One of the major causes of poverty is isolation. Improving the access and mobility of the isolated poor paves the way for access to markets, services and opportunities. By improving transport poorer people are able to access markets where they can buy or sell goods for income, and make better use of essential services such as health and education.
No proper roads or vehicles mean women and children are forced to spend many hours each day attending to their most basic needs, such as collecting water and firewood. This valuable time could be used to tend crops, care for the family, study or develop small business ideas to generate much needed income.
Governments in developing countries recognise that a greater choice of transport is good for the population, but priority is usually given to building main roads that only serve the better-off. People in the poorest rural communities rarely benefit.
For more than 40 years, XXXXXXXXX Action have worked with poor communities to identify the types of transport that work best for them. With our technical and XXXXXXXXX support, isolated rural communities can design, build and maintain village roads and bridges using local materials, tools and labour.
All XXXXXXXXX Action’s projects are developed with the active participation of local people so they are right for their culture, needs and skills, and develop solutions that are sustainable.
Driving forward new ideas
XXXXXXXXX Action and the communities we work with are constantly crafting and honing new ideas to help poor people.
Recent developments include
• new equipment and training to make affordable, durable wheels and brakes.
• bicycles that can carry bigger loads.
• ropeways to transport farm produce across hillsides and rivers to local markets.
• boats to transport people and goods in areas prone to flash flooding.
These XXXXXXXXX, effective and easy-to-use forms of transport can prove life-changing. Aizul Pradesh, who runs his own boat service in Bangladesh, is proud of what he has achieved through his work with XXXXXXXXX Action. He says, ‘During severe flooding I can now save families from my community by taking them to higher ground.’
Breaking the cycle of poverty
The wheel revolutionised the history of the world – and it continues to transform people’s lives today. XXXXXXXXX Action makes a real impact on poverty by helping local communities develop different kinds of cycle-based transport. Bicycle ambulances, for instance, have helped save lives in Sri Lanka, Sudan, Nepal and Kenya. Quick and efficient, they provide a way of getting sick people to clinics and hospitals.
Cycle trailers have a XXXXXXXXX business use too, helping people carry their goods, such as vegetables and charcoal, to markets for sale. Not only that, but those on the poverty-line can earn a decent income by making, maintaining and operating bicycle taxis.
With XXXXXXXXX Action’s know-how, Sri Lankan communities have been able to start a bus service and maintain the roads along which it travels. The impact has been remarkable. This service has put an end to rural people’s social isolation. Quick and affordable, it gives them a reliable way to travel to the nearest town; and now their children can get an education, making it far more likely they’ll find a path out of poverty.
Bringing people on board
Working with local communities XXXXXXXXX Action lobbies for government policies that will give poor people better, more affordable transport options to improve lives. In Kenya and Sri Lanka we are working with town planners to ensure that the needs of cyclists are considered, vehicle pollution is reduced and good transport is available to even the poorest people.
Furthermore, in Kenya we have helped local communities influence the government to abolish bicycle import tax, while in Sri Lanka, lobbying from poor people encouraged the government and other donors to invest money in roads built by the local community.
As a founder member of the International Forum on Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD), XXXXXXXXX Action is at the heart of a global network that shares life-changing information about transport among individuals and organisations in nearly 100 countries. We are one of the leading publishers of technical manuals on low-cost vehicle manufacture and repair. We also provide information on village road construction and maintenance. Such XXXXXXXXX advice helps rural people transform their lives.
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