On the 13th and 14th of May, volunteers from the three organizations went to Amsterdam in order to prepare and pack the bicycles into a container which has been shipped to Ghana. Out of about 300 bicycles, which were donated by Amsterdam Fietsdepot, around 260 were selected for the shipment. The volunteers’ main tasks were to prepare the bicycles by taking off the pedals, turning the handlebars and lowering the saddles and loading them into the container.

Volunteers of What the Fiets lowering the saddle and adjusting the handlebar position of a bycicle which was meant to be shipped to Ghana.

“We are very pleased with the work that we have done. It was a great activity which got us out of our routine and on top of that we felt like we were giving back more to the global cycling community” ,

declared Leila Maria Scott, chairperson of Stichting What The Fiets? The bikes will further be distributed by the Village Bicycle Project (VBP) in conjunction with a bike maintenance workshop. Recipients are taught basic bicycle repairs prior to receiving a bike at half the market price. The VBP program prioritizes women and girls in Western Africa. Volunteers from Stichting WTF? and VBP are scheduled to meet for an evaluation of the outcome of the project in September, 2014 and discuss possibilities for similar future projects.

We from Stichting WTF? see this project as a good example for a close collaboration between non-profit organisations that combine strengthening the principles of a circular economy with cost-effective international development aid.