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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127680
visits via motorcycle allowed patie nts to
remain with their families - in a la-mile
ra dius from the hosp ital. They recovered faster , and, Mashoeshoe says,
"When the hosp ital quantified th e
results, it also cost much less."
When this reporter met the team two
years ago, he expected anecdotes of the
"day my chain bro ke whilst climbing
the mountain" variety. No luck. First
advisor Mike Gatton (gamely ignoring a
pelvis fractured in a parachute jump)
em phasizes. "Under Mohale Mashoeshoe's management, we have had zero
breakdowns."
In 1992, Masho esho e ma naged 27
bikes which had never broken down in
the field. Never. Today there are 47 bullet- p roo f agr icult ural-spec KV-175s in
the fleet. The two-stroke Kawasakis get
25-30 km per liter, with a top speed of
60 mph.
When Kawasaki ann ounced the dis continuance of the mod el, Johannesburg
impo rter Chris Speight went to Japan to
plead for an 'e xtension. Alth ough th at
was not granted, enough sp ares to see
th e bikes through the ir three-year servi ce is assured. Knobb y tires (ofte n
cheap and cheerful Cheng Shins) are de
riguer. The O-ring cha ins are crucial thanks to Kal-gard lubricant, they usu ally weather one-year or 9300 miles of
rocks and sandwashes.
The riders last even longer . Almost
one-third of them are women . Mohali
Hlasa recently oversaw training of 110
riders in Zimbabwe and will initiat e an
even larger program in Ghana in October. Training is fast and effect ive. "It
averages 30 seconds - 45 seconds for a
slow learner," she smiles. In the beginning they wasted a lot of time teaching
how to balance. Hlasa herse lf was pretty
bruised by the end of her first day .
Then instructor Dave Taylor had this
b rainwave: "If you can s tan d , yo u
already know how to bal ance." N ow
the y demonstrate use of the brake and
cl u tch, tape the throttle open, p lant
learners on the sea t and poi nt them in
the right direction. Bingo! Instant riders.
Of course, training doesn't sto p there,
and is bolstered by periodic refreshers.
As th e sten ch of war comes from
Rwa n da, Barry Co leman sa ys, "T h e
world has to decide wh at to do about its
bigges t and poo rest continent." He pins
most of the blame on a hist ory of colonialism. Efforts to rede em past sins are
fre q uen tly doomed b y a ttempts to
orc hes tra te Thir d World deve lopment
fro m Washi ng ton and Bru ssels. They
do n't trust local people. More than once,
this has materialized as a crate of street,bikes sent to a roadless desert.
Coleman says the root of this hub ris
is a resid ua l "racism, assuming Africans
are so larcenous and stupid, that too l
kits are removed from official cars ", to
prevent theft or misuse. (Somehow, this
reca lls the midd le-American prej udice
tha t all bikers are mindless thugs.)
"Now," Coleman says. "Mahali and
Mahale are sho wing the WOI ld Bank
:
and other big institutions that, with the
right tools and management training,
Africans can control their own development."
Riders for Health's credibility has
sho t up in recent years. Government
ministries in Lesotho and other countries now depend on their expertise.
With Africans in charge of rider training
and fleet management, the European
and American components of the orga nization plan to multiply their support.
"We want millions, " say the Colemans.
That money, coupled with the passion 7
and n uts and bolts p racticali ty - tha t
fuels World Cha mpions, could help put
Africa on course to prosperity.
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