World Bike Relief has pledged to send 7,000 bicycles to seven countries in Africa by November 2008. Its commitment, announced at the Clinton Global Initiative, will focus on Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia, and is expected to cost $980,000 once assembly, training, and program evaluation costs are factored in.

The Chicago, Ill.-based non-profit aims to "directly empower the poorest people through affordable access to sustainable, quality mobility resources." Or, in plain speak, it gives the world's poor bicycles so they can get around in a non-polluting way. Mobility, after all, is a form of liberation in itself, opening up a world of possibilities that may not have been available before.

WBR purchases what it calls "culturally appropriate" bike locally, in order to help create jobs and promote economic growth. What this means is that the organization will welcome your donations—your spare bike parts, not so much. ::World Bicycle Relief

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