Inspirational Woman: Claire Elsdon

(by Amisadai)

We have another very inspirational woman to share with you today! 

We were near neighbours with Claire when we lived in Tanzania, but I was actually first inspired by her when she came to speak at an Isamilo School Assembly in Mwanza about 3 years ago. It was an assembly I will never forget. Not only did she have a leather jacket and ride a motorbike, but she passionately strived to encourage and empower people through what she did … overcoming many challenges along the way!  

Women on motorcycles is not a common sight in Tanzania. Even women riding bicycles has been pretty uncommon … it’s a bit like beekeeping, not something that women traditionally “do.” But Claire has challenged that bias. Seeing the huge need to help midwives travel to help women in labour in remote villages and get women to hospitals, she has taught midwives to ride motorcycles! She has trained women not just to ride the bikes but to be highly skilled at bike maintenance and train people in road and bike safety. This is a huge issue in Tanzania with so many motorcycle accidents and deaths on the roads. They also teach children road and bike safety, which is so important as it can be so dangerous walking or riding the back of a bike to school every day. Through MJ Piki, she has set women up in businesses doing taxi and delivery service on motorcycles. 

The women of MJ Piki

The women at MJ Piki ("Brave women on motorcycles") in Mwanza are amazing and also very inspirational ... and so respected in the community! We would see them when they came to The Hive to collect products from the shop and the organic vegetable deliveries from Mavuno Village to deliver to people’s homes! 

Claire inspires me because she is doing something no one has done before (Pikilily is the first women-led motorcycle social enterprise in Africa); she is not afraid to try something new (and encourages others to do the same) and will do what she can to make a difference. She has taken her passion for riding and bike maintenance, something she is really good at, and used that skill to help and empower others in a truly amazing way. It all began for her when she rode 40,000km from London (leaving her job as a stockbroker) to South Africa on her bike … which is another very inspiring story you must hear about! I'd love to do what she did! You can find out more about Claire and help the amazing work of Pikilily here!

And guess what … I now have her leather jacket! 

And also ... thank you so so much for all the amazing support to Help The Hive. It is so exciting to see that we are so close to our target to help Aikande and Bhatendi and the women they work with at The Hive and in the villages! If you would like to help us with the final bit, please see our Hive Fundraiser Page here