BikeTown Africa is a project that started in 2006 as a partnership between Bicycling Magazine, Rodale Press, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Kona Bicycle Company. The project primarily donates bicycles to healthcare workers in Africa, particularly those involved in HIV/AIDS related work.[1] Bicycling Magazine then documents the impact these bicycles have on the personal and professional lives of the recipients. Besides health care workers BikeTown Africa has also donated bicycles to orphans and farmers as well as worked in other countries outside of Africa; notably Afghanistan.
The project started in 2006 with 200 bicycles donated to healthcare workers in Botswana.[2][3]
In 2007 the project expanded. One hundred and fifty bicycles were distributed in Katima Mulilo, Namibia, and 169 in Tambacounda, Senegal.[4][5]
One thousand AfricaBikes were donated in 2008. These bicycles were distributed in South Africa[1], Swaziland and Mozambique. In 2009, 750 bicycles were distributed. During September 2009, an international team of volunteers assembled 268 bicycles in the Orange Farm township of Gauteng, South Africa. These were donated to the Catholic Healthcare Association of South Africa for distribution to their affiliates in South Africa, Botswana, and Swaziland. The final two projects for 2009 happened in Kibaha and Bukoba, Tanzania.
In March 2010, 100 Specialized Fuse BMX bikes were distributed to 4 tracks built by AMA Rider for children in townships around Cape Town. In August 2010, 120 Kona AfricaBikes will be distributed in Malawi at the Baylor Tingathe Community Outreach Program. A further 120 bicycles will be donated to Foundation Rwanda. In September 2010 250 bikes were distributed in The Gambia, with assistance from the HopeFirst Foundation.
The primary bicycles used in BikeTown Africa is called the Kona AfricaBike. It was designed by Kona Bicycle Company to fit the unique needs of health care workers in Africa. Over the project life span the bicycles has undergone various changes and additions[6]. BikeTown Africa also has distributed bicycles manufactured by Specialized.
As with the bicycle, the project is constantly adapting so as to utilize best practices learned. In 2007 BikeTown Africa changed some of its policies insisting that the bicycles must be owned by the individual recipients rather than the organization, so as to promote personal responsibility of the maintenance and repair of the bicycles. In return each recipient agrees to volunteer with the organization for a fixed amount of time or devote an agreed amount of time to help sustain the project.
BikeTown Africa also includes training for mechanics in the areas the bicycles are distributed, as well as providing tools to equip the trained mechanics.