A Motorbike for Rudungai 🇹🇿

I believe that opportunities change lives.

Sometimes they come through education. Sometimes through a job. And sometimes, unexpectedly, through a motorcycle.

A Motorbike for Rudungai grew from a chance encounter on a dusty village road at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro into a long-term commitment to creating opportunities for young rural women in a country where motorcycles have traditionally belonged to men.

It all started with a simple question.

In August 2021, I was riding through northern Tanzania on my way to the hot springs near Rudungai when I stopped beneath a large bougainvillea tree.

A young woman approached, pointed at my motorcycle and asked,

"May I?"

I handed her the keys. She disappeared down the dusty road and returned a few minutes later wearing the biggest smile on her face.

Her name was Germana.

I had no idea that this brief encounter would become the beginning of A Motorbike for Rudungai.

A licence opened the first door.

Back in Arusha, my friend Amani of Moshi Easy Riders offered to help. He returned to Rudungai to find Germana, and Mariam, and over the years became an invaluable part of supporting the women in Rudungai.

The more we learned about life in Rudungai, the clearer it became: the motorcycle wasn't the first hurdle.

Before a motorcycle could open doors, there had to be a licence.

For most women in Tanzania, that wasn't even a possibility. As far as we knew, there were no women in Rudungai—and even across the wider Kilimanjaro region—who held a motorcycle licence.

So that's where Amani and I began. 

Thanks to the generosity of people from around the world, Germana and Mariam became the first two young women to earn their motorcycle licences.

To celebrate, we spent two unforgettable days riding together around Mount Kilimanjaro on Amani's motorbikes.

Not long after, supporters helped to put the first two motorbikes in for the women in Rudungai on the road. 

One step led to another.

What started with two licences quickly became something much bigger.

Germana and Mariam became the first women in Rudungai to legally own and ride motorcycles. Before long, they were earning an income through the local motorbike taxi business (boda boda)—something that had traditionally been reserved for men.

But the biggest change wasn't the motorcycles.

It was what they unlocked.

Confidence. New ideas. A belief that more was possible.

Before long, Sauumu and Helena decided to follow the same path.

They, too, earned their motorcycle licences.

Then something unexpected happened.

The conversations changed.

Today they're talking about something completely different: a poultry business. Raising chickens. Selling eggs. Using their motorcycles to help make it work.

That's when I realised this project had become about much more than motorcycles.

The motorcycles were never the goal.

One of the things I treasure most about this project is that I don't have to wonder what happens next.

Because BIKE 'N SOUL returns to Tanzania every year, I return to Rudungai every year.

Every visit reminds me that real change doesn't happen all at once.

It grows through trust.

Through relationships.

And through people like Amani , who has been there from the very beginning—checking in on the women, introducing new riders and quietly helping the story move forward.

Looking back, I couldn't possibly have imagined where that simple moment beneath a bougainvillea tree would lead.

Today, we don't have to imagine anymore.

• Two young women became the first licensed female riders in their community.
• The first two motorcycles arrived in Rudungai.
• Motorbike taxing became a source of income in a profession traditionally reserved for men.
• Two more women followed in their footsteps and earned their motorcycle licences.

And we've watched four young women begin imagining futures that once felt out of reach.

That's what A Motorbike for Rudungai has become.

* * *

Today, Germana and Mariam are riding. 

In July 2026, Sauumu and Helena earned their full licences.

Now it's time to put motorcycles number three and four on the road.

And perhaps you'd like to become part of the next chapter.

We'll be back in Rudungai next year—creating the next opportunity.