4,000 bicycles and rising

2008 is shaping up to be an exciting year for BEN Namibia. Since we began in May 2005 we have grown from a small NGO that distributed three bicycles in its first month, into a dynamic and rapidly expanding organisation that has implemented 5 community based bicycle shops (with 3 more on the way), developed a bicycle ambulance for emergency medical transport and delivered 50 throughout the country, conducted research into the impact of transport on access to treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS, trained over 100 people in bicycle mechanics, directly created jobs for 30 people and helped over 4,000 disadvantaged Namibians, many of them HIV/AIDS home based care volunteers, to gain access to affordable transport in the form of bicycles.

15 new Bicycle Empowerment Centres
This year, in partnership with Bicycles for Humanity, we aim to deliver 15 new bicycle workshops, or Bicycle Empowerment Centres, into Namibian towns and villages to be run by community based organisations, delivering bicycles, creating jobs and providing maintenance services where they're most needed. Second hand bicycles are collected by Bicycles for Humanity chapters and partners in Canada, the US and UK and delivered to our Namibian partners in the containers that they are shipped in, which become the storage and workshop space.

Bicycle ambulances and research
Our successful bicycle ambulance project will continue, with constant improvements to the design based on our monitoring and evaluation. With the national HIV/AIDS infection rate remaining around 20 percent, and maternal mortality rates doubling in Namibia in recent years, the need for locally managed medical transport is more pressing than ever. This is also borne out by our soon to be released report on the impact of transport on treatment access for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Improving conditions for cyclists
We aim to work with the City of Windhoek on a pilot project to implement cycling infrastructure in the city. For the first time we have financial support for our advocacy work in the form of a planning grant from the United Nations Development Programme's Global Environment Facility, and we hope to turn this into real improvements for the city's most disadvantaged commuters.

Team BEN Namibia
On top of all this, we will be launching a new road racing team with some promising young local riders. Apart from winning races and developing the sport in Namibia, the team will be promoting HIV/AIDS awareness and encouraging engagement in all sports as a way of avoiding risky lifestyles.

Thanks to our supporters
Finally, to all of the organisations and individuals who have supported us along the way, we are incredibly grateful, and hope that you enjoy reading about what you've helped us to achieve on this website.

-Michael Linke
Managing Director
Windhoek, February 2008