Riders for Health

New Year message

A New Year message from our operations director, Ngwarati Mashonga

Dear friends, colleagues and supporters,

Ten years ago I was working in Zimbabwe as Riders’ transport resource manager, having joined four years earlier as an apprentice technician.  In 2007 I moved to the UK, joining Riders' resource team here, and I am now helping to launch new programs in more countries, allowing us to reach even more people. I have seen firsthand how much we have grown, but I honestly believe that the most exciting times are still to come. 

With a new year, and indeed anew decade upon us I wanted to take a few moments to look back at our recent achievements, and more importantly to tell you of our plans for the future.

Even though we have come so far our goal remains the same. We still believe that no one should die simply because they cannot be reached, and we will not rest until everyone is reached. At Riders we have always known that reliable transport can have a huge impact on health care. Thanks to your support over the last decade, we have been able to show the world just what can be achieved.

A tangible impact
Along with our colleagues in our field programs we have been helping to mobilize more health workers so we can achieve our target of reaching an extra 10million people by 2015. We are setting up new workshops, giving more local people the skills they need to be technicians and training health workers how to ride motorcycles safely so they can reach isolated villages regularly and predictably.

Our team in the Gambia launched our new Transport Asset Management program last year and in Kenya we are mobilizing carers from community organizations dealing with a range of health and social issues. In Lesotho and Zimbabwe we are continuing to work with the ministries of health to help them reach isolated communities and strengthen their health care systems.

It is very important for us to be able to show our partners exactly what a difference reliable vehicles can make in Africa. This is why, in September, we announced a new partnership with Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in a five-year project funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This project aims to show the link between the mobility of health workers and improved health delivery.

Social enterprise
During the last 10 years we were proud to be given the Skoll Award for Social Enterprise. Working with the Skoll Foundation, and the network of organizations it brings together, we have shown people the impact that a social enterprise, like Riders for Health, can have on some of the world’s most difficult problems. Last year Riders was named the winner in the social enterprise category at the 2009 Third Sector Excellence Awards.

Motorcycling
Throughout the decade, Riders has received generous support from the motorcycle community. MotoGP and its fans helped raise an incredible total of $450,000 in 2009 at events like Day of Champions. I went to my first Day of Champions in 1997 and I still get excited each year before the British MotoGP. In 2010 the event will be at Silverstone. More information on this along with USA circuits at Laguna Seca and Indianapolis will be announced very soon on www.riders.org. On behalf of all of my colleagues in Africa I would like to thank everyone at Dorna,the FIM, MCN and at all the circuits for supporting our life saving work.

We were all drawn to Riders for Health for the same reason – we could not continue to see people die because the health care they needed did not reach them. Thanks to your support, and the tireless work of my colleagues in Africa, every day we are getting more health workers on the road. I am currently speaking to ministries of health and organizations in more countries across Africa and I hope to be able to bring you news about new programs very soon. I am sure that you will agree that 2010 will be a very exciting year for us all.

Best wishes and thank you,
Ngwarati Mashonga
Operations director

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