MADRE in Kenya: Women's Wheels: Bicycles for Rural Development

Vivian Stromberg, the executive director of MADRE, recently traveled to Kenya to meet with their sister organization.

She writes:

When I was in Kenya, I spoke with our partners at the Umoja Women's Group about their most urgent needs. We talked about the backbreaking work of hauling drinking water from a distant river everyday. We talked about how far the nearest health clinic is and what it's like to watch a sick child die because you can't carry them there in your arms. We talked about the relentless drought that has decimated Umoja's traditional herding economy, leaving many families with no income at all.

We talked about these problems - and then we talked about what to do about them.

The women of Umoja know that times are tough even in the US. They know they have your support, but that these days, you're probably stretching to give what you can. So we figured out how to do more with less.

The solution: bicycles. And not just any bicycles - load-carrying bicycles that are designed to carry extra passengers and heavy jugs of water.

With durable, motor-assisted bicycles, the women can:

* bring drinking water to their families without sustaining the spinal injuries that plague them now
* drive sick and elderly people to the health clinic
* earn income by providing taxi services to tourists at the nearby wildlife reserve

By supporting MADRE's newest initiative, Women's Wheels: Bicycles for Rural Development, you can help the women of Umoja meet three urgent needs with one great bike.

To find out more, check out MADRE.