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Ukraine Needs Thousands of Bikes
If you like bikes and bike-friendly cities and want to help Ukraine in the most human way possible, then this is the crowdfunding campaign for you! Contribute a financial donation here.
We are a Danish non-profit association that sources reliable used bikes in Europe and sends them to people who need them right here and right now in Ukrainian cities and towns. We have already delivered 900 bikes since July 2022, but thousands more are needed.
We have appeals from NGOs in many Ukrainian cities and towns that that desperately need bicycles: Kherson, Dnipro, Lviv, Chernihiv, Bucha, Mykolaiv, etc.. You can help us make it happen.
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How Does Your Donation Help?
The donations we receive from around the world go directly to our work in getting used bikes to Ukraine. This includes sourcing used bikes in Europe, organising bike collections and then paying for shipping, logistics and transport of the bikes to our network of NGOs in over 35 cities and towns Ukraine. It also helps us get to Ukraine to deliver the bikes and to pay for administrative costs associated with our non-profit.
We have experienced a wonderful level of goodwill about our project but like with most projects on this scale, having financial donations is absolutely key.
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Over 1000 Bikes Already Delivered!
In July 2022, the first 100 bikes arrived in Ukraine from Denmark. More than 800 more arrived in late 2022 and 2023. They were distributed at six drop-off points in nine cities and towns including: Lviv, Bucha, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Slavutych. Some were given to refugee camps and most were given to social workers and NGOs who will use them to deliver food and medicine to the most vulnerable people in the most devastated areas. People who can’t make it into town.
Every single bike is now in use and performing vital roles on Ukrainian streets and roads.
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Why Does Ukraine Need Bicycles?
In countless Ukrainian cities that were shelled, occupied and that are generally in ruins - like Bucha, Kherson, Dnipro, Stary Saltiv, etc - people struggle with basic mobility.
No Public Transport
The Russians destroyed many buses and trolly busses or the Ukrainian Army took them for troop transport. In rural areas, people need bikes to get from villages to larger towns to get to shops, pharmacies and doctors. In cities, people in bombed neighbourhoods need to get water, food and medical care.
With attacks on the energy infrastructure, electric trams and trolleybuses are often unreliable.
Roads in Ruins
Many roads in both rural and urban areas are ruined by shelling or military vehicles, making them difficult to use. A bicycle is nimble and flexible and can navigate them much more easily.
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Gas Shortage
There is an ongoing gas shortage in Ukraine. The gas is needed by the Ukrainian Army, as well, in order to fight back.
Shipping Issues
The shipping backlog caused by COVID-19 is now amplified by the situation in the Middle East. - and it’s all combined with the difficulty of getting in and and of Ukraine. So even if they could source bikes, they can’t get them to the country. We have, however, set up logistics routes from Europe to Ukraine, with reliable transport options.
Internally-displaced People
There are over 5 million internally displaced people in Ukraine. In the cities in the west of the country, many refugees arrived having left everything behind. A bike helps them get around - to the supermarket, doctor, school, job interviews, etc.
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Humanitarian Aid - in more ways than one
Our bikes arrive in Ukraine classified as humanitarian aid. Once they are on the ground in the country, they end up DELIVERING humanitarian aid - as well as food, water and medicine.
We love that poetry. And every time a bike delivers vital goods, that means there is more space in a van or truck to deliver larger things. Bikes ease the logistics burden. It’s as simple as that.
Just ONE of our bikes, in the course of one year will do the following on average:
Do 1800 trips.
Travel 18,000 km (!)
Carry 12,000 kg of essential goods
Help 5000 people
Multiply that with the 1000 bikes we’ve delivered already and you can see the massive impact bicycles make.