FABIO – Bicycles for safety, education, income and food in Uganda

December 04, 2021

FABIO – Bicycles for safety, education, income and food in Uganda

“(..) More than half of Ugandan women have been abused at home, at school, or at work“ (UDHS, 2011).

The way of insulting differs. FABIO, the First African Bicycle Information Organisation, is engaged in “improving the livelihood of the vulnerable by providing access to basic services” (FABIO, 2021). The non-governmental organization is focusing on sustainable transport, getting people out of poverty, and securing girls on their way to school to get properly educated. They are following different approaches to reach their goals.

Next to the women, domestic violence against children is common in Uganda. That results in involuntary sexual behavior and forced marriage among young teenagers on their way to school. Often, it causes high school dropouts due to pregnancies or marriage life since contraceptives are not generally available and pregnant girls are not allowed in school anymore. FABIO distributes bicycles to these vulnerable children to reduce the number of endangered children to ensure proper education. Families must contribute little to acquire a bike for their children. For families beyond the poverty line (level of extreme poverty when you can’t afford basic needs), these are sponsored. By providing a bicycle they can not only cycle to schools, but also to hospitals, farms, and markets. This improves livelihoods and futures since the girls do not need to rely on strangers on their way to school. Students can have proper education due to the presented “Cycle-to-school” program.

Apart from distributing bikes among children and making transport sustainable, a bike is improving the lives of house-headed, farming women. They sell their products, such as tomatoes, cabbages, and potatoes, on markets to earn a living. Their profits increase since more products can be transported to the market and their lives can be improved. The bikes have also enabled these families to get safe water for their households but there is still support for more women needed.

Additionally, FABIO is selling one bike to a small community where one person is educated on how to repair the bike and take care of it. It can be borrowed by community members if needed.

Furthermore, bikes are used to create a sustainable life and reduce the presence of motorcycles and boda-bodas. So far, bikes are not a common way of transportation, but FABIO tries to change that. Normally, women are not seen on bikes due to cultural constraints. Therefore, FABIO is nearly only distributing the self-constructed bikes to women.

New projects are starting to be invented and new prototypes are built. For example, people with physical disabilities should get handcycles to improve their life quality. Bikes should be used as ambulances, taxis and for touristic reasons and repairing stations are about to be built where more people get work and earn a living. These mentioned projects still need further development and financial help. The necessary materials need to be bought to construct the bikes made for the streets in Uganda.

To put it all in a nutshell, FABIO is an organization that “wants to create an empowered society where all people are healthy, active and enjoying social-economic services.” (FABIO, 2021) If you want to know more about the different projects, visit https://fabio.or.ug/ or donate to:

FABIO Deutschland e. V.

IBAN: DE17480501610014408165

BIC: SPBIDE3BXXX

Bank: SPARKASSE BIELEFELD

Purpose: FABIO Uganda Cycle to School

Despite the school closure due to the Covid Lockdown, we were able to use the bike. My family used it to get food from the garden and to fetch water. The water is used by my father to make bricks. This gives him an income and allows him to save money for my school fees."

- Jannet, 16 years old, Cycle to School Beneficiary 2021