Thanks to Philly foundation, bamboo bikes smoothing the road for Ghanaians

Thirty schoolchildren and others in Ghana now have a quicker journey to school, thanks to an Old City couple and their foundation, which raises money to buy bicycles for needy children, farmers and health care workers in the African country.

Patricia Marshall Harris, executive director of the African Bicycle Contribution Foundation, and Florence Torson-Hart, a foundation board member, presented 30 Ghana-made bamboo bicycles at two events last week in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana. Marshall Harris created the foundation last spring to honor her partner, A. Bruce Crawley, an avid bicyclist and philanthropist whom she named as the foundation’s chairman.

In rural areas of Ghana, women shoulder the burden of getting fuel, water and fuel, as well as ensuring their children get health care. Most must walk miles to meet their families’ needs. Students and farmers also typically have miles to walk to get to school or market.

The donated bicycles are the first of 2,500 the foundation aims to provide during the next five years.