Wheels of Change International | Making a Difference: Two Wheels at a Time

Our Mission

To help the people of Africa gain access to mobility and a better life for all in their communities. As an organization, we want to help form the foundation for change in Africa, driven by the simple belief that a bicycle can make a difference.
Get Involved

Get Involved Have you ever wanted to make a difference but don’t know where to start? Have you ever wanted to get involved but don’t know how? It’s simple. Donate a bike. Change a life. 100% of all donations, cash, equipment and materials go directly to the recipient communities in Africa. To date, over 10,000 bicycles have been shipped overseas. Every little bit helps, whether you are donating a bike, donating money, or even starting up your own chapter of Wheels of Change. Your generosity will help change the lives of many African citizens. Things you can do: Donate a bike (or two or three) Financial donations (through paypal) Volunteer your time to help load shipping containers Encourage your friends, family, and community groups to do the same If you want to learn more about how you can get involved, submit you contact information on our Contact Us page. Or check out our Upcoming Events page to learn when and where you can donate a bicycle! Help us spread the word and keep the movement going!
The Facts

A bicycle, one of the simplest transport technologies, is affordable and can be maintained anywhere in the world with minimal tools and spare parts. Yet for millions of low income people, a new bicycle is financially out of reach. Meanwhile, in the western world we discard thousands of bicycles each year. When a bicycle is donated, the possibilities are endless and the math becomes simple. In the hands of a healthcare worker, they can cover four times the ground than otherwise on foot. This translates into four times the number of patient visits and four times the number of medication disbursements. Wheels of Change helps fulfill a basic need: to provide a distribution vehicle for improved healthcare for those too remote from formalized healthcare facilities. But it doesn’t stop there. Why bikes? A healthcare worker visits 3 to 4 times the number of clients with a bicycle compared to walking. Girls are 70 percent more likely to attend school if their household owns a bicycle. 5km on foot = 1 hour / 5km by bicycle = 20 minutes. A bicycle carries up to 5 times the load compared with a person walking.

About Us

Wheels of Change International was founded by a group of entrepreneurs that shared a common passion for helping those that need it most. Wheels of Change collects donated bicycles in the United States to be shipped overseas to Africa. Upon arrival of the container in Africa, local people are trained in both bicycle mechanics and simple business methods. The container the bicycles arrived in is turned into a bike shop, selling bicycles and other helpful tools at a subsidized cost with 100% all profits going back into the community.

In 2010 Dan Austin, co-founder of Austin~Lehman Adventures, was upgrading ALA’s fleet of bikes and was looking for something to do with the 120 used bicycles that he had. Dan came across the organization Bicycles for Humanity (B4H) and decided to start up his own chapter in Montana. He quickly went to work collecting bicycles in Billings, MT and he soon had well over 400 bikes to be shipped to Ngoma, Namibia in Africa. In the spring of 2010, the first shipment had left Montana bound for Ngoma. In the summer of 2010, Dan and his son Andy accompanied the opening of the container.

In 2011 Dan and other leaders with experience collecting and shipping bicycles to Africa joined forces with Michael Linke of Bicycle Empowerment Network- Nambia (BEN) to form Wheels of Change. The success of WOC Montana led Dan Austin to reach out on an international level to create WOC International.WOC International will continue to ship bicycles to Africa as well as other helpful supplies. In addition to the bicycles and supplies, WOC international will work with the local townspeople to create more opportunities such as jobs and tourism. If you would to contribute to WOC international and help this wonderful cause please visit our Donate page and find out how you can help.