A Bicycle That Became Hope, Through Ubuntu and the Ideal of Keeping Others Alive

Ubuntu, one of Africa’s deep rooted values, puts human interdependence, empathy, respect and solidarity at the centre of life. Shaped by the understanding that “I am because we are”, it forms the ground on which social peace, wellbeing and living together are built. These values give rise to a powerful sense of common purpose, one that aims to carry love, sharing and universal human values into every corner of the world, all in the service of keeping one another alive. And it is that common purpose which has grown into a project nurturing hope in Africa: the Bicycle Donation Campaign.

What a Bicycle Means in Africa

In rural Africa a bicycle is far more than a way of getting about:

1. It is an economic lever. People can get what they grow to market, and carry water and other essentials far more easily.
2. It opens the door to small enterprise. A modest income from carrying goods strengthens the household.
3. It saves time. Long distances shrink, and children get a better chance of reaching school.
4. It brings health and hope. It makes daily life easier while giving a person confidence and faith in the future.

In line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, projects like this support economic empowerment, educational opportunity and social solidarity. Every volunteer who gives in the spirit of “keep the person alive, and society will live” is not simply handing over a bicycle. They are offering hope to one person, strength to a community and light to a future. The sharing and solidarity at the heart of Ubuntu, joined to the ideal of keeping one another alive, is building bridges of brotherhood across Africa.

With your contribution you can support families in Africa and help bring people a step closer to a decent living. In Africa a bicycle is a tool that eases life, nurtures hope and carries communities forward.

The Bicycle Project in Nsangi Village, Wakiso District, Uganda: Easing Lives, Growing Hopes

During my time as a project consultant at the Nile Humanitarian Aid Foundation in Uganda, young people living in Europe and America would now and then get together and ask what they could do to share the happiness of doing good and to spread that feeling further. One of those conversations threw up this question: “If we put together the small amount we would spend on a coffee and a slice of cake one day, could we change a family’s life in Africa?” With that thought, small sacrifices turned into a great hope. With the donations the young people raised, they decided to give bicycles to families in need in the village of Nsangi, in Uganda’s Wakiso district.

The project came to life on 4 November 2023, during my time as project consultant at the Nile Humanitarian Aid Foundation in Uganda, carried by these young people’s ideal of keeping others alive and by the philosophy of Ubuntu, “I am because we are”. It touched not only the people of Uganda but the hearts of the young people who organised it. Because sharing brings peace first of all to one’s own soul, and only then to someone else.

This story reminded us of something important: acting together creates a bond in the social and spiritual life of young people that they will not forget.

• “Keep the spirit of Ubuntu alive with a coffee and a slice of cake. Be someone’s hope.”
• “A small sacrifice, a great hope: share your coffee and change a life. Join your friends in the spirit of Ubuntu and touch a heart.”

Now it is your turn

You too can take a small step with your own circle of friends. A tiny expense you could easily do without may become hope in someone else’s life.

This meaningful effort, begun by young people in the Düsseldorf and Neuss areas of Germany, became an example not only for families in Uganda but for the whole world. Let us grow this chain of kindness and reach more hearts. In the spirit of “ithar” in Islam, preferring another person over yourself, you can share your coffee and a slice of cake and invite your friends into this movement too. And in that way, through Africa’s deeply human idea of Ubuntu, you can be someone’s hope.