ABOUT US

How we change lives one bike at a time

Wheels to Africa (W2A) is an all volunteer 501(c) 3 organization whose principal purpose is to collect bicycles for needy communities in Africa and America. A secondary principal purpose of W2A is to serve as an educational and volunteer platform for developing tomorrow’s leaders. Wheels to Africa strives to educate volunteers on how their quality of life compares with poorest world communities and to perpetuate a “pass it on” commitment to aid those who are less fortunate.

How We Got Started

Wheels to Africa was founded in 2005 by an 11-year-old Arlington County boy named Winston Duncan.  Since 2005, there have been 32 bike collections and over 15,000 bikes collected and donated to needy communities across the globe.  The December 2008 collection set a record – 1,000 bikes in 1 day. The community and individual support received by Wheels to Africa has propelled the organization to expand its reach to enlist more communities to donate bikes and provide financial support.

Why did Winston want to send bicycles to Africa at such a young age?

Winston was very close to his grandmother, Deda Duncan, who had emphysema and had to have oxygen 24 hours a day.  Winston and his grandmother had a unique relationship built on love, kindness, admiration, compassion, and empathy.  Winston was his grandmother’s right-hand man.  He got her medicine, helped her with little tasks, and was eager to assist with anything necessary.  When Winston visited South Africa and saw an old woman working with a young man he reflected upon his grandmother.  How would this women get her medicine?  How far does she have to walk?  Does she have water and food?  Winston could not forget this woman and her circumstances. So he decided he would ship a bicycle to her so that she could get her medicine.  His simple solution to a big problem lead him and his friends to host the first bike collection and Wheels to Africa was launched. Today thousands of bicycles have been collected and donated and thousands of families benefited as a result.