Riding For Health
R
andy Mamola, motorcycle racer, Grand Prix
winner, generally considered one of the
greats, yet it's his work off the track that will
forever leave a lasting legacy.
While still racing on the world scene the
Californian had a chance encounter with
Africa, through charity fundraising he had become involved
with the Save The Children organisation. This encounter was
to start a project like no other at the time.
Mamola, and his two good friends, Barry and Andrea
Coleman saw something where they could not only achieve
the desired results but also get the people they were helping
directly involved. Through a lot of hard work and a logistical
nightmare, the trio formed Riders For Health.
By 1991 a pilot project was setup and running, it was clear
this was a special achievement. The people of Lesotho were
now able to have access to health services through health
professionals trained to ride motorcycles ... this was Riders
For Health.
Forty-seven secondhand motorcycles all servicing Leso-
tho for five years without a breakdown. It was this attention
to mechanical detail that saw Riders succeed. They'd ad-
dressed the key areas of concern and fixed it, they'd repaired
the bikes and maintained them.
The five years of success in Lesotho saw Riders spread to
Zimbabwe (1993) and Nigeria just six years later. Gambia
TRAVERSE
came on board in 2002, then Kenya in 2007. The last handful
of years has seen Malawi and Liberia also join the program.
The program owes its success to one key area; skills trans-
fer. Knowledge is wealth, and Riders is proof of that concept.
Employing over 900 people (men and women) Riders sees
the local people trained and mentored through a number of
programs. This sees core skills built and embeds a culture of
maintenance so that the vehicles and equipment are respect-
ed and kept in reliable condition.
Riders is all about encouraging a collaborative and enter-
prising approach to the operation, this sees local (nationals
of the country) not only develop the necessary skills but also
the basic want to make the project succeed.
14