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May 25, 2007

From Lusaka to Chicago: World Bicycle Relief Bikes the Drive on Sunday

by World Bicycle Relief

CHICAGO (May 25, 2007) – Amid the recreational machines, trailers and tricked-out city bikes taking to Lake Shore Drive on Sunday will be one very important workhorse: a bicycle built to provide mobility to the poor.

The bicycle comes from World Bicycle Relief, a Chicago-based relief organization and exhibitor at the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation’s Bank of America Bike the Drive. A group of World Bicycle Relief volunteers will enter the Drive together at 7:30 a.m., led by a World Bicycle Relief bike.

“Bike the Drive is a fantastic celebration of cycling, right here in our home city,” according to F.K. Day, president of World Bicycle Relief. “This is an excellent reminder that the power of the bicycle goes beyond fun and entertainment, and can change people’s lives.”

This year, World Bicycle Relief will provide 26,000 bicycles to volunteer, community-based HIV/AIDS care workers in Zambia, Africa. The bikes are assembled in eight locations throughout Zambia, and the program includes training for 400 field mechanics and assemblers.

“In Africa, healthcare and health education are not reaching the people who need it the most,” Day said. “By providing bicycles, we ensure that healthcare workers and disease prevention educators reach even the most remote communities.”

The caregivers utilize the bicycles to increase their reach fourfold: while walking, they might cover 2-1/2 miles per hour; by bicycle they are able to go 10 miles. This allows them to better attend to their caseload, and at the same time decreases fatigue and helps them to further contribute to their families and communities.

The organization plans to extend its scope in the future by helping create micro-finance opportunities in Zambia and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, Day said, he is working with suppliers to increase the quality and durability of the bicycles available.

More information is available on the group’s web site, www.worldbicyclerelief.org.