Re-Cycle’s Cycle2School+ Pilot Brings 1,000 Bicycles to Nigerian Students
With the arrival of Re-Cycle’s first container of donated bikes for Nigeria, Director Charlotte Ward travelled to Lagos and Abuja to launch the Cycle2School+ pilot project in partnership with Rotimi Aroge of the GRA Empowerment Foundation
Their mission: to demonstrate Re-Cycle’s commitment on the ground and build strong local partnerships.
Bikes to Nigeria
The pilot project aims to distribute 1,000 bicycles to students who walk long distances—often 5 to 10 kilometres—to school each day. By improving access to education through mobility, the initiative also integrates road safety education to help young cyclists travel more safely and confidently.
Charlotte’s week included meetings with school leaders, government officials and road safety advocates, as well as media appearances on radio and television to raise awareness and support. In Lagos, she visited the Community Schools complex in Majiyagbe Ipaja, where students and staff from three schools engaged with the project and its goals.
In Abuja, the country’s capital city, they met with Nigeria’s Coalition of Road Safety NGOs to promote the Non-Motorised Transportation Initiative. Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed endorsed the effort, describing it as a way to “build tomorrow’s responsible drivers today” and highlighting the importance of early education in shaping safer, healthier communities.
This trip was an important stage in the development of the project and to engage key stakeholders across the non-motorised sector with Charlotte adding that
“Re-Cycle’s involvement in Nigeria marks an important step into a new region, with strong potential to expand access to education and promote sustainable transport for young people. I was encouraged to hear and see the positive support for the progamme which is ground breaking in Nigeria and the first of its kind to break down barriers and enable school children in rural areas to have access to a bicycle to attend school.
It’s an exciting time for Re-Cycle to have this new partner in Nigeria and to start to see how the bikes we send will help so many school children”.
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Learn more about our African partnerships and how we work with local communities to improve access to education, promote sustainable transport, and empower young people across the continent. Read more about our African partnerships here →
