Village Bicycle Project working with Schools for Salone
In 2024, Re-Cycle is proud to be supporting a life-changing bike project in Sierra Leone, a collaboration between our partners, the Village Bicycle Project, and Schools for Salone.
This initiative aims to provide bicycles to hundreds of students and teachers across rural districts in Sierra Leone, with the goal of improving school attendance and academic performance.
Why This Matters
Since the Sierra Leone Ministry of Education implemented the “Education for All” policy in 2018, school fees were eliminated, and over one million children re-entered the education system during 2023-2024. While this is a significant win for the country, new challenges have arisen, such as the long distances students have to travel to access secondary education, particularly in rural areas.
Students often walk over three miles each way to get to school. Long commutes contribute to low attendance rates and expose children, especially girls, to higher risks of harassment. Providing bikes will help cut travel times, promote regular attendance, and create safer journeys for students. Teachers who live far from schools will also benefit from the project, allowing them to focus more on teaching and student development.
Re-Cycle’s Contribution
Re-Cycle will be the sole partner supplying donated bikes for this project, with plans to distribute 5,000 bicycles over the next 4-5 years. These bikes will help students and teachers overcome the challenge of long commutes, giving them greater opportunities for success in school across Sierra Leone.
The first shipment of 500 bikes will be distributed in Term 1 of the 2024-2025 academic year, with priority given to secondary school students and upper primary students. These bikes will be distributed across the Koinadugu, Falaba, and Tonkolili districts, reaching six schools. The project will expand to other areas across the country in future phases. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation will assess the impact on both attendance and academic performance, ensuring the bikes are making a meaningful difference.
Project Goals and Objectives
- Goal 1: Empower students by improving attendance and academic performance through easier access to education.
- Goal 2: Promote girls’ education, ensuring safer, more reliable school commutes, and encouraging academic success.
- Goal 3: Support teachers by reducing their travel time, helping them focus on student achievement.
- Goal 4: Guide students through secondary education, fostering interest in continuing their academic journey.
This project demonstrates Re-Cycle’s commitment to not only providing bicycles but also ensuring sustainable, long-term benefits through monitoring, training, and community support. We are excited to see how this project can help change the future of education in Sierra Leone, one bike at a time.
How You Can Help Support This Project
If you would like to contribute to this important initiative, there are two ways to get involved:
- Donate a Bicycle to Re-Cycle: We always need more bikes to send to projects like this one. Re-Cycle has drop-off points across the country, and we ask that bikes have less than 25% rust to ensure they still have some life left in them for students and teachers. Your donated bike could be the key to keeping a child get to school.
- Donate Money to Re-Cycle: Financial donations directly support the ongoing work of Re-Cycle, allowing us to maximise our impact in the countries we work with. Your contribution helps us collect bikes, maintain warehouse operations, and ensure our partnerships in Africa continue to run responsibly and effectively. Every donation helps make a difference.
Read more about Re-Cycle’s partnership with Village Bicycle Project in Sierra Leone here
