Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I'm Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
How do you get to work? Do you walk? Do you ride a bicycle? Do you drive a car or take a train? How do you travel to visit family? Or to see the doctor?
Voice 2
Some people like to walk. But most people would not choose to walk every place they go. Most people would not want to walk for many hours just to get to one place. Often cars, buses, or trains help individuals travel long distances.
Voice 1
But in some places cars and other powered vehicles are not the answer either. This is usually the case in poorer areas. Often there are no good roads. And people do not have the resources to keep the vehicles in good working condition.
Voice 2
The problem is worse in country areas. The villages are often separated by great distances. And often there are not schools or hospitals in every village. This means people must walk long distances to visit a doctor. Or children must walk long distances to get to school.
Voice 1
A person can go four to five times faster on a bicycle than he can walk. It is also possible to carry more on a bicycle. Josephine is a teacher in Ghana. She lives five kilometres away from the school where she teaches. It used to take her an hour to walk there. Now it takes her a much shorter amount of time. And it is easier to carry all the books, papers, and other things she needs for teaching. Her bicycle has a box to hold her things while she rides it.
Voice 2
Organizations like 'Bicycles for Humanity' and 'His Wheels International' are working to bring bicycles to poor communities all over the world. However these organizations do not just give bicycles. They bring hope and opportunity to those communities. They are working to build sustainable communities.
Voice 1
You have probably heard the saying, "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime." By giving a person what he needs, his immediate needs are satisfied. But the need could come back again. By giving a person the resources necessary to meet his own needs, he can continue meeting his needs, and those of his family, for the rest of his life. This is what many organizations are trying to do. They hope to create healthy communities for life.
Voice 2
For example, Bicycles for Humanity begins their process in Canada, the United States, and Australia. People in churches, schools, or other groups collect used bicycles. Then they fill a large shipping container with bicycles and bicycle parts. This container is then sent to a community in Namibia or Uganda.
Voice 1
After the container reaches the community, it becomes a building. It becomes the Bicycle Empowerment Centre or BEC. This is a place for training. Bicycles for Humanity trains local people to care for and fix bicycles. Then the community can begin a new bicycle store. The new business brings jobs to the community. They sell bicycles at low prices.
Voice 2
Some developing countries in Africa struggle with HIV and AIDS. Often, people just cannot get the medicines they need to fight the diseases. The health care workers cannot get to all the villages because they spend so much time walking between them.
Voice 1
Mavis Chizyuka is a nurse. She works at a health centre in Sambyu, a village in Namibia. She told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC, that bicycles can help improve health care in good ways.
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"Transportation is very difficult here. Most of the villages are very far away. So if a health worker has a bicycle, it is something really big."
Voice 2
A CBC news story reports that in Namibia one of every five adults has HIV or AIDS. Since villages are spread out over great distances, bicycles help health workers bring medicines to more villages each day. With bicycles they can reach more people with their work.
Voice 1
Bicycle Empowerment Network also gives bicycles to health care workers in Namibia. However, they soon discovered that the health care workers were using the bicycles in a new way.
Voice 2
On most of the bicycles there was a metal carrier fitted above the back wheel of the bicycle. This was designed to hold things like medical supplies. But the health care workers were using the carrier to move people! Not only did the bicycle help the health care worker see more sick people, but it also helped the worker get a very sick person to a hospital more quickly.
Voice 1
The Bicycle Empowerment Network in Namibia decided to create a new way to move people. So they designed the bicycle ambulance. This vehicle is like a cart. It is a bit like a small bed between two wheels. It attaches to the back of the bicycle. The bicycle ambulance is safer for moving people. This is because the flat piece is big enough to support and hold an adult's whole body.
Voice 2
Bicycles are helping to improve general health care in some areas. But bicycles have given hope to people in many other situations. Salome Victor organized a centre for children who have lost their parents to AIDS. The centre is in Rundu, Namibia.
Voice 1
Many of the children at the centre were not able to attend school because it was too far away. Recently, Bicycles for Humanity and Bicycle Empowerment Network brought a container of bicycles to her centre. With the bicycles, the children can now ride the distance to school. Salome says,
Voice 4
"The bicycles have changed the lives of these children."
Voice 2
Bicycles for the World is a similar organization to Bicycles for Humanity. It also gives bicycles to communities. This is how it helps the communities to create a source of income. For example, it helped a farmer named Marco Vinicio. Marco works as a seller in Costa Rica. His job is to travel the streets and sell food.
Voice 1
Because of Bicycles for the World, Marco bought a bicycle for a low cost. With the bicycle he was able to travel farther and carry more food to sell. Now he makes enough money to meet his family's needs.
Voice 2
In all these communities, bicycles are tools that serve people's need. A bicycle helps a child get to school. A bicycle helps a health care worker take care of the sick. And a bicycle helps a person do his job. By providing transportation, Bicycles for Humanity, Bicycle Empowerment Network, and Bicycles for the World are helping these communities break free from poverty. They are giving the communities resources to live through today and into tomorrow.
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