• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
We Own Adventure

We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

  • Home
  • Newsletters
  • Sponsorship Opportunities
  • Sport Adventures
  • Submit Your News
  • Be an Influencer!
  • Scouting America National Capital Area Council Main website
You are here: Home / Eagle of the Week / Eagle Scout Sends 168 Bikes to Sierra Leone

Eagle Scout Sends 168 Bikes to Sierra Leone

January 18, 2022 by The Scouter Digest Staff

Manav G. of Troop 1983 grew up in India. There he saw extreme poverty first-hand, with families begging in the street to feed their children, and the daily struggles of the people were impoverished. As a result, when he moved to America at age 9, Manav was struck by the luxuries and privileges that many Americans took for granted.

When he joined Scouts BSA to find a community and friends in his new hometown, Manav immediately latched on to the Scouting message of giving back to and raising up others. His dedication extended even to his favorite merit badge, Citizenship in the World, which allowed him to, in his eyes, “see my impact and the ways I can make the world a better place and help, even as a 13 or 15-year-old kid.” So when the time came for his Eagle Project, Manav knew he wanted something that gave back globally. So he collaborated to create a Bike Drive with Bikes For The World. This leading non-profit organization collects unwanted bikes from across America to supply community development programs in impoverished areas of developing nations. The bikes he collected would be destined for Sierra Leone, where children would use them for recreation and adults for their business and travel.

Manav spent the eight days leading up to the bike drive in a focused marketing mode. Worried that, even in a city, there were only so many people with bikes and fewer willing to donate, Manav ensured that his project would reach a broad audience. He combined online social media postings with paper fliers put up in key locations around the city. He also contacted local churches, attended online meetings, and went in person to speak wherever he could. Though the Scout wished he had even more time to continue raising awareness, Manav’s efforts had paid off when the day of the drive came.

Despite his worries about the short marketing period, Manav’s drive was an overwhelming success. Like clockwork, as bikes came in, Manav’s team would quickly offload and begin dismantling them to make it cheaper and easier to transport them abroad. The team would then load the dismantled bikes onto trucks headed for the Bikes of the World headquarters. Such was the massive amount of bikes collected that, at one point, the Scout remembered they covered more than two entire parking spots. With 168 bikes collected, Manav’s project had blown past his troop’s prior record, beating the previous highest bike drive by over 60 bikes.

Though his project has concluded, Manav remains dedicated to helping others worldwide. Manav holds monthly bake sales for the AURED Trust, which supplies hearing aids to hearing-impaired children throughout India. He is also currently interning with an organization dedicated to providing free vaccinations throughout rural America. He plans to study business in college and use his studies to find an intersection between finance and conservation.

Manav urges Scouts to “make the push to Eagle. It’s so worth it. When you look back, it will be such a learning experience and it will be so worth it. There are always going to be things you don’t expect, but try to work around that, and you’ll find all the fun you have with it.”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

You Might Also Like...

The Washington Post Recognized an Eagle Scout Project in Virginia

Clearing the Path

Eagle Scout Project for Sterling Volunteer Fire & Rescue Squads

A Good Outlook on the Overlook

Filed Under: Eagle of the Week Tagged With: Eagle of the Week, Eagle Project, Eagle Scout

Primary Sidebar

NCAC Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Latest Issue

TSD Summer '18 is on Issuu

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • October 2018
  • July 2018
  • May 2018

Follow Us!

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2025 · Genesis Elk on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in