One Street to Uganda
One Street to Uganda was a program we ran from 2010 through 2012 to raise funds to send our executive director to Uganda to assist our Social Bike Business program partner Ride 4 a Woman.
Thanks to all of our wonderful donors for the January 2013 trip (see below), we actually exceeded our minimum fundraising goal! These funds helped build a brand new bicycle workshop, supply it with professional bicycle tools and provide new bicycles to eight graduates of the bicycle mechanic training course that Sue Knaup taught while she was there. Here are a few photos from the trip:
^ Raise your hand if you want to be a bicycle mechanic! ^ Scrubbing forks.
^ New bike worshop in action. ^ Eight new bike mechanics, eight new bikes.
Ugandan culture discourages women from riding a bicycle or repairing anything. Even though most Ugandan women and many men disagree with this taboo, the result is that few women have even tried to ride a bicycle or use mechanics’ tools.
One Street has been working with Ride 4 a Woman (R4W) in Bwindi, Uganda since December 2009 to build their nonprofit that is empowering women with bicycles. In January of 2011, One Street's executive director, Sue Knaup traveled to Bwindi, Uganda bringing her experience in organization development and as a former bike shop owner. While there, Ms. Knaup offered R4W's leaders bicycle program and management training. Mor
e than 200 R4W members took part in the workshops during her visit.
Most of the thousands of women in the Bwindi region spend their days and well into each night managing their households. They carry water, dig their family’s garden, care for their children and animals, clean the house, and ensure everything is running smoothly. This leaves no time to learn a trade to earn money and very little time to learn from each other.
With the bicycle riding and repair skills R4W can teach them, they will break free from the confines of Uganda’s evolving culture and learn career skills they can use to bring income to their families. Even just obtaining a bicycle will save some Bwindi area women hours each day because bicycling is at le
ast six times faster than walking.
R4W's leaders and staff are still new to bicycle programs themselves. During her first trip Ms. Knaup taught them the basics, her second trip offered next level training
A huge thanks to our trip supporters!:
Cyclists for Cultural Exchange
The Robin Lee Whittlesey Foundation
* Marianne Knaup
- Lucy Brown
- Tomas Bertulis
- Joan Burtelow
- Ray Cage
- Kathianne Crane
- John Crosby
- Mary Jo Crosby
- Toni Denis
- Joe DiBuduo
- Johanna Hawley
- Margaret Hickman
- Jim Knaup
- Silda Mason
- Lindy Messerly
- Nancy Owen Nelson
- Turney Postlewait
- Lib Randall
- David Rapp
- Carol Russell
- Leo Sobottka
- Daniel Wasserman
- Tom Wilcoxen
- Shirley Willis