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Cyclist aims to make a difference in Africa one bicycle at a time

Emily Schaldach is a professional bicyclist who is leading an effort to provide bicycles to communities in Africa.

When Durango resident Emily Schaldach began researching women’s education in sub-Saharan Africa she was saddened by the scope of the problem, but she was grateful for an opportunity to provide assistance while promoting something she loves – bicycling.

“I started looking at different ways to help the terrible situation where there is so many people that want to go to school but simply can’t access it,” said Schaldach, a professional bicyclist and student at University of Colorado Boulder. In her research, she came across several organizations that provide donated bikes to communities in Africa but thought there might be a better solution.

“What is someone on bumpy dirt roads in the middle of Malawi supposed to do with your old road bike?” she said. Then she found World Bicycle Relief, a Chicago-based nonprofit that uses donated funds to produce bikes tailored to African communities.

“The bikes are called Buffalo Bikes and they are really heavy, really durable bikes with tires that you can barely puncture,” she said. The bikes feature heavy-duty racks to transport goods or people and significantly cut down on access issues for medical professionals and entrepreneurs as well as students.

According to World Bicycle Relief’s website, the bicycles increase student attendance by 28 percent, allow health care workers to reach 40 percent more patients and increase profits for entrepreneurs by up to 50 percent. The benefits come because of the increased mobility and hauling capacity compared with individuals on foot.

Schaldach will be holding a fundraising event at 5 p.m. Aug. 5 at Rotary Park, where she and a host of professional cyclists from the community will lead donors on rides around the area.

Sign-up is $147 and covers the materials, construction and delivery of a bike to a community in Africa, Schaldach said. The price tag “is so minimal if it is something that can completely change someone’s life.”

Schaldach said she specifically chose the date in hopes that people would sign up in July when partners of World Bicycle Relief are matching donations and focusing on a school in Malawi.

Every registration receives a custom World Bicycle Relief jersey and an entry into a raffle for prizes that are donated by Schaldach’s sponsors.

Fundraising entries are being handled online at Emilyschaldach.weebly.com, and more information can be found at worldbicyclerelief.org.

Luke Perkins is a student at Fort Lewis College and an intern at The Durango Herald. He can be reached at lukep@durangoherald.com



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