Velafrica

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Velafrica (until 2018 Velos für Afrika) is a non-profit Swiss organization based in Liebefeld in Bern , which combines integration work in Switzerland with development cooperation in Africa. Velafrica has been collecting disused bicycles in Switzerland since 1993, having them repaired in social institutions, exporting them to its partners in Africa, thereby promoting sustainable local bicycle mobility. The founder is Paolo Richter, who has received awards for his commitment.

organization

In response to the high unemployment in the early 1990s, Paolo Richter founded the work integration project “ Fahrradesel ” in 1993 . This is how Velafrica emerged: first as a bike project, later as an independent company of the Sinnovativ Foundation.

Velafrica was the first organization in Switzerland to combine the integration of the unemployed with development cooperation and ecological tasks and is now the largest bicycle recycling NGO of its kind. Disused bicycles are received at around 400 collection points across Switzerland and processed in 30 partner workshops. Unemployed people and people with disabilities repair the donated bikes and prepare them for export. Over 20,000 bicycles are shipped to the various partner organizations in Africa every year.

Activities in Africa

The Swiss non-profit organization works with partners in Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Gambia and Ghana. On site, the recycling bikes from Switzerland improve access to income, education, health and water supplies and contribute to reducing poverty. Since 1993, over 240,000 bikes have made life easier for their new owners in Africa. Together with its partner companies, Velafrica is building bike centers with jobs and training positions. People with a vocational qualification have better prospects and can lead an independent life, for example opening their own bike workshop or becoming self-employed as bike mechanics. Every year, up to 100 young people complete a training course in bicycle mechanics there. In the bicycle workshops, jobs are created in repair and sales. Special programs promote the bicycle mobility of women and children.

Activities in Switzerland

Velafrica works closely with other social institutions, bicycle workshops and non-profit associations throughout Switzerland. They collect bicycles, repair them for export to Africa, sometimes load them directly into the containers or dismantle spare parts. Most of the partners offer integration jobs for the unemployed or disadvantaged people. This creates meaningful work content in the social field for around 360 people.

In 2015 Velafrica started an integration project for recognized and temporarily admitted refugees. In the workshop in Liebefeld, 20 participants are now preparing the donated bikes for transport to Africa. You will learn to carry out repairs and help out in the warehouse or when loading containers and learn German in the process. The project runs in cooperation with the Red Cross and Caritas.

Awards

The bicycle and Velafrica have received several awards for their work: in 2002 with the North-South Prize of the Romero House and in 2007 with the Social Prize of the Bürgi-Willert Foundation. In 2009, Paolo Richter received the “Swiss Social Entrepreneur of the Year” award from the Schwab Foundation and in 2015 was recognized by Ashoka as a “Swiss Changemaker”. In 2016, Velafrica was selected by Swiss Re as Charity of the Year and awarded the Seif label for its innovative model for promoting social enterprises in Africa. In 2017, the Drosos Foundation honors Velafrica for innovative work integration of people from the migration sector and young adults.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Velafrica: Velos change lives. Sinnovativ Foundation, accessed on January 6, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Anna boys: Bikes for Africa. SRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen, June 17, 2016, accessed on January 6, 2020 .
  3. ^ A b Nicolai Räber: Measuring the impact of bicycles in Tanzania. Access to transport for the base of the pyramid. Ed .: University of St. Gallen. St. Gallen 2014, p. 87 .
  4. ↑ Christoph Albrecht, Timon Stuber, René Horber: A bike travels from Bern to Madagascar. Berner Zeitung, BZ, May 18, 2015, accessed on January 6, 2020 .
  5. ↑ First North-South Prize awarded against forgetting. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, October 24, 2001, accessed on February 17, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Social award. Bürgi-Willert-Stiftung, 2007, accessed on February 17, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs (ed.): Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs 2010 . Cologny / Geneva 2010.
  8. ↑ Awardees 2009. Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, 2009, accessed on 11 February 2020 .
  9. ^ Swiss Changemakers Program: The 2015 Changemakers. Ashoka, 2015, accessed January 6, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Life-changing bikes. Swiss Re Foundation, 2019, accessed February 11, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Olalla Linares Segade: New Label Awardees. Seif - Driving Social Innovation, January 22, 2016, accessed February 11, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Velafrica - Innovative work integration in Switzerland with global impact. Drosos Foundation, 2020, accessed February 17, 2020 .