Tanzania Shipping Party - complete!
Some pictures of the bikes arriving and being unloaded HERE ...
We will load 500 bikes for the Vijana Vocational Center in Arusah Tanzania this Saturday, July 18, from 10am to 3pm at 2434 S. Western Avenue.
The Vijana Vocational Training Centre is a project of our partners at the Global Alliance for Africa, who have sponsored many bike drives for Working Bikes ...
The Vijana Vocational Centre is dedicated to providing orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) in Tanzania access to vocational training, life skills training, and psycho-social support. Vijana provides specific vocational training in: bicycle mechanics, maintenance and repair; bicycle related pedal-power design; and bicycle business management, as well as computer training and secretarial skills, and English, French and Spanish Foreign Language courses. There are over 200 students annually that receive instruction at Vijana, and the number continues to increase each year. The Vijana Centre is committed to the educational development of OVC and youth who, because of the impact of HIV/AIDS on their lives, do not have the resources to attend primary and secondary school in Tanzania. The strategic goal of Vijana's educational programs is to provide training so that a young person can gain entrance into the formal sector of economy.
Vijana also serves as a community development and resource center for the local community. With a large conference center and spacious grounds, Vijana is a focal point for international organizations partner with Vijana for various purposes including: art therapy programs for OVC and youth centered activities, seminars and training workshops, as well as for the administration of vaccines and other medical services to children and adults in the Njiro/Lemara region of Arusha, Tanzania where the center is located.
Global Alliance for Africa has a partnership with the US Peace Corps that provides a volunteer to Vijana which will include a community library/computer facility/art center.
Learn about our Bike Drives and the Bicycle Barbers programs
Orphan and Youth Initiatives
Our programs address the needs of OVC of all ages, including shelter, education, food security, access to health care, psycho-social support, and legal services. However, a significant number of our programs focus on providing services for orphaned girls and boys and the most vulnerable adolescents and youth aged 15-24 who lack support and care from any other source. This demographic segment of the population is growing rapidly throughout East Africa, and USAID has identified this group as the least likely to have received services from local government initiatives and international NGOs. In a world where half of new HIV infections occur among 15-24 year olds, education and acquired vocational skills, as well as psycho-social support, can be life-saving, and prevent as well as mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS.
