World Bicycle Relief expanded operations to Uganda in 2023. With a population of 47.2 million, 74% of Ugandans live in rural areas, where the World Bank estimates that 47% of individuals experience mobility poverty, negatively impacting development outcomes. For example, 42% of Uganda’s rural population lives below the international poverty line of $2.15 a day, ...
World Bicycle Relief
Bicycles for Education
GOAL
$63,548
International
Field of Interest
- Education/training and employment
- International aid and development
Target Population
- People experiencing socio-economic disadvantage or vulnerability
- People with a disability, illness or disease
World Bicycle Relief
World Bicycle Relief was developed through innovation, using simple but incredibly effective technology (specially designed Buffalo Bicycles) and has exceptional monitoring and evaluation of activities that prove impact. Bicycles are provided to enable access to education, healthcare and livelihoods.
Most importantly our programs are sustainable, we partner with communities, the bicycles are assembled in country, local Bicycle Supervisory Committees monitor bicycle use, trained mechanics are stationed at schools and we provide ready access to spare parts. Each bicycle should last a lifetime.
In rural developing countries, the biggest barrier to healthcare is distance.
World Bicycle Relief partners with local and international organisations to ensure that health workers have reliable transport, this enables them to visit more patients. Evidence from our health programs shows that with a Buffalo Bicycle, Community Health Workers served 35% more patients, increased referral rates by 50%, and remained in their positions with a 97% retention rate.
World Bicycle Relief has program operations in Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda and Colombia. We will be launching activities in Tanzania in 2024.
Project Summary
World Bicycle Relief expanded operations to Uganda in 2023. With a population of 47.2 million, 74% of Ugandans live in rural areas, where the World Bank estimates that 47% of individuals experience mobility poverty, negatively impacting development outcomes. For example, 42% of Uganda’s rural population lives below the international poverty line of $2.15 a day, nearly one in three children is classified as stunted, and only one in four children complete their primary school education.
Mobility poverty is particularly acute in refugee and host communities due to early pregnancy and child marriage for girls, child labor, and longer distances from schools.
To address these challenges, World Bicycle Relief has distributed 11,225 bicycles in Uganda, trained 175 mechanics, and expanded access to spare parts and after-sales services by opening 10 shops, including three mobile shops to expand coverage. We will build on these efforts in 2025 by mobilizing an additional people across the education, health, and economic opportunity sectors.
World Bicycle Relief’s Bicycles for Education in Uganda initiative, will target refugee areas and provide approximately 70% of bicycles to girls students. We anticipate achieving results similar to those found in neighboring Kenya, where over the past three years, we have empowered 10,931 at-risk students. According to the Government of Uganda, distance is a primary contributor to student’s lack of enrollment and dropout rates. Approximately one in three rural students live 3km or more from school. This contributes to a dropout rate of 45%.
Project Outcomes
World Bicycle Relief’s Bicycles for Education in Uganda initiative aims to promote student retention, reduce student absence, and school commute times, WBR intends to distribute 4,500 bicycles to at-risk Ugandan students, of which 3,150 will be girl students.
These efforts will build on WBR’s previous and ongoing education activities in Uganda, to support 3,431 students since 2023. Bicycles for Education in Uganda has three components:
- Bicycle provision: WBR will work with Uganda’s Ministry of Education to identify priority regions and schools—like those in Bidi Bidi, Nakivaale, and Palabek—and then will support school committees in selecting participants.
- Bicycle Maintenance: To keep bicycles on the road over the long-term, Bicycles for Education in Uganda will train and equip approximately 30 mechanics across all school regions.
- Systems support to stay in school: Existing school committees—chaired by administrators and including parents, students, and local government representatives—will be trained and equipped by WBR with the tools to manage all aspects of the program, from student selection to finances and governance.
This proposal is for 100 students to be supported with funded bicycles.
Budget Breakdown
TOTAL BUDGET: $63,548
FUNDING
| Funding source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Funding Gap | $63,548 |
EXPENSES
| Expense item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Bicycles and Logistics | $35,165 |
| Monitoring Evaluation and Learning | $5,921 |
| Program Implementation | $7,009 |
| Influence Advocacy | $5,921 |
| Organisational costs | $9,532 |
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