UNICEF :: Hayley's bikes 4 Ghana 5,000 the target.

[nick0208uk]

Good Morning. Good Afternoon and Good Evening all.


Last night at the UNICEF concert aqt St James' Church, Hayley said her personal project, "Bikes for Ghana" is to fund the purchase of 5,000 bicycles for Children in Ghana.


I' was aware of the prject but not this target number until last night.

I had some time to kill and i was working out how much would need to be raised. According to the project site, a bicycle will cost $40 and a tricycle for a disabled child is $60.

To fund 4,950 bicycles it would require $198,000.
And for 50 ricycles...$3,000.

Oh and in pounds that equates to the following:

£15.50ish per bike.
£23.00 or thereabouts per tricycle.


£76,488 to fund 4,950 bikes and £1,159 for a tricycles.

Now i created the ratio there, not based on any facts and figures but a guess, that can be changed.


I was thinking, couldn't either UNICEF NZ or HWI g9o a bit Blue Peter on this and have some kind of graphic showing how much has been riased and what it would achieve. 0 at one end of a road and 5,000 at the other with a bicycle and a tricycle edging alng it to the finish line so to speak. There could be a school or something by the 5,000 mark.


It would give it a slightly more tangibel feel to it.

HWI could even set itself a target maybe.

Oh and by the way, does anybody actually know how much money has been raised up to this point??


Thanks,

What do you think? Opinions?? Comments??

Nick,

[baxfield7]

Hi folks.

On the night, in Piccadilly, I made much the same suggestion to Gerald, Hayley's dad. He thought that it would be a good idea and said that he would talk to UNICEF about it.

Barrie

[fusilier23]

I guess WHEEL see what they do with it. Wocka! Wocka!

[Stephany]

Hi everyone,

A press review about Hayley's bicycle programme was published yesterday by UNICEF.
Click HERE to read it or see text below.

Best wishes,
Stephany

UNICEF, At a glance - Ghana
By Junko Mitani
ACCRA, Ghana, 9 August 2007

The path to success: Bicycles help girls in rural Ghana get to school

One after another, girls on distinctive blue bicycles arrive at Savelugu Junior Secondary School in Accra. Some 6,000 girls in northern Ghana have received the bicycles over the past three years. In rural areas, this simple means of transport is giving them the opportunity to get an education.

The bicycle programme was made possible with support from the New Zealand Committee for UNICEF, and recording artist and UNICEF National Ambassador Hayley Westenra.

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Fajima Yakubu, 12, is just one of the girls who has benefited from the bicycle project. “My village is far away,” she says. “It takes more than two hours on foot. This bike has made it possible for me to attend school.”

Committed to education

For every 100 boys enrolled in primary school in Ghana, only 89 girls are in school. At the secondary school level, the gap widens: For every 100 boys, only 80 girls are in school. Because of the traditional role girls play at home, many never have the chance to go to primary school.

Fatima, 12, rides her bicycle more than an hour each way to attend school in rural Ghana.
“The long distance to school is one of the major obstacles for girls’ enrolment, especially at the secondary level,” explains UNICEF Ghana Education Officer Biikook Gideon Konlan.

“In cooperation with the local education officials and the schools, we identified girls from poor families who live far away from their schools and who are committed to continue schooling as the recipients of the bicycles,” Mr. Konlan adds.

Closer to their dreams

Children in rural Ghana are often seen as labourers, and parents are reluctant to lose the valuable help. The imam in Fajima's village, Adam Abdulai, also notes that many rural families cannot afford to buy a school uniform or notebooks.

“Sending a child to school creates costs for the entire family,” says UNICEF Ghana Education Chief Peter de Vries.

On her way home from school each day, Fajima sees many children working. She passes girls carrying firewood on their heads and boys farming in the fields. Fajima herself has difficult chores to do.

“I fetch water in the early morning,” she says. “Without my bicycle, I could never make it to school on time.”

Asked what she wants to become in the future, Fajima replies: “I want to become a nurse. I want to help people.”

Despite her difficult schedule, Fajima is determined to stay in school and finish her education. Meanwhile, the blue bicycles bring girls like her to school – and closer to their dreams.


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[Dori]

I saw an advertisement at Auckland University about a Bikes for Ghana fundrasing In the Auckland Doman that happened in March. That must be something to do with Hayley's project, doesn't it??

Dori

[Stephany]

Most certainly, Dori.

UNICEF New Zealand updated their website last week and more particularly Hayley's 'Bikes for Ghana' project page.
They mentioned the URGENT NEED of another 5,000 bicycles for Ghana so I assume this project will go on in the months and years to come. Read more below or click on the link above :

Hayley's Bikes for Ghana
Since the project was set up in 2005, 5,800 bicycles and 60 tricycles have been purchased for girls in Ghana.

In April 2005, Ambassador Hayley Westenra visited Ghana, to see first hand the work that UNICEF does in the field. As a result of the visit, she pledged her support to a UNICEF education project that provides bicycles to disadvantaged girls so that they can attend school.

So far, the funds raised by UNICEF NZ have been used to buy 5,800 bicycles for girls who have to travel long distances to get to school, and 60 tricyles for children with special needs. As a result, school enrolment is up, academic performance has improved and drop out rates have reduced.
But another 5,000 bicycles are needed urgently for 6,000 girls in 40 of the most deprived districts, where girls’ exclusion from school is as high as 67%.

(...............)

PROJECT UPDATE

The project has made a huge difference to the lives of thousands of girls from rural and remote areas of Ghana, and as many as 32 deprived districts in 8 regions have benefited:

- More than 95% of the beneficiary girls are attending school every day.
- The majority of the beneficiary girls (70%) are achieving higher academic performance than before.
- Bikes are reducing the burden of household duties.
- Parents are now more likely to send their daughters to school because the journey is safer.
- The bikes have also raised public awareness of the importance of educating girls.

Best wishes,
Stephany

[Richard]

Thanks for the update, Stephany!

As Hayley's project looks likely to continue for the foreseeable future, I've stickied this thread to give it maximum prominence.

Best Wishes,

Richard

[grant]

This is just amazing!!

I can see this project just running on as it seems there will always be more girls needing more bikes and eventually the worn out bikes will need replacing and so it goes on!

Great idea Hayley and great work!!

Love
Grant

[meldy]

Wow so many bicycles and so many lives changed! The project seems to be going on therefore I'll be making my donation very soon to bikes for Ghana.

Meldy

[Richard]

Hello Meldy and everybody!

Here's a direct link to the donation form: unicef.org.nz/cgi-bin/donation_form.pl?id=26

Please keep up the good work, Hayley.

Richard

[Stephany]

I believe everyone will be delighted to read these two letters of appreciation...especially Hayley!

- Letter of appreciation from a school on the Afram Plains in Ghana
- Letter of appreciation from the District Director of the Ghana Education Service

Well-done Hayley & everyone! These bikes do help a lot!

Stephany

[grant]

stephany said:

I believe everyone will be delighted to read these two letters of appreciation...especially Hayley!

- Letter of appreciation from a school on the Afram Plains in Ghana
- Letter of appreciation from the District Director of the Ghana Education Service

Well-done Hayley & everyone! These bikes do help a lot!

Stephany

Just goes to show what a simple thing like a bicycle can do for a deprived community. Those letters are amazing, particularly the first one.

Hayley, you must be so proud, no, you wouldn't be proud, beacause I know you would feel it a duty to help. It is us that are proud of you for your incredible support of these under privileged girls.

Hayley, you are amazing and an inspiration to us all.

Lots of love
Grant

[graemek]

grant said:

stephany said:

I believe everyone will be delighted to read these two letters of appreciation...especially Hayley!

- Letter of appreciation from a school on the Afram Plains in Ghana
- Letter of appreciation from the District Director of the Ghana Education Service

Well-done Hayley & everyone! These bikes do help a lot!

Stephany

Just goes to show what a simple thing like a bicycle can do for a deprived community. Those letters are amazing, particularly the first one.

Hayley, you must be so proud, no, you wouldn't be proud, beacause I know you would feel it a duty to help. It is us that are proud of you for your incredible support of these under privileged girls.

Hayley, you are amazing and an inspiration to us all.

Lots of love
Grant

Have just read the 2 letters. Very clear picture of living at near subsistence level.
Very encouraging stats too.....very visionary to set something like that up.

May God Himself bless the girls & their bicycles & keep them safe on each journey to & from school.
Graeme

[Mark]

Hi everyone

I was speaking to Steve Abbott briefly after the concert at the Mermaid theatre last Monday about bikes for Ghana and Steve told me that they were just about to launch a campaign ! There wasn't enough time to go into detail but I got the impression it is to be about raising awareness of the charity and its work, obviously to help raise more funds. Watch this space

Best regards

Mark

[Stephany]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the update. It's great to see that despite all the things Hayley has to do for her career, she never forgets her UNICEF project. Very well-done.

Lots of love,
Stephany