IVECO has donated two brand new Daily panel vans to Qhubeka, a registered Non Profit Organisation whose mission is to improve access to essential services through the provision of bicycles. The vehicles will be used to help Qhubeka with bicycle mechanic training in the communities in which it operates. Part of Iveco’s medium range, the New Daily stands out for its reliability, efficiency, quality, and customer value. The two vehicles being donated will be used to help Qhubeka’s trainer as he visits the communities to teach the bicycle mechanics. The vehicles are kitted out with the latest technologies for driver comfort and safety, including air conditioning with automatic climate control and Daytime Running Lights (DRL).
In addition, the New Daily offers the most modern active safety systems, namely ABS 9 + EBD. The vehicles are also equipped with a convenient storage for tools and personal effects located above the driver’s and passenger’s heads.
“Our trainer, Des, can now take the bicycles, spares, tools and everything else he needs, in the vehicle with him in one go. Essentially, the Daily has become his mobile bicycle mechanic training centre.” Says Qhubeka Director Anthony Fitzhenry.
IVECO has previously donated two other vehicles, a Daily and a Stralis truck, to Qhubeka and its partner Wildlands Conservation Trust. “Qhubeka sincerely appreciates IVECO’s continued support and their assistance in helping us to mobilise more people with bicycles,” says Fitzhenry.
Qhubeka helps rural people move forward and progress by giving them bicycles in return for work done to improve their communities. Having a bicycle changes lives by increasing the distance people can travel, what they can carry, where they can go and how fast they can get there.
Most of Africa’s rural population has no access to transport and people have to walk long distances to access opportunity, education, healthcare, shops and community services. Rural schoolchildren are particularly badly affected by lack of mobility.
In South Africa, of the 16 million school going children, 12 million walk to school. Of these, 500,000 walk more than two hours each way, spending four hours getting to and back from school each day. Bicycles are the most effective and economical method of quickly addressing this problem.
