Super Productive September

Mobility for ALL!!

I was approached by a Germany girl who introduced herself as a ‘fan’ who is volunteering here in Uganda; with a cup full of enthusiasm she said “I only just found out about you guys the other day!” What you do is Awesome! “You should let people know what you do; it’s amazing”. Do you have a website?” I explained that we do and it is still under development. The ‘fan’ said that she thinks lots of people would be interested to know what we do and they would be more than happy to get involved in one way or the other and help reach out to more people. The energy and enthusiasm she had spread a huge smile on my face.

Yes, CA Bikes Uganda has spread its wings way larger than the initial “Pedal or Power Project.” They talk about CA Bikes on local radio stations, the politicians and government officials mentioned it in the parliament of Uganda and many people seem to be pretty excited about what we do; which is super encouraging. Keep us in your prayers and support to keep our focus.

Here is what we have been up to it the month of September.

Bike Distribution

This has been very exciting month for many reasons among those are the bicycles give out. We have given up to forty bikes and hope to make it to may be 100 by the end of this year. We have about 200 new applicants on the waiting list for new bikes or wheelchairs. I can tell you for sure nothing feels gratifying like smiles on these young men’s faces after receiving a new bike. I do feel that joy up close and personal for I was once in those shoes. I will write up some stories of some these kids; they are amazing. Some of the stories are just too sad and hard to believe. For now it’s just the excitement. NO Sad storiesJ!

Bike Production

   

We have assembled a number of bicycles of different types and as depicted from the above pictures distribution is an ongoing everyday activity. After carrying out a thorough investigation and assessment we give out bicycles to the competent and most deserving kids.

Machine Shop:

We have successfully acquired basic tools to have a simple bicycle frame-building machine shop to produce: Bicycles, wheelchairs, and other forms of tricycles to meet most poor family mobility needs. Here is a list of tools we have in our machine shop.

A Grinder,  a bender, welding machine, a system of brazing equipment(i.e. gas tanks and the pipe lines) vice, Hack saw, hammer and other small but useful tools.

Power grinder                                Pipe bender                                      Welding machine

Vice                                                                       Brazing system

With the help of the above tools we have so far produced four distinct bicycle types from used pipes, water pipes and/or sheet metal.

Here are some locally make CA Bikes from either water pipes or scrap metal

1.      CA Load Carrier:

This is one of a kind type of bicycle targeting to help the poor especially farmers in transporting their produce to the market to help better their lives.

2.      CA Tri-Bike

In my July letter home I briefly mentioned the high need for wheel chairs in this region. Am happy to announce that we have successfully produced a one of a kind cost effective prototype wheelchair ready for mass production. We make them out of water pipes and a few purchased spare parts. This tri-cycle is built from the least amount of materials possible to keep it light weight and most important cheap to produce. The production cost is one fourth of a typical wheel chair on the US market

This bike targets people with disabilities from disadvantaged social and economic backgrounds in Uganda and the surrounding regions. This bike’s distinct features make it perfect for East Africa’s terrain and most important it’s easy to use for the recipient.

It has a head lamp powered by a little dynamo meant to help with light for long distance commuters on their way home in the dark.

Its high profile tires make it suitable for the rough roads.

We also designed it with two pulleys and a gear system that will ease the user’s work going uphill something that has never been done before.

Fig: CA Tri-Bike

As you already know or can imagine, importing wheelchairs to any African country has a lot of down sides.... there is a lack of back-up service and spares are often hard to obtain. Who will fit them?  What should the families pay, if anything?  Who will maintain the equipment when it breaks?  How will people afford spare parts?  How will they replace old equipment?  What equipment is better and suited to last on these muddy, rutted, unpaved roads?

To overcome this, CA Bikes recruited and trained local people, and locally available materials to provide a durable solution for disabled people in Africa starting here in Uganda with future plans of supplying most African countries.

The need for wheelchairs and tricycles is enormous. However, most of the applicants who come to CA Bikes offices are from a poor Socio Economic background and cannot afford to purchase them.

CA bikes hopes to produces and distribute these chairs to the needy for free which will allow them to cover longer distances and also operate small-scale business’ to empower them Economically thus reducing their dependency level and most important beggars on the streets.

Objectives of CA Tri-Bike products:

ü  To Economically empower people with disabilities

ü  To Lobby Government and Charitable organisations to implement policies and influence donor approaches in favor of People with disabilities

ü  To produce wheelchairs locally at CA Bikes workshop and distribute them for free or at affordable rates to people in need or organization with the similar interests.

3.      CA LadyBird

One of the biggest challenges of CA Bikes is to ensure gender balance among CA Bikes recipient due to social stigma of women riding bicycles. “Mobility for all” having been the main focus for CA Bikes we would like to ensure gender equality.

For women in America, the initial struggle was for the right to ride a bicycle at all; this debate lasted until the early 1890s. From the beginning, there was a significant facet of society who firmly believed that machinery and cycling activity should remain part of a man’s world and that a woman’s world should remain distinct and separate. Those types of thinking still exist in most parts of Uganda.

Since Uganda is traditionally a conservative country, there are many Questions surrounding the issue of women on bicycles. Women wearing pants is kind of still frown upon-- in that they are supposed to wear below the knee long skirts which makes it hard to hop on a bicycle. Many people in this society are convinced that bicycle riding threatens women’s cultural norms, physical and mental health for instance their hair, complexions, femininity, families, morals and worst of all, their reputation. Not many women want to be seen on a bicycle.

But with the help of the new CA LadyBird bicycle we will be able to sensitize, educate, and improve mobility for women starting with young girls in school gearing toward women enjoying the full luxury of riding a bicycle.

CA LadyBird is designed and built neatly from scrap pipes en a few bought spare parts bringing back the idea of “step-through” bicycles. It has a tube that slopes way down, instead of going straight across.  They are also designed to have a shorter reach, and are easier to mount or dismount

Work August Work

Bad news and Good news

Bad news first,

One of my relatives and a very good friend passed away this week. She died of HIV /AIDS. I took her to the hospital where they tried everything possible but there were no signs of improvement. She fought really hard but unfortunately she lost the battle. In all honesty, it’s hard to come to grips with this especially after trying really hard, doing what we possibly can, including changing hospitals and we lost a dear one. She died the morning of Aug 19^th.

She was 30years old and left behind four kids with a drug addict husband. The older girl who is 12 has to assume full responsibility of the family now.

When she passed, I purchased the coffin that same day, and we transported her home. We spent the night around the fire with other mourners; we dug the grave very early the next morning (with the help of friends and neighbors) and laid her to rest in the afternoon.  I’m sad for the kids she left behind especially the little girl, because I know exactly what she is going through, since I  was once in those shoes and I hope the best for them. There’s nothing more to really say without this becoming lengthy and extra sad. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Good news,

The good news is that we finally filled to become a Non-profit.  Please visit our website at www.cabikesuganda.com  read and see how the project has magnified. Especially read about “what we do” section to see how big we’ve become, and how we are hoping to reach out to more and more people as we move forward.

To become a full registered non-profit we need three certificates to begin operations. We have received two of the three Certificates allowing us to begin; one from the Sub county level and another one from the district. We are waiting on  the third one from the Nation level which will be coming soon if all goes as planned.

Another interesting idea is to build a boda boda bike to contribute to the Ugandan economy and may be create jobs for a number of people. In Uganda boda bodas are the most popular  bicycles or motorcycle taxis available for hire in urban centers. They operate within a small radius from the town center.

Here is a typical Bicycle boda Boda

It is purely mechanical and one has to be very strong to carry a client (passenger) or load.

Below is the  other type of boda boda (the motorcycle kind).

This is somewhat fast, makes work easy but It is expensive to buy, and it consumes a lot of fuel. In an attempt to bridge the gap between these two boda boda types, we have built an in between motorbike that we call CA Motoboda.

See picture below

This bike seems to attract many people’s attention because it’s a brand new idea and something people have never seen.

If used well and sparingly (by this I mean pedal on flat surface /down hill and throttle up hill only), this bike can go up to 3 to 400km on half a gallon of fuel. Though it needs some testing, it seems to be very efficient and cost effective.

 Stay tuned on the CA Motoboda.

On the other exciting news, We are ready and set to give out our first wave of bicycles. We have decided that since YES Uganda has a tone of orphans already on their program and walking long distances it’s a perfect spot to place our initial give out. We decided to work with them since most of the assessment (orphans case history)  is already done.  YES staff  has helped us identify the best recipients depending on the need and academic standing. We will give out about 15 bicycles to orphans commuting long distances. For those who may not know Y.E.S Uganda, is a non-profit organization taking care of orphans and other vulnerable children. It is the non-profit that steered me to this point in my life.

In addition, our CA Bikes field worker is investigating many more new applicants who are potential recipients.

Stay tuned

And please check out our website, the blog and give us some feedback on what you like or what  you think needs some improvement

www.cabikesuganda.com

Christopher Ategeka

Executive Director

CA Bikes Uganda

Marriage in Uganda

You may be wondering how marriage is related to building bikes. Well, its not, its just something i found intersting to write about because of its unique but interesting traditions.

May be by the time you get to the end of this blog you may pick out points that explain why these traditions may be responsible to the Africa's long standing vicious circle of Poverty.

Last week I went to my friends marriage parties. By the time you get to the bottom of this page you will know why parties not a party. I went with my Mzungu friends Tom,su, denis, and pieke. Their first Ugandan introduction ceremony turned out to be a bit of a surreal experience. Surreal because, at an event which is traditionally all about show and performance,ended up being exactly that. I somehow dragged them to be part of a discreet fly-on-the-wall spectators .The fact that they were going to be the only muzungus attending was a little interesting because of the"uncomfortable" stares.  In the end my mzungu friends only assigned task was to drink the traditional glass of milk offered by the bride’s family. Even this simple job which most of them utterly failed at, it being a bit too cow-y for their taste.  

This woke up my curiousity to write about the marriage rituals here in Uganda which I for one think are a bit weired and strange in many aspects. Its interesting to know  how common polygamy here continues to thrive. The muslim men are especially well known for having up to four wives, sometimes even more. Some men do have all of their wives at the same time. If they all live in one house there is much tension. Duh. So to have so many wives the man must be able to afford taking care of them and this usually requires giving each wife a place of her own. The main reason more men don’t keep more wives is because they can’t afford to. The men who have several wives aren’t usually involved with all of them at once. A person can be “married” here by just saying it out loud and living with the person. When you want a divorce you do the same thing. Divorce is socially unacceptable and embarrassing to admit, even less embarrassing than being one of many wives. Christians somewhat do not practice polygamy in Uganda. They have church weddings and wear rings on their fingers sometimes. For those men who have several wives they usually are having affairs that are considered wives and children are produced. Many times one of the wives with the biggest heart takes in all the children of the man as he usually runs off and so do some of the wives. I have seen this story over and over again. I used to live with an uncle who had six wives and seventy two children minus miscarriages, abortions and mortalities. His first wife who happened to be the "Big heart" one had taken me  in as well since i had lost both my parents. God bless those women who take in children not their own, especially in this culture where it is nearly impossible for a single woman to get enough food to feed them and clothes to keep them covered.

The government never gets involved with a marriage. There’s more pressing issues to worry about than “legal” marriage so when a person wants a divorce there is no process to endure. A divorce is usually a man taking off and never seeing his kids again. Only the people with a lot of money (to protect) will use the legal system to divorce. Traditional marriages here are fascinating. The entire courtship is formal and it follows a strict process. When a girl is interested in a man , it not approppriete to initiate the relationship. She has to wait for the man to declare he loves her (which is kinda true in many cultures but here its" far more true"). If you are a man and a woman tells you first that she loved you, there is a lot of name calling/assumptions associated with this. The man needs to hunt for his wife and win or he is not a man. Once the couple agrees they have mutual feelings the relationship is kept secret from the family. She is not even supposed to mention that she is interested in him. When he comes around to meet the family it is only as a friend. This is because there is a formal introduction ceremony where the man is to meet her family for the first time. Prior to that ceremony the man goes to have a meeting with her father to request his daughter. The father raises a daughter here expecting a bride price to be paid when she is given away. The traditional price are cows …nowadays its cash. If the girl is from different areas the bride price could vary… five cows or as many as a hundred for the girls who come from rich background. One good breed cow costs about five hundred American dollars and that’s a large sum for a man here to acquire.  The father has the right to ask for anything he wants for his daughter. Many will ask for a cow, a goat and some chickens. Others will ask for practical items along with the cow, like money. 
All the while a father is raising his daughter he is considering what he will ask for her because it is one way for a common person to become rich. Cows in this country are the standard for measuring wealth. If you have a lot of cows, you have more respect from the community. It represents wealth. So, when a young man and her father agree on the price the engagement is set. The next step is for him to gather the bride price and they set the introduction ceremony date. Her family hosts the Introduction event. The introduction is usually a month before the actual wedding and it is as formal as the wedding where everyone is dressed in traditional Ugandan attire. The man brings the bride price to the father. He arrives with the cow on a rope or its equivalent behind him and hands it over to the father as a symbol of promise to replace the precious loss the family will endure. Girls here work hard i.e attain education and the family will use this as a bargaining tool to get a higher bride price. When a family does not like a young man they will set the bride price way beyond his ability to provide. I would call that meddling they call it fair. If the girl really loves her man she will plead with her father to reduce the price because he doesn’t have any money to give such a high price and sometimes this works. Because of the bride price girls are more desirable to produce here than boys.

Partying!

Introduction (The Engagement party US equivalent)

In Uganda the introduction is traditionally far more important than the wedding itself, reflecting perhaps how pragmatism rather than romance is the dominant theme. During the ceremony, a complicated pre-nuptial agreement is symbolically signed between the two families, setting out the terms under which marriage is to take place. Critical of course is the bride price (an ‘insurance policy’ is apparently a less sexist way of looking at it) which is usually agreed in terms of alcohol, cows and money. The two families and their friends sit opposite each other in large decorated shelters if any. Each has an (MC” with/without a microphone who has been hired to do the negotiating. The MCs prattle on, cracking jokes, having little digs at each other and generally keeping everyone entertained. The negotiations are interspersed with a booming soundtrack of East African pop, country or western and the inescapable Celine Dion. The bit thats a little more interesting is  when three different groups of beautifully dressed girls are brought in the arena – first some shy little ones, then some timid teenagers, then finally some elegant ladies – and the groom has to say among all of them who was his betrothed by putting a bead necklace around her neck or an engagement ring on her fingure among the well off families. I always wonder what would happen if he gets it wrong. This is my own culture mind u. lol With a little inbuilt evil stubborn self; i think i would want to try it someday and see what happens (joke!). The sad part to all this is the idea that the husband often feels he purchased the wife as a commodity thus some women end up in abusive marriages but feel obligated to stay. For if they ever decide to leave the man is entitled to a bride price refund. Usually she is also pressured by her parents to stay because they often use up all the resources they received in exchange for their daughter immediately coz of the unending poverty. Her divorce puts them at an odd angle thus they opt for her to stay no matter what the circumstances. 

 Finally, there is always a full throttle party with food drinks and blasting music through out the night ofcourse.

Day b4 wedding:

At the grooms house… full throttle party with food drinks and blasting music through out the night. The equivalent to bachelors party (may be no strippers or prostitutes but something close).

At the brides house: full throttle party with food drinks and blasting music through out the village night. They call it the give away party where the  brides friends and family come together to wish her good luck.

Wedding Day:

This is usually the next day. The groom gets to church first and nervously wait to receive his wife to be. The father inlaw usually does the handing over. If he is far away or deceased, an uncle or a brother takes the honor.

Furthermore, a small portion of dowry/bride price is dedicated to buying give away gifts. So if you ever see a truck full of items like matresses, beds, couches, pans, cows etc tailgating the Newly-wed Car now you know that’s the brides give away gifts. They are supposed to give the newly weds a kick start to a new life.

Divorce

·         No legalities involved most of the time

·         In times of disagreements beyond repair, You just wake up and leave.

·         No such a thing as going to court for the most part. Of course there is exceptions….the Rich!

Website

Here is our website
the blog part is not working anymore
hope to resolve it soon
http://www.cabikesuganda.com

chris