This is the story of a small bike repair project that I began here in Mmakau.  One day last November with Peter, Amaleng, and a couple of  their friends (as shown in these pictures) came by calling "Pump!, Pump!" from outside our window.    I knew these boys from the neighborhood - maybe I had played basketball or bocci ball with them on occasion - and was used to them coming by to use my bicycle pump to inflate their soccer balls.  But this time they had a bike with a flat tire.

 

When they pumped up the tire, it just went flat so I gave them wrenches so they could take off the tire and remove the tube.  What we found was a tube that was "patched" in three or four places by wrapping rubber bands around the leaking section.  Since the tube was shot, I gave them a new tube from the spare tubes Merideth and I kept for our own bikes.  Here are (left to right) Peter, Mpho, and Amaleng pointing to the rubber band patch.
 

 

 

The patching method was so funny to me I emailed some friends with a couple of pictures and the story.  A few days later I got a reply from saying one of the guys had shared the story with co-workers who passed a hat and raised $35 for me to buy new tubes and such for these kids.  In addition, another couple indicated a willingness to donate an even more generous sum to help out.  T

 

The people in our village are poor.  Most live in small 2 or three room single story houses made from metal siding or concrete blocks.  They have electricity but few have indoor plumbing.  The village water system has taps along the road but water is only there on occasion.  When water is available, people fill several 25 liter plastic bottles and roll it all home in a wheelbarrow.  Only about one house in five or so has a car.  Most people get around by walking or by catching a ride in a taxi which are 12-14 person vans following established routes.  There are five primary schools, one middle school, and three high schools in our village serving an estimated 5000 learners.  However, the community is spread out and has no central business area, large grocery stores, or restaurants.  If someone has a bike, it is a boy and most of them are second hand and in bad condition.

 

With the proposed donation in mind, I visited the Amaan Cycle shop in Brits in December.  The owner sold us our bikes and has treated us fairly.   On that day he sold me at slight discount six tubes and two tires for 306 Rand ($35). Four days later I returned and bought more items for R117 ($15).

 

I started to tell the kids that if they had flats that they could come by and we could try to fix their problems.  One of the first customers was this boy,Thabang Mypane, who got a new 20"tire and tube.  Thabang is a very polite boy and when I asked him about school he said he was repeating Grade 6 this year because last year he had missed a lot of school because he was sick.  He was suffering from dizzy spells and blurred vision and when his Grandmother took him to the hospital he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  But now he is recovered and healthy although his grandmother who cares for him is keeping him out of sports in school.   He lives with a cousin Mpho age 11 whose mother is deceased.  All these kids have stories.

 

 

 

A couple of days later these two guys (Lesago Chabaku and Kabelo Makhudu) and showed up needing help.  I am not sure why Kabelo is wearing a motorcycle helmet because nobody here except us Peace Corps volunteers wear a bike helmet.  In the days leading up to Christmas kids kept coming by for help and my supply of tubes and tires slowly got used up.

 



 

 

These two boys live nearby and are named Koketso Mype and Ofentse Seshabela. Ofentse got a new bike a few months ago and has been here for many repairs. He has severely warped the rear tire rim, destroyed both of the derailleurs, disconnected both brakes, bent and replaced both foot petals, and gone through tubes on front and rear.  I recently told him that I was done fixing his bike because he was too rough on it.  If he needed parts, he'd have to get them himself.

 

Keketso got a new bike in December and has not needed any repairs.  These are Chinese made bikes selling for about R600 ($70) each.  These two boys are exceptional because their families can afford to buy them a new bicycle.  

 

 

 

When we returned from a trip in January the demand for bike stuff started to increase.  It seemed that about every afternoon we'd hear someone outside calling up to us for help with their bike.  So I would grab my bucket of tools and meet them at the work area outside the entrance to our courtyard. Here are the kids on January 19th left to right: Kgologano Phashe age 11, Tebogo Moshifane age 11, Oratile Mpye age 12, Tsholofelo Moshifane age 13, Koketso Mype age 13, and Ofentse Seshabela age 13.  Tsholofelo is one of the few girls that he come -she told me she wanted me to buy her a bike.

 

 

 



These are two of the older boys that work on bikes -Lucas Mabua age 14 and Sello Mabuse age 14. With them, I can just give out tools and parts and they can fix whatever needs repairs.

 

 

 

 

During January and February the kids kept coming by with their bikes about every afternoon.  I went back to Amaan Cycles in January and purchased more parts (R450 or $55) and continued to give stuff out as needed.  The pictures below show how busy our little bike shop became.

 



 

 

But then in February, my supply of parts was all gone and I had no opportunity to make it back to Brits for new parts.  I began to tell the boys I was out of parts and had to turn them away when they came asking for help.  Even the patching kit was totally used up.  The next time I am in Brits I plan on getting some more tubes and a couple of patching kits so I can continue to help. 

 

If anyone wants to contribute to this endeavour, email me at ggaffney1951@gmail.com and we can work out the details.

 

Using Peace Corps funds, Merideth and I purchased for R3000 each ($350) two nice mountain bikes when we first arrived.  We are allowed to dispose of them as we see fit when we leave.  We are thinking about selling them to one of our principals and using the proceeds to buy several of the R600 priced bikes.  We will then have a raffle to win one of these bikes to raise money that we will use to pay for some type of worthy project. The kids can afford to buy a one rand ticket for the chance for a bike which most of them would love to have but cannot afford.

 

So that's the story of this bike repair project.  It started innocently, then gathered some steam, and is now on hold because I ran out of parts.  Time will tell how it goes from now.