Africa-bound container.
(Photo: J. Leonard)
Thanks to a huge effort by Portlander Jenny Leonard and her friends and volunteers, 315 bikes and a bunch parts, tools, tubes and tires will soon be headed to rural South Africa where they’ll be used by kids who need a quicker and easier way to get to school.
Leonard hoped for 400 bikes and when she was well short of that number after the first publicized collection event, she decided to hold the container open for donations throughout last week.
In an email to supporters yesterday Leonard wrote, “I am so pleased with the fullness of the container and so impressed with everyone’s effort in getting the word out.”
The bikes are scheduled to arrive in Cape Town in early July and Leonard plans to be there well ahead of that date to follow the project “wherever it leads me and take whatever fun detours I can along the way.”
Leonard is working with the Portland chapter of Bicycles for Humanity. You can follow her upcoming adventures and inspiring work on her blog, Pack Light Travel with Bread.