Hino South Africa supports programme to provide bicycles to rural communities
Hino South Africa recently provided support for a fourth mountain bike ride linked to conservation through the P.E.A.C.E. Foundation, an NGO which fulfils the People part of ERP (Elephants, Rhinos and People), which seeks to preserve and protect elephants and rhinos living in the wild in South Africa through a strategy based on rural poverty alleviation.
The project has already provided more than 1 000 bicycles to learners from the Barokologadi community, living adjacent to the Melorane Game Reserve in the North-West Province. The strategy is to improve access to education and thereby address poverty which is a root cause of poaching and the destruction of wildlife habitat.
Hino provided support in the form of a Hino 300 Hybrid truck with a van body which transports the donated bikes from Pretoria to the game reserve for distribution as well as providing back-up for a group of cyclists who cycle four days from Centurion to the reserve, with the most recent route covering 342 km. The company then supplies Toyota Quantum minibuses to transport the riders back to the starting point.
The #BIKES4ERP project, known as the Tour de Melorane, is the brainchild of two associates from EPI-USE, an international IT company based in Pretoria. Nicolai van der Merwe and late Gert Vermeulen, two keen cyclists, began the project in 2016. Unfortunately, Gert lost his life in 2021 when Gert was shot while cycling in Centurion, so the continuation of the project is dedicated to keeping Gert’s dream alive.
The objective of donating bicycles is so that learners can get to school far easier and quicker than walking from far flung villages and that their education will help uplift the local communities. Usage of the bikes is monitored by the relevant schools and the project owners. #BIKES4ERP have trained three mechanics in the area who are paid a monthly salary and continuously supplied with tools and spare parts to repair the bikes when necessary.
Hino got involved for the first time in 2024 and continued in 2025 and this year there have been two of these rides, one in May and a second in August. Hino once again used this project to promote its fuel-efficient, diesel-electric hybrid 300-Series truck, which is undergoing evaluation in South Africa currently for possible introduction in the future.
“We are proud of our ongoing support for this innovative conservation project which also gives us the opportunity of hosting customers on the ride,” commented Anton Falck, the Hino SA Vice President and himself a keen mountain biker. “This latest ride saw a group of 20 riders complete a demanding route with the worthwhile reward at the end of seeing the big smiles when the donated bicycles are handed over to the learners.”
