Mary's Bike- Stories from Sierra Leone

Early last year, Mary graduated from nursing school, transferred to Lunsar, and immediately got a job at the hospital. Then the pandemic hit. She found herself in the middle of a health crisis in a position to make a life saving impact on her community.

But her job also put her in a dangerous situation. Her new commute required that she use public transportation which increased her risk of contracting and spreading coronavirus. Fortunately she also received this bicycle through our partner Village Bicycle Project- Sierra Leone.

Mary was quick to seek out a bike because of her experience through the Ebola outbreak in 2014. One of her fellow nurses lost nine family members to Ebola after one of them got sick from sharing rides with other people and brought the virus home and infected his family. She made the decision then to avoid public transportation.

When VBP brought the bike project to Saint John of God Hospital Mary was quick to sign up for a bike. She now saves time and money on her commute and avoids crowded transportation