[The point is to get] the business up and running, so they have the option of staying local or continuing to buy and ship parts from the U.S.. The projects in Ghana recently paid to receive three containers of parts from the Bikes Not Bombs in the U.S. |
[The purpose] is to get small businesses up and running by providing the raw materials. It's building an enterprise from the ground up. |
Bikes have magic. I think bikes are one of the keys to human survival. |
Both Vocational Education and Earn-a-Bike have a priority of developing individual skills, yet they do need to work in a team context to function well. |
It's important to note that we're not considered a charity, but if a project is selected as a recipient of a grant, we send the containers [of bike parts] for free. |
Since all the bikes are donated [to BNB in the U.S.], we only charge the head of the business for the shipping costs and a 10 percent administration fee. |
Sixty percent of the funds are from grassroots fundraising like the Bike-a-thon. We have 14,000 people in our database who have donated something, and we call and ask them to give again. They usually do. |
Students come voluntarily to the shop and choose a bike. At the end, they leave with a bike they built themselves and the skills to [maintain] it. |
Successes are successes and failures are failures; we've definitely had our share of both, but we're [reaching] more donors and volunteers all the time. |
What's unique to Bikes Not Bombs is that it combines local and international [efforts]. It's about solidarity, bringing two worlds together. |