TITAN has donated a 40ft container to Prodigal Bikes, a UK-based charity giving old bicycles new life and transforming them into tools for education, healthcare, and employment across Africa.
Provided through our global charitable initiative, TITAN Impact, the container was delivered to Prodigal Bikes’ Somerset base, where it was carefully craned into position after the team prepared the ground the day before. The unit now serves as a dedicated storage facility for refurbished bikes and spare parts before shipment, providing much-needed extra space for the charity’s growing operation.
How Prodigal Bikes Restores and Ships Bicycles to Africa
Founded by Anthony Raybould, Prodigal Bikes collects unwanted bicycles from the public and local bike shops in the South West of England. These are refurbished by volunteers, young people outside mainstream education, and people with special needs as part of vocational training. The charity focuses on simple, sturdy mountain bikes, most of which are fitted with solid tires that never puncture, making them ideal for the rough terrain in rural Africa.
“We’re getting a shipment of 360 bikes ready through the winter – 150 are already prepared,” explains Anthony. “Having a dedicated Africa bike store will really speed up our production. The bikes are donated, repaired, and prepared here before being sent overseas to help children, teachers, and healthcare workers travel long distances more easily.”
Once the current shipment is completed, the team will send 360 bikes, tools, and spare parts to Kenya in another 40ft container. The new TITAN container will remain in the UK as their main storage space for upcoming projects, including future deliveries to schools in Tanzania and Malawi.
Since its founding, Prodigal Bikes has already sent 980 bicycles to Africa. For children who walk many kilometers to school every day, a bike saves time and energy, helping them stay in education. For adults and healthcare workers, it provides essential access to jobs and patients across long rural distances.
Expanding Storage and Increasing Support Through TITAN Impact
The upcoming shipment will deliver bikes to Gai in northeast Kenya, with more continuing to a new project in Homa Bay on the shores of Lake Victoria. Once in Africa, the shipping container used for transport can also be repurposed as a bike workshop, supporting the local community long after its arrival.
Anthony adds that having their own container for future shipments brings several advantages, allowing more time to load safely, avoiding potential demurrage charges in Kenyan customs, and enabling the container to become part of the local infrastructure once it arrives.
Delivering Real Change for Communities Across Africa
At TITAN, we’re proud to see our containers used to enable sustainable solutions like this, helping communities access education, employment, and healthcare more easily.
TITAN Impact supports organizations worldwide that make a difference, giving containers a second life in service of communities that need them most.
