Traveling to Jinja, Uganda there is a whole lot for the visitor to take in. Begin with stroll to the spot where Lake Victoria feeds the source of the River Nile and pay tribute to the place where a portion of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes are spread. Adventurous souls can then brave Jinja’s famous white water rapids on the Nile and encounter some of the biggest known to man. For the more leisurely there is a tour of the impressive Nile Brewery or some great spots for bird viewing.

In the heart of the bustling town of Jinja, you can also find an organization with the motto “moving slowly, but reaching far”, and they are taking the bicycle to new heights. The First African Bicycle Information Organization (FABIO) is an innovative non-governmental organization promoting non-motorized mobility or transport in Uganda and beyond.

The organization formed after the first ever Pan African Bicycle Conference in 2001 which was attended by over 100 participants across the continent and beyond. The scope of FABIO’s work is categorized in two ways: issues of Accessibility, Advocacy and Governance, and the geographical coverage of their programs. In the line of advocacy, FABIO works at the global, national and local level depending on the issue. In Northern and Western Uganda, FABIO is targeting the low income group of people including youth, women, children, persons with disability and persons living with HIV/AIDS.

FABIO’s mission is to empower the people of Uganda by accessing them bicycles, providing quality information impart skills and knowledge on issues of development and also share on issues of non-motorized mobility; advocate and lobby government to recognize non motorized mobility and human rights as a tool of production. 

Capacity building is an important focus of the bicycle, they understand that getting a bicycle in rural Uganda is one thing, but using it to improve the livelihoods is quite another thing. Within this philosophy FABIO provides training and sensitization to beneficiary groups in areas including group dynamics, savings and credit, enterprise management and organization development.  FABIO runs successful programs like “Cycle for Peace” and “Cycling out of Poverty” and will soon be joining with Two Wheeled Foundation in their upcoming “Cycle for Health” initiative.