On Sunday November 16th Bikes Not Bombs volunteers will load a 40' shipping container full of bicycle aid for our newest project in Koforidua, Ghana. We start at 10:30 am and work until we finish, which we expect to be 3:30 or 4:00pm. Thanks to City Feed and Supply and Equal Exchange for donating coffee (in partnership). We'll take a break around 1pm for a pizza lunch (provided) and a short talk about the project. Volunteers can come for any part of this time that works for you. Experience not required. We'll be moving, sorting, and loading bikes, wheels, and spare parts. You may wish to bring work gloves.

This event happens RAIN or SHINE. The container backs up very close to the warehouse we load out of, so rain is not a big problem.

Bikes Not Bombs is working with Emmanuel’s Education Foundation and Sports Academy for the Physically Challenged (EEFSA) to establish a bicycle workshop that will employ “disabled” people in the city of Koforidua. Our trainer/mechanic David Branigan has been in Koforidua since May 2008 getting the shop setup and training the new mechanics. The micro-enterprise model plans for the eventual cooperative ownership of the business by the mechanics. We sent our first container of aid on April 26th with the tools, parts and bikes necessary for the establishment of the workshop. Included were workbenches custom-built by volunteer Paul Martin to be accessible from wheelchair height. Now the project is practically up and running as a real bike shop. See David Branigan's photos from at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bnbghana and his blog about the progression of the project at http://bikesnotbombs-eefsa.blogspot.com/

We will be showing the film Emmanuel's Gift and giving a presentation about this project on Thursday November 6th! See http://www.bikesnotbombs.org/node/419 for full info and to buy tickets. Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah is a physically challenged athlete who rode a bicycle across Ghana with one leg in his campaign advocating for the rights and abilities of the physically disabled in Ghana. Emmanuel's campaign influenced the Government of Ghana to pass a Disability Rights Law that protects the rights of the physically disabled. Emmanuel went on to establish the Emmanuel Education Foundation and Sports Academy for the Physically Challenged with the financial support he received from the international community. He has been the winner of numerous awards including the Arthur Ashe Courage Award and the prestigious Casey Martin Award offered each year by Nike corporation. His leadership in bringing dignity and inspiration to the growing international movement for the rights of the disabled has led his people on to a new paradigm in Africa, one that challenges the stigma of poverty and self-deprecation that has pushed disabled individuals into the destitution of begging and marginalization on the fringes of society.

Note: the orginal date listed was the 15th, but the date has been moved to Sunday the 16th.

Directions

This event does NOT happen at Bikes Not Bombs, but is just around the corner. We will be loading from a big parking lot at 179 Boylston St., Jamaica Plain, 2 blocks from the StonyBrook T stop on the Orange Line. Coming from the BNB HUB at 284 Amory Street, turn right on Amory. At the first traffic light turn right on Boylston Street (where the StonyBrook T stop is on your left) and then turn right into a large parking lot which is part of the Brewery Complex. You'll see our 40 ft. shipping container parked in this lot, just off the street.