Changing Lives, Two Wheels at a Time.

• Author: Grise, Chrisanne
• Position: Q&A Corner - Brief article

On a family trip to Africa in 2005, 11-year-old Winston Duncan was struck by the poverty he saw. When he returned to his home in Virginia, he enlisted his mom's help to begin collecting used bikes from their community to send to places such as Tanzania and Ghana. Wheels to Africa, their nonprofit organization, was born. Now 24, Duncan has delivered more than 9,000 bikes to people in need over the past 14 years, most recently to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.

(This interview was edited and condensed for length and clarity.)

Q: How did this project start?

A: I wanted to create a tangible way for people to help themselves. I gave my mom some of my birthday money to send some bikes to Africa, and it kind of exploded from there.

Q: How can bikes change lives?

A: With bikes, kids can get to school and have more time for studying or hobbies. And families save on...