Boda Girls are pioneering change as the first female motorcycle taxi drivers in their villages. They provide free, safe rides to healthcare in rural areas where distance and lack of transportation often keep women from seeking care.

Boda Girls increase hospital births over 60%

Boda Girls is transforming maternal health across rural Western Kenya, where far too many mothers still give birth at home without a skilled attendant—and where a single delay in reaching care can mean the difference between life and death. In these communities, women have long faced the impossible burden of navigating pregnancy with long distances to facilities and without reliable transport or support.

But Boda Girls is changing that. At Matibabu Hospital, where the program first launched, hospital deliveries rose by more than 60%, a powerful testament to what happens when women are equipped to support other women. Boda Girls ensure that mothers complete all eight recommended antenatal visits, have a safe and dependable transport plan when labor begins, and receive steady emotional support for themselves and their newborns. 

Beyond health, they nurture resilience: each Boda Girl helps establish a kitchen garden at the mother’s home, strengthening the family’s nutrition and creating a sense of community.

Boda Girls are trailblazing gender integration in the transport business

Less than 1% of women in Kenya work in the transport sector, but Boda Girls is changing that narrative. The program empowers women to repair motorcycles, coach fellow Boda Girls to improve their riding skills, and mentor new participants—building the expertise to enter well-paying areas of transport such as taxi driving, mechanics, and driver training, that don't require a  high school diploma. Today, these trailblazing women are not only breaking barriers in a male-dominated field but also providing a pathway for the next generation of women to follow. 

Boda Girls increased their daily income from $1 to $8 USD

Some widowed and single Boda Girls have shared that before joining the program, they sometimes had to beg for food from relatives and neighbors, and on some days, their children could not attend school due to a lack of fees. Since participating in Boda Girls, among the approximately 200 children supported collectively by the participants, no child has missed  a meal or a day at school due to financial constraints. Some children have even been enrolled in better schools farther away, and a few are now in college. Several Boda Girls have expanded their small businesses to multiple markets accessible by boda, while others have leased land and hired workers to grow their enterprises. This is a powerful example of what women can achieve when they have access to their own business, financial coaching, and the power of sisterhood.