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In Japan, countless numbers of bicycles are abandoned outside stations and on roadsides each year. While many will be turned into scrap metal and recycled, a percentage that are still deemed functional after a few repairs are being put to effective use as a mode of transport for nurses and midwives in developing countries like Ghana.
In this line of work, reducing the time spent in transit could literally mean the difference between life and death. Taking a look around the Sogakope district of eastern Ghana, it is not uncommon to see citizens riding the same bicycles – complete with baskets attached to their fronts – as used by millions of Japanese, school kids and university students. Although the bicycles used in Sogakope are essentially the same as those that can be found in Japan, one striking difference lies in the surroundings in which they are ridden; unlike the developed world, there are no paved roads, only uneven muddy tracks.
JOICFP (Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning), the non-profit organization responsible for the bicycle donation, is working in collaboration with 12 different local governments in Japan, including the Saitama prefecture and Toshima ward, to repair and send bicycles to developing countries like Ghana. The project first began in 1988 and up until now, the group has donated around 6 million bicycles to 91 countries.
The Ghana branch of the International Planned Parent Federation (IPPF), which operates medical and welfare facilities in the area, received a total of 15 bicycles from JOICFP to help nurses and midwives carry out their jobs more effectively.
One volunteer who works for IPPF in Ghana comments: “In terms of ease of use, durability and functionality, the Japanese bicycles far surpass the African bicycles that we have over here. Such a donation makes a big difference not only to the medical workers but also to the patients waiting treatment.”
Source: Niconico News
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7 Comments
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some14some
previously they used to sell to next door neighobr NKroea...now Pyongyang is rich & may not buy these junk bicycles.
Nessie
It's shocking how people toss bikes when they have the slightest problem.
VicMOsaka
Plenty of them are stolen. You see them collected and poked down some alley for a while and later they disappear in the night.
Harry_Gatto
Japanese police should send a team to Ghana to make sure those bikes are properly registered.
Open Minded
Instead of abandoning the bikes, it would be nice if they could publish the place to donate them. Anyone who knows?
malfupete
i had my bike stolen outside of my place of work once... the thieves were nice enough to leave my cut lock on the ground for me. Mind you, it was my first bike in Japan and I refused to get one of those granny bikes. I had a flashy yet super crappy red mountain bike that was left outside during the rainy season and had a super rusted chain. Hope someone in N.Korea is enjoying it now..