With great support from Wheels 4 Life I was able to buy 3 more bikes before I left Kenya.  I want to share letters and stories from the three recipients.  Geoffrey Atulo has been a friend of mine since 2004 when I first visited his ponds in Khwisero, Kenya.  He was working hard to get his ponds in top shape and welcomed me to see all the work he was doing.  When he is not working on his farm he is collecting rocks and pounding them into gravel.  Geoffrey has never owned a bike in his life and whenever we would meet he had walked for many kilometres to see me.  He was so excited when he received the new bike and so happy.  He was extremely proud and was looking forward to getting it home and using it.  Daniel Abdallah is 18 years old and was born into a family of four children.  His parents both have died from AIDS and as the last born he is the only one that has gotten the opportunity to go to school.  He sat for his primary examination and managed to pass and join secondary school.  He had no one to pay his school fees but different people have been assisting him and paying his school fees.  He lives approximately 15 kilometres from school and he walks to and fro daily or else borrows a bike from friends.  He was so excited to get the bike and promised he would not miss any school for the rest of the year.  Kennedy Esala is a fish farmer in Bukura and we have known each other for over 3 years.  As a fish farmer he needs a bicycle to help him transport fish feed and fertilizer to his ponds and harvested fish to the market.  As he said to me “A bicycle is of more importance to me, to my projects and to my entire life in general”. 

I wrote an application to an organization in the US that gives bikes to individuals in developing countries to assist them with their transportation.  I received word in early December that my proposal had been accepted to the amount of $2000 US to buy bicycles for anyone that I felt needed one.  I am now slowly assessing different people I know and offering them a new bicycle.  Hesbon has been carrying me on the back of his bike for the last few years so when he picked me last week he was carrying a bunch of spare parts for his bike.  He told me his bike was old and breaking down a lot now.  I asked him if he would like a new bike and he said yes…very much. 

I asked him to write me a short letter explaining why a bike was important and the following is what he wrote - “Reasons I need a bicycle.  A bicycle is something that was designed and made for various purposes and here are some of the reasons as to why I need a bicycle.  When I own or have a bicycle first I will be proud of myself and my family will be proud too because I will be always saving my money when it comes to traveling short distances and also I will be saving time and I will always try as much as I can to be punctual whenever I will be needed.  As a farmer, especially a fish farmers the bicycle will help me in different ways for example I will be sure of  transporting the fish feeds from the store or any other place to my home easily and my fish will not suffer from hunger.  I will also be able to transport other farm inputs to my farm easily and farm outputs to my home and to the market easily and also in good time.  If I own a bicycle I will also be visiting other fish  farmers from the area and also other fish farmers  from outside my region and by that note we will bee sharing ideas as fish farming is concerned and I will also be able to be attending seminars in various institutions about fish farming and other farm activities easily.  Also if I own a bicycle I will not forget my neighbors and the community as a whole.  I will also be using the bicycle to generate some income to uplift the living standard of my family.  When it comes to visiting my friends and relatives I will be able to do it easily because I will not be using money for transport.  According to my financial status I will also be able to maintain a bicycle because it doesn’t need fuel and if it is not in good condition I will be able to re-condition it again without using a lot of money like a vehicle or a motorcycle.  Before god, everything is possible so my bicycle will also be doing some work in the church.  I am looking forward for the help and bless you as you continue helping others.  Yours faithful, Hesbon Andabwa”.   So we spent all day Tuesday shopping in Kakamega for a bicycle.  We found one at the local supermarket that Hesbon liked, so we bought it and then we had to take it to the bike fundi for him to set up.  We were told it would take 30 minutes, but I should have known better as we sat watching for over 2 hours.  He did a good job and just seeing the excitement on Hesbon’s face was worth it.  He peddled home and when he got home he sent me a message on my phone that his family was so excited about the bicycle.  What a great day.