At Born in Africa we believe that recognising the hard work and achievements of learners plays a crucial role in stimulating educational development. The project this year saw 200 donated second hand bicycles being given out to BIA learners whom attained grades above a specific average in their last school report.

The distribution of 200 bicycles is no small feat! Each one had to be checked, repairs made where necessary and then transported and given to individual recipients. Learners who received bicycles hail from Plett Secondary School, Kranshoek Primary, Crags Primary, Wittedrift Primary and Wittedrift High School. We hope that these bicycles will be a reminder that we can overcome the challenges we face and achieve excellence in doing so.

This project was made possible through the collaboration of many people driven to make a difference and BIA would like to thank them from the bottom of our hearts. First and foremost, thank you to the Rotary Club Stuttgart-International under the guidance of Klaus Schuler, to BEN bikes and Yvonne Tripod and Fahrrad for the collection of the bicycles, to the International School of Stuttgart and it’s headmaster Tim Kelley as well as groups of children in the school for providing a collection site and helping to load the bicycles, the Harlem Praise Family choir for adding some cheer to the collection event and giving a monetary donation. Thanks also to Wildermuth-Gymnasium High School (Mr. Janisch, Alexander hauser and Astrid Feifel-Thomas), to the team at Tripl3Leader.com for their efforts and for Jef Michielsen who raised the funds we needed to buy a helmet for each child. On a local level, BIA would like to thank everyone who helped to make the distribution of these bicycles possible. In particular, thank you to Deon from Plett Sports for discounts of helmets and employee Ricardo for repairing and checking each one of the 200 bicycles with great flair and professionalism. Thank you to BIA staff and all the volunteers who helped us to make this project a reality.