Father's trip inspires children's giving

HANDMADE—Needy children in Rwanda make their bicycles out of tree branches. Two Agoura youths, Hayley-Morgan and Austin Hess, are raising funds to purchase new bikes for the Rwandans. A local man's business trip to Africa inspired his children to think globally and act philanthropically.

Agoura resident Steve Hess traveled to Kigali, Rwanda, in spring 2008 to offer his engineering expertise to a United States firm and the Rwandan government, which were jointly launching a business to help Rwandan citizens make a living wage.

SolidWorks Corporation in Boston provided the software and business expertise to open Gasabo 3D Design in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Gasabo 3D will provide engineering design services for products like desks, parts used in oil fields and pumps, Hess said. Employees will design the products and market their services via the Internet.

The goal, Hess said, is to provide Rwandans with new work opportunities. The smallscale effort has helped 15 Rwandan citizens receive training so far, but Hess believes the company will grow each year and provide many people with better paying jobs.

"People can start making more money than the $40 per month that they make working in the fields," Hess said. "It's the worst poverty I've ever seen."

When Hess returned home, he shared pictures, stories and a view of life in Africa with his children, Hayley-Morgan, 9, and Austin, 7.

When Hess told them about Rwandan children who build their own bikes out of wood, HayleyMorgan and Austin wanted to help. The Hess kids decided to raise enough money to buy 10 bicycles for Rwandan boys and girls.

"Having a bike in Rwanda is like having a limousine," Hess said.

So far, Hayley-Morgan and Austin have raised $1,100, enough money for six bikes. The children's fundraising strategy has been simple—just tell people the story of how Rwandan children are so desperate for transportation that they will use branches and other found items to make their own bicycles. Friends, family, neighbors and teachers have been so moved by the stories of poverty that they have happily donated funds for the bicycle cause.

Kona Bicycles, a company in Santa Barbara, provided a deep discount on the bikes, but Hess, his wife, Patricia, and the children now face a new challenge— raising the funds to ship the bikes to Rwanda. They hope to either raise extra money to ship the bikes directly to Rwanda or find a company that will provide shipping services at a reduced rate.

The bikes, Hess said, will be distributed by a church to children who need them to attend school.

Hayley-Morgan said she wanted to help the children in Rwanda because she "saw how poor they are and how much they need to survive."

Austin, who said he loves riding his own bike and doing jumps, wanted to help when he heard how rare it is for children in Rwanda to own their own bikes.

"I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes," said Patricia Hess about how proud she is of her children's growing concern for people around the world.

Patricia Hess was even more astounded by the ingenuity of African children. "They literally made scooters out of tree branches," she said. "Sometimes 10 kids will share one bike—we have five out front."

The trip to Africa was a "life changing" experience," said Hess.