The rugged, unpaved spaces between villages in Namibia will seem much smaller once a shipment of gifts from Ottawa arrives this fall.

At least, that's the idea behind a bike drive that the local charity Bicycles for Humanity is holding Saturday.

Mark Rehder said the knobby tires discarded by Ottawa's residents will come in handy in the roadless terrain between African villages.
(CBC)

The group hopes to collect 400 adult and youth mountain bikes, along with bike parts and tools, to send to community volunteers at the House of Love for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Rundu, Namibia. The volunteers will distribute them to villagers who need them to get to work, school or places such as medical clinics.

Mark Rehder of re-Cycles Bicycle Co-op is helping kick-start the drive with a donation of 50 bicycles and cartons of bike parts from his repair shop.

He said the project involves more than just donating used goods, which will be sent overseas in a shipping container. The rural villagers will also be taught to ride and fix the bikes.

"In a lot of their areas, they may not even have roads — they may have pathways that have been around for years or very, very rudimentary roads," Rehder said Friday. "So they need mountain bikes, big knobby tires, things that will comfortably get them over terrain."

He added that the co-op is sending a big stack of the tires, which are discarded in large quantities by Ottawa residents who don't need them in the city.

The Ottawa chapter of Bicycles for Humanity, which started up in the spring, is collecting the bicycles at 100 Constellation Crescent in Nepean between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday. They are also collecting soccer gear (excluding shoes) and backpacks.