Boda Girls is a women-led program that advances health and economic empowerment for women, expanding across rural Kenya.  We train cohorts of women to become successful motorcycle taxi drivers and community health advocates. Our drivers are typically the first females to own and operate motorcycle taxis (called boda bodas) in their villages.  Boda Girls provide rural women with free rides to clinics for preventive care, overcoming critical barriers such as long distances and lack of funds for transportation, and sexual harassment from male drivers, which can prevent rural women from accessing care.

Sexual & Reproductive Health

“When women can choose to time and space the births … families are healthier, children are better educated, and families are wealthier.”
 – Melinda French Gates

Problem:
In rural Kenya, many girls lack menstrual health education and sanitary products. Women of reproductive age often go without information or support when it comes to family planning.

Solution:
Boda Girls deliver sexual and reproductive health education in schools and provide free rides to family-planning clinics. 

Problem:
Pregnant women often walk miles to maternal clinics or go without care due to the cost of transportation. Western Kenya has high maternal mortality rates. 

Solution:
Boda Girls ensure that women receive prenatal and postnatal care by providing free rides to all antenatal clinics, which include ultrasounds, nutrition counseling, vaccinations, planting kitchen gardens, and more.

Problem:
Kenya has one of the highest cervical cancer mortality rates in the world, and breast cancer cases are steadily rising. Over 70% of these cancers are diagnosed late — when treatment options are limited and outcomes are poor.

Solution:
Boda Girls provide free transport to screening clinics, encourage HPV vaccination among girls, and support early detection campaigns and treatment in their communities.

The best part is, Boda Girls are so much more than just Boda taxi drivers; they are health advocates and community leaders! We equip them with a mastery of various competencies to support women of all ages, throughout critical times of their life.

The power of sisterhood is central to the program: cohorts of 10 women, all in pink FIGS scrubs on pink motorcycles, are trained to open doors in their communities, breaking gender barriers in a traditionally male-dominated field and increasing their own daily income from $1 to $8. 

The economic impact extends to the Boda Girls' families: children attend school without interruption, several have gone to college, and some women have purchased land or started side businesses, hiring their own employees.

Beyond improving women’s access to healthcare and enhancing their own and their families’ economic prospects, Boda Girls inspire entire communities, showing girls and women alike that a woman can do anything - even drive a motorcycle while earning a livelihood and supporting her family.

Boda Girls learn self-defense and teach women and girls in the community.

A key to Boda Girls’ success is male engagement. Boda Girls are reshaping gender norms in rural Kenya by earning community trust and male support through safe, reliable service — with about 40% of their fee-paying passengers now men. Once seen as competitors, many male drivers now collaborate with and even advocate for Boda Girls, recognizing that empowering women strengthens the entire community.

Read more about Male Engagement here