Bicycle Repairs for Africa, Liebefeld

About the event

Recycled bicycles from Switzerland combine social and professional integration within the country with sustainable development cooperation in Africa.

Thanks to your support, we can export more bicycles to the Global South, train additional bicycle mechanics, and help students gain mobility through bicycles.

Your role:

Together with staff members from Drahtesel, you will prepare donated bicycles for export to Africa. Is the bicycle functional? Are minor repairs needed? How can it be prepared for transport as space-efficiently as possible? You will learn all of this during your assignment and engage directly through hands-on work.

Since 1993, Velafrica has been collecting discarded bicycles, refurbishing them, and shipping them to Africa. Each year, more than 20,000 bicycles are sent to the Global South, where they help improve people’s daily lives. In addition to enhancing mobility, Velafrica supports the establishment of bicycle workshops and the training of mechanics. This creates employment opportunities and sources of income in bicycle assembly, repair, and distribution.

In Switzerland, Velafrica cooperates with social institutions that employ individuals who are unemployed or living with disabilities, as well as with correctional programs. In doing so, integration efforts are effectively combined with development cooperation.