Honour a friend, colleague or family member with an online donation. Downloadable Giving Cards are available for all donations.
(New) Physical Address:
7 Ernst-Weiske Street, Windhoek NorthPostal Address:
PO BOX 23150,
Windhoek, NamibiaPh: +264 61 250 200
Fax: +264 61 225 006
Skype: ben.namibiaEmail: michael@benbikes.org.za
BEN NAMIBIA: A SEASON OF CHANGE
What's New?
More Americans and Canadians are putting Africans on bicycles and helping improve lives of rural people in Namibia by providing them with affordable and sustainable transportation.
After just three years, the Bicycling Empowerment Network Namibia (BEN Namibia) has quickly become a recognized leader on bicycles for development in Southern Africa by providing income-generating activities for community-based organizations, assisting rural people in need of emergency transportation and promoting cycling through several advocacy initiatives.
Through major support from a new North American movement, Bicycles for Humanity, BEN Namibia has arranged the distribution of more than 7,000 second-hand bicycles to disadvantaged Namibians.
With support from our US partner, ITDP, BEN Namibia now has tax deductible status for anyone wishing to donate in the United States.
Meaningful Gift Idea
This year, you can celebrate Christmas by providing an African child with bicycle, by offering skills training to volunteers, by enabling women to have control of their own transportation and by assisting home based care volunteers to visit more people living with HIV. By providing this meaningful gift through an online donation, you are both honouring a friend or family member with a gift and helping improve the life of an everyday Namibian. Giving cards are available for every online donation.
North AmericansŐ Experiences in Namibia
Read about Ottawa's Seb Oran who recently visited Namibia and saw the work of BEN Namibia in action.Read the newspaper article. You can also read a blog by Josh Pace and Keenan Gates from Colorado, who recently shipped a container of bikes to Namibia and came to see the results. http://www.b4hcolorado.org/
7,000 Bicycles Distributed
In 2008, BEN Namibia celebrated its 7,000th bicycle. Since 2005, the non-profit organization has arranged for distribution of thousands of bicycles to provide disadvantaged Namibians with their own transportation. Always growing and developing, the organization hopes to celebrate its 10,000th bicycle in 2009 - as it plans to receive more than 3,500 bicycles from its donor partners from around the world.
106 Bicycle Ambulances Rolling
BEN Namibia partners with community based organizations throughout Namibia to deliver bicycle ambulances. Essentially a stretcher on wheels, the bicycle ambulance is attached behind a bicycle and used by healthcare volunteers who transport the sick, pregnant and people living with HIV/AIDS to receive treatment. With 106 bicycle ambulances already delivered to communities across the country and another 18 in production, the bicycle ambulance project is easing the burden of rural people in need of emergency transport.
10 New Team Members
Team BEN Namibia is a group of 10 of Namibia's top cyclists committed not only to developing the sport of bicycle racing in Namibia, but to preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country. Already sitting on the top of the competitive Namibian mountain and road biking season, BEN Namibia cyclists have also mobilized hundreds of Namibians to receive HIV-testing in communities across the country.
4 New Bicycle Empowerment Centers (BECs)
In 2008, four new BECs were opened in communities in northern Namibia. A BEC is a shipping container loaded with about 300 donated second-hand bicycles, spare parts and tools provided by international partners. To date, BEN Namibia has helped set up 9 BECs that have been delivered to community-based organizations who are addressing issues to HIV and AIDS.
1 New Research Report
Visit BEN Namibia's web site to learn how transportation affects Namibians living with HIV/AIDS in this new research report.
1 New Website
Learn more about BEN Namibia on their new web site: www.benbikes.org.za/namibia
And 1,000,000 Thanks
To all of the organizations and individuals who support us, we are incredibly grateful, and look forward to continuing our work together.
