Prodigal Bikes Home Page
Prodigal Bikes - Sending bikes to Africa
Prodigal Bikes is a charity that brings hope and changes lives in both Africa and the UK.
Why “Prodigal” Bikes? In the Bible, Luke Ch. 15 vs 11-32 is a story Jesus told about a father who welcomes his wayward (Prodigal) son back into his family, giving him a second chance in life.
In the UK we refurbish bikes donated to us, teaching engineering skills and giving work experience to those who need that second chance. These bikes are then either shipped to Africa or given to refugees and asylum seekers here in the UK.
In Africa our bikes are used by patients to access healthcare, and by school children and teachers to get to schools. We also provide tools, spare parts and training to keep the bikes working.
Please browse our website to see what we do, who we help and how you can get involved.
HOW COULD YOU HELP?
We are a non-profit organization, and rely on volunteers and donations to help us make a difference to people’s lives. If you would like to volunteer, make a donation or organise a charity event please get in touch we’d love to hear from you.
Latest Prodigal Bikes News
Some lovely feedback from Malawi today, where we have a bike project with the Hooke Court in Malawi charity. ![]()
Back in September last year, one of our trainees, Jake, refurbished this old Ridgeback mountain bike. We added panniers filled with bike tools.![]()
We also got an old wheelchair, found in the scrap metal skip by our workshop and Jake refurbished that, too.![]()
And one of our volunteers, Steve Carden, fixed up a Universal Fusion mountain bike. ![]()
With help from Changing Stars Malawi , the Zikomo Trust, and the Coles-Medlock Foundation, we got all these delivered to Malawi as part of a 60 bikes plus tools and spares shipment at the start of this year. ![]()
The Ridgeback bike went to Simon, who recently left the Bandawe School for the Deaf after training there as a Bike mechanic. In a country with very high unemployment, any disability makes employment even more difficult. The bike meant Simon, who is deaf himself, could start work around the area where we have delivered just under 190 bikes to school teachers. He now rides around this area repairing the bikes which the teachers use to get to school. We hear "Simon is really doing a great job. He goes around the zones checking the bikes that need a fix apart from helping on the all the days we're open at the station. Teachers from remote areas have commended him for his dedication."![]()
For the wheelchair, it is making getting to Bandawe Primary school for one Grace Banda a whole lot easier.![]()
For the Universal Mountain Bike: "(This bike has been given to) the Learning Difficulty resource centre at the same school. It will enable the teacher managing the resource to reach other schools in the zone when conducting screening and monitoring exercises for learners with diverse needs."![]()
Not a bad result for three items destined for the recycling skip.
We now have a football team named after us!!!![]()
The Jamie Prodigal Boko Mnemela Sports Club meets every weekend, and plays on the sports field next to where our shipping container / bike workshop is based in Boko Mnemela, coastal Tanzania. ![]()
Tanzania is a nation passionate about football. When we were in Boko last December, Jamie Bachelor from our partner charity Taunton Welcomes Refugees refugees bought the kids a football. They loved it, and the team started to form. Jamie send some money for two more footballs, and in gratitude, they have named their new team after Jamie and PB.
This is what we love; getting pictures of our bikes and their new riders in Africa back to the people that worked on them here. Kurt was so happy to see this.
Our work at Prodigal Bikes isn't just about bikes. We love meeting the people who donate, repair and benefit from our bikes, and hearing their stories. ![]()
This moving story came in recently from Eldoret, Kenya, about how having one of our bikes had really transformed the life of one Joseph Soshon. Read his story and see his video here:![]()
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I am Joseph Soshon, last born in the family of six, I grew up in the Langas slums, my primary education started in the slum and I am very much conversant with slum environment.![]()
It was not easy, in the past my older brothers and sisters dropped out of school due to abject poverty, my parents are totally poor and were unable to raise school fees for them not only school fees but also putting a meal on the table is not guaranteed, we may go hungry for 4-6 days without even a porridge or with little porridge for the family. Out of the income from my mother’s kiosk with less than Ksh. 500 stock, the whole family depend on it for do or die. The day after today ever look bleak for the family. At the time, I helped my mum selling at her food kiosk as she looks for other domestic work for pay to meet family needs.![]()
Anyway God is faithful and even for sake his chosen people at any given time.![]()
By Mid of 2023, I was one of the lucky students who received the supply of bikes from L.G.L, by that time I was almost giving up from school due to economic hardship faced by family. My school is AIC CHEBISAS located 10km from the slum and getting bus fare to and from was something not to be imagined learning and studying after school, evening preps and dawn studies was not possible, we only had one kerosene lamp and shared for domestic works giving me little time to use it and even using it at times, it has negative effects on the users due to smoke from it.![]()
When I received this gift I happened to manage my time, I could wake up in the morning from 5:00 am and cycle out to school to join dawn study and in the evening, I was able to remain at school a bit longer for evening studies up to 8:00pm this really helped me to catch up with other students from able families who enjoyed electricity. My performance dramatically changed and many did not believe I became one of the best performer in the last K.C.S.E of the year 2024, when the results were announced many people in the slum celebrated this success with me and I felt honored and highly respected in the society. My faith and determination propelled me to this great success where about 60 students, my colleagues dropped out of school due to poverty, this is because of transport system is very expensive especially for the poor families.![]()
As at now I plan to join University later this year to pursue a degree in Art and Design, I want to be a designer as a career, I love it so much and God willing, I plan to mentor more young people from the slum to be productive and pursue good causes despite the odds, despite the challenges, I have never been disappointed in my outcomes, my parents now are looking forward for my future support as I did not disappoint them, my sincere thanks go straight to you, Prodigal Bikes and L.G.L for this kindness, love and support, without the bicycle, this was totally impossible, I now appeal and request your charity in advance to continue giving support of bicycles and tools for skills development to support lots of pupils suffering from this slums, with untapped talents, education is the only way out to drive away poverty, they do say, “illiteracy is a sway of human civilization” I really say “illiteracy is a sway of human civilization” I really look forward that my petition and request to your charity for support of bicycles will be granted.![]()
On the other side I am on a fundraising drive to raise funds for my further education and I request you to consider me in prayers as I embark on this cause.![]()
May God bless your charity as you endeavor to reach out and meeting the needs of the people in hard pressed in poverty especially in the third world countries.
Back at the end of October, we delivered 58 bikes plus loads of spares and tools up to Leeds, where it was all loaded into a 40ft shipping container along with loads of other wonderful aid from the Zikomo Trust and Changing Stars Malawi . After a rail trip down to Southampton, boat trips around the Cape up to Dubai, to Reunion Island then to Beira, Mozambique, and an overland truck trip to Lilogwe, Malawi, all this arrived last week. Our man in Malawi, Pearson, did an amazing job getting a truck hired, then getting all the bikes etc. up to the deaf school in Bandawe where our bike project is located (on the west bank of Lake Malawi about half way up). Today some of the bikes were given out. Here's the pictures of a lot of happy people...![]()
Massive Thanks to the Zikomo TrustChanging Stars Malawialawi for a problem-free shipment. Thanks also to the Generations Trust and the Coles Medlock Foundation for their support funding this shipment. And thanks to all our dedicated volunteers, @Yeovil CollegeThe Hub Yeovileovil who collected and fixed up all these bikes last summer.![]()
The teachers in this area of Malawi all live together in accommodation blocks several kilometres from the schools they teach at. We sent 120 bikes here in 2022, to help the teachers get to school more easily. They loved them. Along with the teacher training work done by Hooke Court in Malawi, out partner charity, this area has gone from 16th out of 17 up to 3rd out of 17 in the school league tables. Now with more bikes and a load of bike spares, this project is good to run for a few more years and boost the education of thousands of children in this area. And we will keep supplying beyond that. Not a bad result for some bikes destined for the recycling skip...![]()
Our next project is a huge shipment of 360 bikes going to school kids in a remote part of Kenya at the end of this year, to help them with access to far away education and healthcare. If you would like to support our work, please follow this link and donate:![]()
wonderful.org/pay?ref=1170845