PROJECT NAME: Bicycle Empowerment Programme (BEP) PROJECT DURATION: 1 July 2015 to 31 March 2016 Partners: Terres des Hommes / UBUNTU / EURIST Beneficiaries and project members in front of UBUNTU HQ Project Background In 2015 the IPEG of VW Works Council small projects of Terres des Hommes/ Germany approved to support the project Eurist-SA-Eval-Ubuntu-2015 which was managed and implemented by EURIST, with a total budget of 9.500 from 1/8/2015 to 31/3/2016. The project was 100% funded by VW Works Council, Wolfsburg.
Project Goal As a pilot project 15 bicycles were provided to local sports clubs of Sianquoba/Port Elisabeth to empower the youth in cycling: The project s idea was to develop a sports cycling culture as basis for personality development and socialization of girls and boys / young people in South Africa. As a pilot project, the data gathered in this evaluation project shall be the basis for further extending the project idea to other regions and for fundraising in Europe and South Africa. Situational Analysis Despite increasing motorisation in South Africa, non-motorised transport (NMT) modes like cycling still have the potential to play a crucial role in the country s transport sector and its mobility culture. Cycling has always been popular in rural and urban Africa and could continue to provide a safe, efficient, healthy and sustainable means of transport. Increasing motorisation has rendered cycling and also sports cycling unsafe and unattractive. The needs of NMT are routinely omitted from the designs of road improvements and there is a general lack of specialised infrastructure. This has led to a negative image of cycling in the general population. The low quality of existing bicycles and the lack of various types of bicycles, for example sports bicycles, women bicycles etc., and the cost of purchase pose additional problems for the expansion of transport cycling in South Africa. However, more and more cities and communities are now realising the benefits of NMT and are designing policies, programmes and projects to accommodate cycling needs. Not only does this lead to more sustainable transport, it provides a strong impetus towards improved urban environments and a sustainable mobility culture as a basis for sustainable development both on the social as well as the individual, personal level. The BEP project focused on the personal level of a cycling, including individual life and personal mobility patterns and culture. Systematic data in this field of intervention is still few. For this reason the evaluation should contribute to systematic data, especially to motivate other potential partners to support these kind of interventions.
Project Description (from UBUNTU Report) In partnership with BEN, a non-profit based in Cape Town, and TDH, EURIST piloted the Ubuntu Bicycle Empowerment Programme. Relying on BEN s expertise, the partners distributed bicycles to 15 of our secondaryschool students. These beneficiaries then participated in the following activities: Training courses offered by a local cycling club, Siyanqoba, that instructed beginners how to ride, intermediate learners how to improve their technique, and advanced riders to take increasingly challenging courses Training seminars which encompassed safety lessons, basic bicycle mechanics, and road-cycling techniques An After-school cycling club comprised of 15 students who met once a week to cycle together Life-skills courses offered each week, promoting critical thinking, creativity, time-management, selfesteem, and curiosity Psychosocial services, in the form of both one-on-one counselling and support groups Together, these initiatives encouraged the benfiting children to develop a deep appreciation for an activity that they had little access to before. Individual self-development and team-building exercises strengthened their commitment to learning as well as to the progress of their peers. As children advanced to their cycling goals, they became more enthusiastic about developing and achieving goals in other aspects of their lives. Most importantly, they developed healthier behaviors, making them more equipped to take advantage of new learning opportunities. Target Age Group: Number (f) % (m) % Age 0-5 0 0 0 Age 6-12 0 0 0 Age 13-17 14 57% (8) 43% (6) Age 18-25 1 0 100%
Methodology data collection in the group interviews with the children The interviews with the 15 children were done in four groups, with five, two, four and four interviewees, respectively. The interviews were semi-structured, i.e. themes were predetermined, but ample opportunity was given to the children to express their ideas and concerns and to bring up new issues. Because of the open structure, not every question was asked in every interview, and the questions were not asked in the same order in every interview, but rather the interview questions were adapted to the flow of the conversation. The questions generally fall into three categories: Daily life (as ice-breaker and to provide context knowledge), the bicycle project, and the local practice and image of cycling. The following themes were chosen to evaluate the project impact and thereby the success of the project. The methods were general surveys and specific interviews with both children (also called beneficiaries) and parents/caregivers. Further methods included site visits (town ship and hom visits) and discussions with local actors and organisations. A. Personal fitness and physical activity Personal fitness: self-assessment of level of personal fitness, Physical activity was assessed by amount of time spent doing physical activity: B. Emotional wellbeing Emotional wellbeing was assessed exclusively through the survey because group interviews are not suited to this type of personal questions. The survey questions 14 to 27 cover a broad range of emotions. C. Soft skills & academic achievement Soft skills and academic achievement were assessed exclusively through the survey because group interviews are not suited to this type of personal questions, covering five themes: determination, team work, self-confidence, focus/concentration, academic achievement. D. Riding skills Riding skills: self-assessment of riding skills, observation by trainers E. Bicycle mechanics skills Bicycle mechanics skills were assessed in the survey: : self-assessment of bicycle mechanics skills, assessment of knowledge of the bicycle parts.
F. Image of cycling The image of cycling was explored in group interviews with the children and parents/caregivers, as well as in conversations with local residents of the Zwide township. The questions explored connotations with regard to the normality of cycling in the neighbourhood, different types of cycling (leisure, sports, transport), the image of cycling, potential worries (dangers) as well as the typical bicycle user. G. Context (everyday life and use of spare time) The local context was explored in the following ways: Group interviews with the children and parents/caregivers, Township tour, home visits and conversations with the local residents of the Zwide township, Meetings with project partners, Site visit of sports facilities. Sianquoba Sports Club and Cycling track (Photo : EURIST) Methodology data collection in the group interviews with the parents/caregivers The interviews with the parents/caregivers of the children, who participated in the bicycle project, were held in three groups with six, four and two interviewees, respectively.
The interviews were semi-structured, i.e. themes were predetermined, but ample opportunity was given to the interviewees to express their ideas and concerns and to bring up new issues. Because of the open structure, not every question was asked in every interview, and the questions were not asked in the same order in every interview, but rather the interview questions were adapted to the flow of the conversation. Main Project Results All beneficiaries were able to manage 1 hour trainings on the cycling track of Sianquoba. Furthermore they were self-confident enough to cycle on rural roads with traffic and in more hilly areas (in groups). Hence of 100% of beneficiaries demonstrated Improved cycling knowledge and riding skills. Physical fitness level obviously improved as almost all managed to increase the distance over time. In addition they developed basic knowledge about bike repair and gained basic mechanical understanding. Basic knowledge about bike repair (Source: Own graph)
Riding Skills Before/after (Sopurce: Own graph) In a psychological dimension the project created improved team spirit among exceptionary all beneficiaries: In case of tiredness, technical defects or lack of motivation or smaller accidents In a gender perspective the group members made no difference in getting along with their comrades: Girls and boys worked, cycled and communicated with each other as a genuine team Parents stated that their children increasingly took over responsibilities for their own daily life and family issues/tasks The responsible supervisors in Sianquoba Cycling Club were fully accepted as authorities and some even appreciated them as role models
COLLECTION OF TYPICAL ANSWERS FROM BENEFICIARIES Has there been a change in spending time in the afternoon since you have taking part in the bicycle project? - I feel improved fitness - I Get up earlier - I am fit now! - I lost weight Have your expectations on the bicycle project been fulfilled? - yes, I can ride a bike now - yes, we had a great time - I became fitter and lost weight Have you reached your personal goals? - I feel improved fitness - I Get up earlier - I am fit now! - I lost weight Do others also want to take part in such a project? - yes, most of the other friends and brothers and sisters - everybody should learn to ride a bike: CYCLING FOR EVERYBODY
COLLECTION OF TYPICAL ANSWERS FROM PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS After 6 months your child has taken part in the program, are you still afraid of accidents? - Excited all the time - They talked about the project all the time - Came away from the streets - First I was skeptical and afraid, but during the project my daughter became more self-confident (also in other sports) Have the girls been accepted taking part in the bicycle project? - Yes There was no difference - Equality! Could you imagine cycling for leisure or for transport by yourself after this project? - no, it`s too much traffic - in the past I did, but today it`s too dangerous in traffic - I get robbed, the bike get stolen - I am too old - Too expensive Has there been any other change? - no, but she now interested in sports - yes: they help more in the household - get up early on bike days, tired after - big cycling photo on the fridge - the whole family is now excited in cycling - practice harder in school - washed the bicycle clothes on their own - more disciplined
Lessons learned Outlook For project phasing holidays should be taken into account (project stopped during holidays) reducing the project budget was inefficient for other institutions or partners (like Sianquoba Sports Club), who later could not take part in the project (bikes for social workers, bikes for school) SIANQUOBA staff was not paid because of budget problems Maybe the bicycle club could be the one, a project could be done (UBUNTU as door-opener) No mechanical courses! (youth could get repairing skills) After the project the bikes stay at Sianquoba! Use and ownership should be clear 1. UBUNTU-SIANQUOBA PROGRAM Implement a program for each year to bring more children learning basic riding skills The beneficiaries had their last year in school and leave UBUNTU for college, so the next generation could use the bicycles Aim: Riding skills and contact to Cycling as sport in the township of Zuide 2. VW-LOCAL PROGRAMS Transfer the program to other VW locations Aim: Sports Cycling at VW production sites 3. SOUTH AFRICA PROGRAM: Bringing together the different local and national NGOs to participate and/or learn from project experience Implementing Cycle to School, Cycling for Social Workers,.. Aim: Implementing Cycling Culture to Port Elizabeth Team of trainers with beneficiaries at cycling track (Photo: EURIST)