Impact Cycle

CASE FOR SUPPORT

Donate

www.impactcycle.co.za

“Think of bicycles as

rideable art that

can just about

save the world.”

- Grant Petersen

A bicycle reminds many people of their childhood. Riding with your siblings to school or with your friends down the street.

But to a child, a bicycle is not just a mode of transportation – it’s freedom. Freedom from your parents, from the ground beneath you, from whatever worries you have as you watch the world go by.

Education also brings freedom – the freedom of choice when presented with opportunity. The opportunity to grow up and secure a decent paying job, to put healthy food on the table, to put a roof over your head. The financial freedom to make your own decisions. And hope for your future.

Riding a bicycle is not an opportunity every child has. Getting an education is also not an opportunity every child has.

And that needs to change.

“The school dropout rate is of particular concern because students who drop out of school prematurely will experience a lack of access to higher education, fewer job opportunities and lower wages than their peers who finished their schooling.”

– Statistics South Africa

Many children in South Africa have low school attendance rates. As their attendance decreases, their chance of failing or dropping out increases. And dropping out means less freedom to choose their future path. Less hope to succeed.

For a teacher to do their job, they need students. When student attendance rates are low and classes are empty, teachers are no longer needed. This results in the loss of many jobs.

Even if a school has enough students to secure a teacher’s job, teaching students who are regularly absent makes it difficult to provide the learning environment they need to thrive.

Consistent attendance, motivation, and support is necessary for a child to improve their academic results.

In 2018, Impact Cycle took 20 bicycles to Mshwati Memorial Primary School, a small, rural school in KwaZulu-Natal once a week to teach students how to ride.

At the beginning, only two students attended the lessons, but slowly attendance started rising. However, we quickly realised that it was different students each week.

The school was eager to get more students involved consistently, so they put a rule in place – only students who were at school from Monday to Friday that week were allowed to ride. This proved to be a success. The numbers started climbing to the point where they had enough students to run two sessions per week.

Then every student wanted to ride. So, together with the school staff, we decided to use bonus riding time as an incentive for positive behaviour. Those who were well behaved and did well in class got extra time to ride.

And it worked. What started as an opportunity for children to be active and just have fun, ended up having a huge impact on the success of students, teachers, and the whole community.

It’s not just fun – it’s hope.

With the incentives put in place, children are motivated to go to school regularly, study hard, and complete the school year.

At the end of 2018, Mshwati Memorial Primary School saw a 98% increase in school attendance in the Grade R class alone. In 2019, for the 1st time in the schools history, the whole grade passed. The average days absent in the past ranged from 31 to 42 days a year, almost a whole term. By being motivated not to miss school days, every child moved up a year.

Not only do students excel, but it also meant that teachers are able to keep their job and their income.

With only two coaches and 30 bicycles, Impact Cycle gives hope to communities by teaching children how to ride a bicycle.

“The smiles on their faces when they are on the bicycles makes these Fridays at Mshwati so rewarding!”

- Ian Wilson , owner Glide & Ride, founder of Impact CyclE

We know that school attendance has a strong effect on adult economic outcomes, with evidence indicating positive effects on employment and increased earnings¹. But much like Mshwati, there are several schools in South Africa that struggle with student attendance, teacher retention, and a lack of resources.

Impact Cycle harnesses the power of a fun and healthy activity to transform not only the lives of students, but of communities. We envision a future where every child in South Africa can ride a bicycle and receive an education as fundamental building blocks to leading a fulfilling life.

Our Theory of Change illustrates how our core program activities follow casual pathways that lead to the measurable outcomes we plan to accomplish in order to achieve the impact goals we are committed to. It allows us to make sense of complexity, plan effective strategies, measure progress, and track impact.

A ripple effect of hope, opportunity, and possibility.

¹Anderson, Case and Lam (Causes and Consequences of Schooling Outcomes in South Africa: Evidence from Survey Data, Page 20)

Our approach is simple but it’s creative, community-led, and effective.

We start with training and hiring local coaches. At the Single Track Minded Bike shop, coaches learn how to maintain and fix cycling equipment, and through Glide and Ride, they are trained in coaching. Partnering with more schools means stability for more teachers, jobs for more coaches, and more income-generating opportunities for communities.

For each school, we need enough bicycles for each child in the class, helmets and safety equipment. We also need tools to assist with maintenance and bicycle longevity, and an adequate storage facility to ensure there is no theft or damage done.

Hosting fun cycling events to advertise the program in the community results in increased motivation for children to attend school. It also inspires other schools to join the program and parents to support their children in their education.

R16.8k

/term

R3.5k /term

WHAT WE NEED TO RUN

IMPACT CYCLE AT ONE SCHOOL

As of September 2022, we have raised R120 000 and received 40 bicycles through organisations such as Single Track Minded. These partnerships have allowed children from three schools to learn how to ride a bicycle and improve their education.

However, there are a great deal more children in South Africa who urgently need support. Too many children are missing out on the opportunities they deserve. Opportunities to be more active, have fun and learn a new skill. To gain confidence, improve their attendance and complete their school year.

Through partnerships with school boards, we can identify which schools need additional support and motivation to get children and their parents committed to education.

With support from people like you, we started with one class of 32 children in 2018, and have grown to working with the whole school of 256 learners. We have employed 2 coaches from the local community, proving this to be a sustainable model.