology are analyzed to inform the design and development of a human powered transportation system.

It uses a trans-disciplinary research and design approach by consulting all stakeholders; including farmers in a Third World country, industrial designers, engineers and manufacturers to provide information, understanding and insights as a basis to find solutions that have enabled this research study to produce a system called Greencycle which utilizes renewable materials and indigenous people skills to produce a bicycle that is more sustainable.

The bicycle provides more than basic transportation to go from A to B. Poor countries need and depend on this mode of transportation for a wide range of uses; thus expanding its function and uses would be of great benefit to its users.

This research study has created a series of accessories to extend a bicycle’s functionality, with the core being made from sustainable materials and local skills. For this project it would have been a simple process for the designer to come up with a concept idea(s) that was based on a personal view of what would be a suitable solution for the target user.

Instead however, the designer has used feedback from the target group participants to shape and develop the design process and to ensure the design will be acceptable for the target user to use and manufacture.

This multi-discipline approach to the design problem has revealed many opportunities that would otherwise be hidden by less detailed research and design methodology. Many academic studies stop at the point when the written thesis is complete.

This research study has included four expert interviews, eleven case studies of target users, prototype testing and field experiments with sustainable resources to gather information, understanding and insights from these stakeholders in order to propose, design and evaluate two Greencycles (using sustainable bamboo material) and a series of design accessories. This multi-discipline approach to the design problem has revealed many opportunities that would otherwise be hidden by less detailed research and design methodology. Many academic studies stop at the point when the written thesis is complete.

This research project went a step further by testing and implementing its findings on users back in its intended marketplace to ensure the design will be adopted by and be successful for people in Third World countries.

As a result of this research, there is now an opportunity to look at and create a business model that provides new income opportunities for the local people.

Feedback for the Greencycle design and its accessories has so far been very encouraging, with participants showing a significant level of enthusiasm. To take advantage of this success, a business proposition to market these sustainable products seems plausible as a first step to developing this business venture. Information posters to showcase the accessories and their functions and applications have been designed to test market demands and other important indicators for future business development and strategy.

Thesis Organisation

Chapter 1: Introduction

Introduces and scopes the areas of research and need for functional, usable and sustainable human powered machines.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Provides critical analysis through literature review and internet ethnography to gain an understanding and knowledge of bicycle functionality and bicycle users in Third World countries. This chapter also reviews literature and provides a study background on Bicycle Ergonomics, Green Materials and Sustainability.

Chapter 3: Research Design & Research Methods

Outlines the research design and design methods approach to the design generation and development of the Greencycle and accessories.

Chapter 4: Significant Findings

Presents the significant findings and the major discoveries that formed the design criteria of the Greencycle and accessories.

Chapter 5: Design & Development Phases

Details the design phases and iterative processes in the development phases of the Greencycle and the accessories.

Chapter 6: Evaluation

Details the evaluation outcomes of an integrated approach for the concept design thinking of the Greencycle and accessories, including materials and manufacturing processes.

Chapter 6: Discussion & Conclusion

The Discussion and Conclusion provides a reflection on what has been achieved and the future of the Greencycle and the accessories.

Abstract, chapter organization & images: Paulus Maringka (2010) Greencycle .

23/11/201829/12/2018

Islamabad rides against climate change

One of the courses I teach at Griffith Uni is 1205MED Health Challenges for t he 21st century. It is a compulsory first-year undergrad course for all Health Sciences degrees. I really enjoy teaching it. The first major assessment is a research essay topic exploring the link between malaria (health) and climate change (environment). Climate change is a global issue that has serious repercussions that go far beyond health. I was delighted to see cyclists the world around rallying to raise awareness about climate change. This particular protest caught my attention because Pakistani cyclists are not often featured in international news – so it was great to see them out in force and mobilizing against climate change. NG.

Climate Diplomacy Day

Climate Diplomacy Day (CDD) is an annual date that is used to highlight climate change issues and action. Every year, countries host conferences, community events, debates, exhibitions, films and social media activities to encourage informed discussion and work towards more decisive joint responses to the climate challenge.

Collectively, these events hope to build on work strated by the December 2015 Paris Agreement, which was the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate.

This year, Islamabad set the bar high for Climate Diplomacy Day.

Pakistan is not the first country that usually comes to mind when we think of climate change action.

Even so, considering that Pakistan is predicted to be one of the most vulnerable nations to be impacted by climate change (despite the country’s low level of its global carbon emissions), it is understandable that CDD would make the news.

Islamabad rides against climate change

Islamabad celebrated CDD with three key events; a massive public bike protest, a documentary screening and an art competition.

This aim of this years’ event program was to encourage communities to take back the decision making control about climate policy out of bureaucracy hands and back give it back to the community.

The bike protest had a massive turn out. The protest saw riders taking over the streets of Islamabad as a way to highlight rampant greenhouse emissions by promoting bikes as a more eco-friendlier mode of transportation.

The ride was held in conjunction with the EU and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Pakistan.

The ride was followed by a public screening of a documentary called Thank You For The Rain, which follows the damage climate change has had on a Kenyan farmer, his family and his village.

There was also a local exhibition called the Climate Diplomacy Art Competition, which showcased local students’ climate change inspirited art. The theme for the art competition was Challenges of Climate Change – Pakistan’s Youth on the Front Line.

Events like Islamabad’s CDD are very important in helping raise awareness for climate action.

It is also a sobering reminder that no matter where you are – in Pakistan, Australia or anywhere else in the world – we are all united by this common issue.

I find it reassuring there are so many people who are equally passionate about the environment, cycling and who want more positive environmental and community change.

Ride on brothers and sisters!

14/08/201816/08/2018

On ya bike for World Elephant Day 2018!

How easily we forget or disregard that which is not part of our immediate daily experience….like the plight of elephants.

Elephant populations have declined by 62% over the last decade, with 24,000 Elephants poached last year in Africa alone.

Sunday (August 12th) was World Elephant Day 2018.

To celebrate the majestic elephant – and as a reminder that just because we don’t see them every day – much still needs to be done for those elephants still left.

So, here are a few ways that cyclists are progressing elephant conservation, both off and on the bike.

Ride a bike, not an elephant – Khatsahlano Street Party

One way to show support off the bike is by wearing a t-shirt like one of these below, which comes from annual Khatsahlano Street Party.

This event had local bands, artisans, food trucks, and giveaways. The T-shirt featured here was a key part of the event fundraising campaign to protect elephants from the unethical tourism industry. 100% of the net profit of these T-shirts went to free an abused elephant to a sanctuary in Asia.

Bike for Elephants 2018

‘Bike for Elephants’ is a 2-day charity bike tour arranged as part of the Dutch group Bring the elephant back home group. This bike ride is in eastern Thailand and the cost of participation goes towards innovative wild elephant conservation projects. This ride is promoted as an adventure and fun biking trip through the mountains and plantations and through forests in Chantaburi Province.

Cost includes safety instructions, a t-shirt, overnight stay, mountain bike rental, helmet, all meals and drinks. Also included are opportunities to meet the research team, see live elephants and new conservation techniques (like the beehive fences) in action and being part of an experience that is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

So what’s all the fuss?

Elephants are amazing creatures.

Green Global Travel’s website is focused on drawing attention to the challenge elephants face – and goes on to state that:

In the early 1900s African Elephant populations were estimated to be in the millions, while there were around 100,000 Asian Elephants. According to World Wildlife Fund, today there are around 700,000 African Elephants in the wild, and just 32,000 Asian Elephants.
In 1989, CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) banned the international ivory trade. Yet poaching for ivory has been steadily increasing, with 800,000 African elephants killed over the last three decades.
In addition to poaching, habitat loss and conflict with human populations are key threats facing Elephant populations. Climate change projections suggest key Elephant habitat will become hotter and drier, so poor foraging conditions may threaten the survival of more calfs in the future.

So sometime this week, take at least one small step to support elephant rescue and conservation – and show the world that cyclists are connected and care about our world – both on and off the bike.

Click here for an extensive list of links, places and ways you can help elephants.

And next time you’re riding with cycling buddies, here’s a few other interesting elephant facts you can share…

Elephants are incapable of jumping, but these massive mammals can run at a maximum speed of 25 miles (40 km) per hour.
Elephants, like people, have a ‘prefered side’ of using their tusks: Some are “lefties,” others are “righties.” They’ll favor that tusk when fighting other Elephants, picking things up, or stripping leaves and bark off trees. Because of constant usage, their preferred tusk gets shorter over time.
The elephant’s trunk (called a proboscis) contains 16 muscles.
Elephants have incredibly poor digestion, with only 50% efficiency. As a result, they release an incredible amount of gas (methane) and produce around 250 pounds of manure a day!
Elephant skin is over an inch thick. But because it’s loaded with nerve endings, their skin is also highly sensitive. Elephants from the same herd will often use touch to greet each other, either wrapping their trunks around each other or giving each other friendly “hello” taps on the body.

01/07/201810/07/2018

The Afghani teacher who bicycles books to rural villages

Image: From Now This/The Daily Motion (video still) — Image: Global Giving

Education in rural Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, only 28% of the entire Afghan population 15 years and older is literate and poverty has risen from 36 to 39%.

In Afghanistan, many children do not go to school. Literacy and school are especially limited in the rural areas, where distance and a lack of access and resources mean that education is unrealistic for many families who live in villages where the closest school is 3 hours away.

Education is paramount to reducing poverty and increasing quality of life.

One local, Saber Hosseini is trying to rectify this.

Every weekend, Saber loads up his ‘bicycle library’ and travels to six surrounding rural villages to share his library so that the locals (who have no access to books) can learn to read and have an opportunity to read.

Saber is a schoolteacher in Bamiyan in central Afghanistan. Bamiyan is one of the poorest provinces in Afghanistan, which continues to be hamstrung by conflict, poverty and instability.

Adding to this, Afghanistan has a mountainous geography and vast tracks of barren land, which make travel to school impossible. Even if travel was possible, so many schools were destroyed and education was so severely restricted, that rural children from remote villages were forced to drop out.

The Afghani teacher who bicycles books to rural villages

Saber has been riding his bicycle library since 2016. Saber bought his first 200 books with fundraising support from his friends and local literary circles.

Saber had to travel to the Iranian border to buy most of the books as previously, most publications, literature and books were essentially forbidden.

Over the years, Saber has been supported by friends and local volunteers – as well as people overseas. Now his library has 3,500 books and Saber has since been able to open the first ever public library in Bamiyan.

Reports are that literacy rates in the area are rising as a direct result of Saber’s bicycle library.

At the start, the books were simple, but now, more advanced titles have been added as local reading rates have improved.

The library is now so accepted and popular within these communities, that adults are coming to use the library and are borrowing advanced level children’s books.

Saber uses the opportunity to talk to the locals about peace, avoiding drugs, and being more understanding of different people’s beliefs, lifestyles, culture and choices.

The following story about Saber is from the Global Citizen: One time, Saber spoke to children about guns, and used the slogan:

“Say no to guns, Say yes to books.”

The next time he returned to the same village, the children collected all of their toy guns and handed them over to Saber.

This was a heartwarming gesture, but the kids wanted to bargain: they would forfeit their guns if they could be the first village in the next round of book deliveries so that they could get the first pick.

Saber has brought joy to many communities, but there are costs to his endeavor. He has received many threats and many have opposed his caring works.

Even still, Saber continues to make room for the opportunity to learn. A library is more than just a pile of books, it is also a community of individuals willing to learn and discuss and grow

“When I hand the books out to them, I can see their excitement and joy,” Hosseini said. “It is the joy of being able to learn. I am also inspired.”

Below is a video about Saber’s bicycle library.

High Stakes: Girls’ Education in Afghanistan

Saber’s efforts are particularly important given that illiteracy is a major issue in rural Afghanistan.

A recent Joint NGO Briefing Report of Girls Education in Afghanistan entitled High Stakes: Girls’ Education in Afghanistan reports that female education has faced significant obstacles in Afghanistan, yet there have been enormous gains since 2001. Under the Taliban, the majority of girls’ schools were closed and gross enrollment fell from 32% to just 6.4%.

The report also states that:

Female students have high aspirations for their educational achievement.
Many schools do not have the infrastructure needed to provide a quality education.
Poverty was seen as the single biggest obstacle to girls’ access to education. Poverty as a major barrier to girls attending school.
Poverty is also linked to early or forced marriage, which is an additional major obstacle to girls’ education.
The number of available female teachers is insufficient to meet demand.
Availability of education is insufficient to meet demand.
Distance, along with attendance in mixed classes or interaction with male teachers, becomes increasingly problematic as girls approach adolescence, when cultural norms regulating their behaviour become more restrictive.
Decision-making around whether or not girls go to school, and for how long, is complex and extremely varied from province to province and even household to household.

The World Bank’s 2017 Poverty Status Update Report on the socioeconomic progress in Afghanistan, indicates that the last 15 years of growth in Afghanistan is now being undermined by a recent rise in insecurity.

Let’s hope Saber keeps riding his bike, sharing books and helping others – and that his commitment inspires others to do the same.

All Images: Now This/The Daily Motion (video still) unless otherwise indicated.

12/11/201722/11/2017

Urban Cycling World Champs

The Urban Cycling World Championship is a relatively new format that blends a selection of biking and cycling events into one ‘festival of urban biking’ showcase. The UCWC is in held in major cities around the world so more people can get to see, and experience, the new and unique skills and thrills of urban biking.

The 2017 Urban Cycling World Championship was held this week in Chengdu, China.

This year the event included Mountain Bike Eliminator (XCE), Trials and BMX Free Style Park – each of which is sure to inspire even the most unimpressed general public be more interested in bikes!!

What are ‘Trials’?

Trials is the event where you see bikers hopping and jumping across, between and over boulders, planks and other obstacles. Bikes are 20″ and 26″ and riders need mad balancing, agility, strength, timing and track standing skills to be competitive. Essentially it is a time-based routine where riders are allowed a maximum of five dabs allowed in any section.

Why is Trials so interesting this year?

Trial events have been a UCI World Champs event since 2001. However 2017 is the first year that Trials is being run as part of the Urban Cycling World Champs, whereas previously Trials has been run in conjunction with other mountain-biking disciplines as part of the UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships.

Most importantly because J-Mean (Janine Jungfels), who is a local Brisbane rider and Australia’s Women’s Elite Trials entrant – is hoping to kick ass!

Go Janine, Go!

Janine was the 2015 UCI BIU World Champion and she is a great ambassador for the sport. If you don’t know much about J-Mean, check out her Facebook page.

No matter what the final results are for this event, I think Janine is already a champ, given her dedication to training and promoting the sport.

She is a great role model to encourage more women and girls to see and experience a wider range of biking styles outside of the ‘mainstream’ road riding and MTBing.

I was super pumped after I saw this interview (see below) with her earlier this month at the Trials Park at Underwood Park, Brisbane.

I wanted to post on Janine and Trials to acknowledge and promote the hard work and dedication of many unknown riders in less popular cycling disciplines.

There are a handful of cycling styles that when someone saying ‘cycling’ immediately spring to mind (like the Tour de France). As I have argued elsewhere, the hyperfocus on such events is parochial and highlights the inaccurate, limited and inadequate representation within society of what cycling is – and this kind of view that negates an appreciate and support for the diversity and range of other types of riders, styles, skills and bikes that make up our amazing cycling communities.

So regardless of who actually wins the event – Viva La Femme Trails!

I hope events like the Urban Champs will help more people who would otherwise not have seen events like trails have a greater appreciation of the unique skills needed – and hopefully get more people interested in bikes!

Best of luck to all the 2017 Urban Champ riders – it will be a great event!

Here is the event list for this year’s Urban Cycling World Champs.