DariusBashar.com

It has been exactly seven weeks since my trip to Ghana and not a single day has gone by where I haven’t thought about the incredible people I met during my travels. I can still see and hear those beautiful children laughing and dancing around in their vibrant yellow school uniforms. It amazes me how many of them there were. I would start talking to a handful of them, and then turn around for a moment and before I knew it there were hundreds of smiley faced, bright-eyed children waiting for me to do something “funny”. 

I will never forget the looks on the children’s faces when the truckload of bicycles arrived into the city, or better yet the excitement in their eyes when they got to ride their very own bicycle for the first time. It took me a while to fully appreciate the significance of these bicycles. For me, growing up in North America, a bicycle was almost entirely used for fun. Bicycles in Ghana on the other hand are interchangeable with water trucks, ambulances and school buses. They are a means to a better life, especially considering many of the children in Ghana travel 8-12 kilometers a day in the sweltering African heat, just to get to school.

As a social entrepreneur and a big idea enthusiast I am thoroughly impressed with how the The Bicycle Factory program works. The people at Cadbury, who run the program, could have easily cut a check and called it a day. Or they could have sent over a bunch of bicycles on their own. Truth of the matter is, there are still lots of companies out there that approach corporate social responsibility (CSR) with a “let’s do as little as possible, as quickly as possible so that we can get back to business.” mentality.

The approach Cadbury took however was totally different. Instead of making The Bicycle Factory about the good they are doing in the world, they decided to shine the spotlight on their customers and let them be the heroes. The way the program works is that every time you buy a Cadbury product (Dairy Milk chocolate, Trident gum, Halls, etc) you can visit www.thebicyclefactory.ca and enter your UPC code. Each time you do, Cadbury donates one virtual bicycle part. One hundred bicycle parts equals one fully assembled, brand new bicycle Cadbury will donate to kids in Ghana. Over the last two years Cadbury has sent over 9000 bicycles to deserving children in Ghana. The reason Cadbury chose Ghana was because they have been work with the Cocoa farmers in Ghana for over 100 years and have a long history of supporting the local communities through a variety of sustainability programs and initiatives.

Want To Make a Difference?

The Bicycle Factory program kicks off again for a third year on April 18th so please, please, PLEASE help us to send as many bicycles as humanly possible to the amazing children and people of Ghana.

Here is the kicker; from now until April 18th if you “Like” the Bicycle Factory Facebook Fan Page, Cadbury will donate one virtual bike part to the cause. Again, one hundred bicycle parts equals one fully assembled, brand new bicycle that Cadbury will send over to Ghana. Now that is pretty freakin cool!

One Last Thing

Just for fun, and in order to sweeten the deal (pun intended) the first 20 people to comment, like or retweet this post will get a free chocolate candy on me. Who could say no to delicious chocolate. ;)

Full Disclosure: I do not work for and do not get paid by Cadbury or anyone associated with The Bicycle Factory. They did however pay for my trip to Ghana in order for me to take in the full experience and come back and share it with all you fine folks. For that, I am forever grateful. :)

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