On meeting with Warren Mills and Phil Stacey there was a clear fit between the organisations. The BEC will be established in Chibobo to support the orphange with the training in bicycles mechanics indicating which of the trainees will be suited to the more complex automotive training as the larger project develops.Bikes give new hope in the fight against wildlife poaching
B4H Melbourne is partnering with Bikes for Humanity Sydney, PAWA and the PAMS foundation to deliver the Bikes 4 Tanzania project. This project aims to provide 200 bicycles and associated equipment to local communities within the Mbarang’andu wildlife management area.
The bicycles will be given to the village game scouts to help them in their fight to protect the region’s internationally significant wildlife populations from the devastating impacts of wildlife poaching.
B4h Sydney are raising the funds for the project and B4h Melbourne are collecting the bikes and converting them to simple and effective single speeds
How do bicycles help?
Bicycles allow community game scouts to undertake extended patrols over longer distances. They also allow them to carry tents, food and other essential equipment so that they can stay out for a number of days at a time on patrol greatly increasing their chances of protecting the wildlife from poachers.
Some bicycles will be provided to other members of the communities including village health workers. Here bicycles allow the health workers to travel faster, cover longer distances, see more people and carry a larger amount of medicines and equipment.
Bicycles will also support new sustainable businesses that are setting up within the wildlife corridor. These businesses are being established as a sustainable alternative to slash & burn agriculture. Businesses include beekeeping (honey) & fish-farming enterprises. The Bicycles will provide the transport for workers, equipment and produce increasing business productivity.
The Partnership History
Over the past 3 years the natural values of Selous-Niassa TransBoundary Conservation Area, in Tanzania and Mozambique, have been threatened by a significant increase in wildlife poaching. The PAMS Foundation has initiated a programme to help ensure the long term sustainability of this important ecosystem and improve survival of its wildlife populations. Their programme of activities in this area includes community conservation projects such as: community ranger support and capacity building, sustainable livelihoods, reducing deforestation and human-wildlife conflict mitigation. The programme also includes management effective assurance of protected areas and conservation projects, endangered species conservation and ensuring environmentally responsible mining.
Mchomoro village scout’s training on use of donated GPS and other equipment
One of Likuyu Village’s game scouts
In early 2010, the Protected Area Workers Association of NSW (PAWA) entered into a partnership with the PAMS Foundation to support the community game scouts in the Selous-Niassa Wildlife Corridor (SNWC) and have commenced supplying basic equipment such as first aid kits, GPS units, cameras and torches. This equipment is essential to the success of the community game scouts.
However, the PAMS Foundation have identified that one of their greatest needs at this time is for bicycle transport for the community game scouts to help facilitate better law enforcement operations and slow down the unprecedented rate of poaching activities.
In May 2010 PAWA contacted Bicycles for Humanity Melbourne and Sydney seeking support to send bikes to the Selous-Niassa Wildlife Corridor in Tanzania for the community game scouts and other key members of these communities including natural resource leaders and health workers.
The Selous – Niassa Ecosystem
In southern Tanzania, the Selous-Niassa Wildlife Corridor (SNWC) and its adjacent protected areas form a globally significant landscape linkage within the Selous-Niassa Ecosystem. This ecosystem extends from Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania to Niassa National Reserve in Mozambique, covering an area of approximately 154,000km2 of Miombo Woodland, interspersed with wetlands, open woodland and riparian forest. This ecosystem forms Africa’s largest TransBoundary Conservation Area and supports Africa’s largest elephant, buffalo and sable populations as well as several threatened species.
Selous-Niassa TransBoundary Conservation Area (154,000 square km)
The Selous-Niassa Wildlife Corridor (SNWC) itself covers an area of approximately 17,030 km2 is home to 29 village settlements, supporting over 86 000 people. The SNWC is being formalised through the establishment of five Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs).
The Five Wildlife Management Areas
Of the five Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) Mbarang’andu WMA is the largest and supports the highest densities of wildlife. Within the Mbarang’andu WMA there are 7 villages, each with 12 community game scouts.
Sadly though, Asian funded commercial poaching has reached unprecedented levels in this region of Africa. Illegal logging is another significant problem that is destroying wildlife habitat. Community game scouts are mostly unarmed, need further training, have almost no equipment and have to take on well organised armed poachers. But, these game scouts are the last long term hope in saving this amazing wilderness area and its wildlife.
Join us and make this project happen
Your donation to this project will provide these communities with much need equipment and mobility to lift them out of poverty.
The Bikes 4 Tanzania Project is proudly supported by
Our first container of bikes left for Namibia in June 2009. It is now an extremely successful bike work shop in the town of Opowu in northern Namibia. Implemented by BEN Nambia as a Bicycle Empowerement Centre the workshop has provided much of the local community with bikes which have changed their day to day lives. The income from the workshop is supporting the orphan program run by Red Cross.
Rauna 38 y.o., 1 year old child. Her allowance as a Red Cross volunteer was N$200 per month, she now earns N$700 per month. Rauna has already bought a bicycle for her child, and the main difference the extra income makes for her is being able to buy more food each month.
Michael 26 y.o., main guardian for his niece, was working as a pastor before the BEC and earning a variable amount, averaging around what he earns through the BEC, but was travelling 2-3 weeks per month, and as guardian of his niece was not able to provide her enough attention. Now earns N$700 per month. Michael having a more structured work and family life
Johannes 22 y.o., no kids, was working as a casual shelf stacker at a local supermarket, earning N$90 per shift, sometimes only getting 3 or 4 shifts per month. Now earns N$700. Johannes describes his life before the project as an endless struggle, in which he frequently had to borrow money to pay his rent and buy food, and is glad he no longer has to do this.
Simpson 20 y.o., no kids. Was not working previously, now earns N$400 per month as the apprentice mechanic (Simpson did not participate in BEN Namibia’s training). Simpson has only completed grade 8, and as such his employment prospects were bleak, but his passion for bicycle repair won him a place on the team.
Ricardo Rodriques: Says his very good quality. Ricardo lives on his family’s farm outside Opuwo, and uses the bike for shopping trips and to visit friends and family, for which he used to walk long distances. He thinks the BEC is a good project because it is providing transport in Opuwo. His younger brother and sister also use his bike.
Samuel Shiwetha: This is the first he has ever owned(an ex-Great Victorian Bike Ride bike). He uses it to ride to his job as a car mechanic at Namwater, to which he used to walk an hour each day. He also visits friends and family in surrounding villages.