BICYCLE EMPOWERMENT CENTRE: NKURENKURU

Some of the volunteers at the Nkurenkuru BEC shortly after it arrived.

BEC bicycles collected by: Bicycles for Humanity, Colorado, USA
BEC sponsor in country: New Zealand Development Agency

Mobilising a community to respond to the HIV epidemic, the Nkurenkuru BEC partnered with several grassroots organisations to address the needs of home-based care volunteers in the Kavango region – Mpungu constituency. Already implementing a community garden that provides food for a soup kitchen feeding those who are on anti-retroviral treatment and cannot afford food, the Nkurenkuru BEC opened in 2008. The BEC has the following objectives:

• To improve the effectiveness of community-based healthcare projects in Nkurenkuru by providing bicycles as sustainable transport to volunteers and beneficiaries.
• Improve access to income generation opportunities for volunteers and beneficiaries in Nkurenkuru by training in bicycle mechanical skills, project management/financial management skills, and providing them an opportunity to work in the BECs.

Background
With population of 6,000 people, 15% of the population in Nkurenkuru live with HIV. To combat the epidemic, eight grassroots organisations are working in the area: Red Cross, Total Control of the Epidemic (DAPP/TCE), Mapilelo, Lifeline/Childline, ELCIN AIDS Action, and United Methodist Youth Organisation (UMYA). In January 2008, volunteers from these organisations established a working committee to coordinate all HIV/AIDS activities in Nkurenkuru town boundaries.

Contact information
Physical Address: Nkurenkuru, Kavango Region, Namibia
Tel: +264-81-364-2879
Contact person: Sarah