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Bikes for Zambia Focus of Project Proposal
SAN DIEGO, CA (December 14, 2006) – When 22-year-old Vaughn Spethmann first chose to major in international business administration, the Azusa Pacific College student’s motivation was to have a job that enabled him to travel and see the world.
Then three years ago, Spethmann, a member of Clairemont Covenant Church, traveled to Zambia for a five-week mission trip during which he taught at an orphanage and coached soccer. His life changed. “God really moved on my heart,” he says.
 That was when he began to consider how to help the people of the impoverished African nation. Now the Urbana 06 student missions conference has included his business plan to start a bicycle factory in Zambia as one of seven finalists in its “Open for Business” competition.
Spethmann and his partner and fellow student, Dustin McBride, could receive up to $40,000 to use as startup money, if their plan is chosen. The special Open for Business track and competition at Urbana is designed to encourage people to use their business skills to share the gospel. The accompanying photo shows Spethmann (left) and McBride. Spethmann says the bicycle factory would provide jobs, desperately needed transportation for others to find work, and funds for helping with other mission programs, such as orphanages. “It could be a self-sustaining entity.”
“Bikes we throw away cost $200 in Zambia,” Spethmann says, adding that is far more than nearly everyone can afford. For the few people who do have jobs, they often have to expend 85 percent of their income on public transportation to get to and from work.
Spethmann is not a cycling enthusiast himself, but he sees the market opportunity in Zambia. Manufacturing bicycles also is a justice issue, he says.
Much of the country’s valuable minerals and ores are shipped out of the country with the money remaining in the hands of a few, Spethmann says. He notes that China will buy the raw materials and then sell the bikes to Zambian businesses that set prices higher than most can afford.
By manufacturing the single-speed bikes locally, Spethmann says, more money will stay in the country, workers will get paid a fair wage and will be able to afford transportation.
The factory will provide jobs, but it was working with the children that initially captured his heart. Spethmann looks forward to profits eventually helping them. He taught at an orphanage, and the soccer enthusiast also helped the children improve their game.
In California, Spethmann had become “a father figure” to a young nephew who had lived with his family. “I’d look at the kids and I would think, ‘What if this was my nephew Elijah?” Even still, Spethmann says, “My heart breaks all the time.”
Spethmann can hardly believe how far the project has come. “It’s amazing how God is opening doors,” he says. “There’s no way two 22-year-olds could make this happen.”
The two will make a five-minute presentation to judges who already have read the proposal and then answer questions at the conference. Regardless of whether they win the money, the duo plans to pursue the project. “Missionaries in other countries tell me they think it can work,” Spethmann says. They already are working with contacts in Zambia.
Spethmann says the probability is increasing that he will have to travel to Zambia to get the project rolling. Because of school, the earliest possible date would be in July.
The two men must submit their final proposal to Urbana this week and have been working with a number of people to help them refine their plan. The two have to finish their final submission among other deadlines as well. “We’re in the middle of finals so we’re scrambling,” Spethmann says. “I feel like I’m taking 25 units.”
Visit Open for Business to learn more about the contest and its goals.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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