Village Bicycle Project | Case Study – December 2024
Re-Cycle is proud to support the Schools for Salone (SFS) project in partnership with Village Bicycle Project (VBP) to support students and teachers across rural Sierra Leone. Through this collaboration, Re-Cycle has provided bicycles to individuals like Fatmata S. Koroma and Aminata Conteh, both of whom have experienced significant improvements in their daily lives.
Fatmata Kamara, a 14-year-old student from Madina Village, used to travel 11 miles each day to attend school, spending two hours on the journey. With her new bicycle, the time taken for her commute has been reduced to just 45 minutes each way. This change has not only saved her valuable time but also increased her ability to focus on her studies, ensuring she can arrive at school on time and improve her academic performance.
“I feel good to have a bike for the first time, and it will help me achieve my studies.”
Aminata Conteh, a 25-year-old maths teacher from Makali Village, also benefited from the project. Before receiving her bicycle, Aminata faced a one-hour commute each day to school, along with travel to her farm. The new bike has shortened her travel time to just 15 minutes, allowing her to save money, increase her time at school, and better support her family. Aminata shared,
“Owning a bike makes me feel good because it will give me good health anytime I ride.”
The Impact of a Bicycle:
For both Fatmata and Aminata, receiving a bicycle has made a world of difference in their daily lives:
- Time-Saving: Journeys that once took hours are now completed in a fraction of the time, allowing them to focus more on their studies, work, and family.
- Cost Savings: By cutting out daily transport expenses, both are able to save money, which helps support their families and meet other needs.
- Versatile Use: The bikes serve multiple purposes, from commuting to school to helping with farm work and trips to the market.
- Family Sharing: While the bikes are mainly for Fatmata and Aminata, they occasionally share them with family members, maximising their impact and usefulness.
The bicycles provided by Re-Cycle, in partnership with VBP and Schools for Salone, are making a tangible impact on both education and economic opportunities in rural Sierra Leone. By offering reliable, affordable transportation, the project helps students like Fatmata attend school more regularly, while also enabling teachers like Aminata to manage their personal and professional responsibilities more effectively.
Re-Cycle’s support of VBP and Schools for Salone demonstrates the charity’s ongoing commitment to improving access to education, economic independence, and mobility for individuals in need.
Read more about our work in Sierra Leone, including the project for bikes in schools, here
