Pius, a boda boda rider from Bwiru B – Mwanza, has shown tremendous change in protecting his community against acts of gender-based violence and exploitation. One day, while going about his business and carrying a passenger, he came across an older woman beating an adolescent girl by the roadside. Pius pleaded with her, asking why she was committing such an act of abuse, but the woman continued without listening, saying, “This girl keeps bed wetting.” She kept beating her while pouring water on her for some time.
What Pius did next was to report the incident to the local street leader (Mwenyekiti wa Mtaa), who then called the Police because of the abuse that was happening. Afterwards, Pius went to give testimony about everything he had witnessed.
Pius is one of 170 boda boda men from Ilemela and Misungwi districts in Mwanza who were trained on social norms—especially in communities in the Lake Zone, where age-disparate transactional sex between adult men and adolescent girls is prevalent. This project was known as the Learning Initiative on Norms, Exploitation and Abuse (LINEA).
The training emphasized viewing adolescent girls as children who still have a future ahead of them, taught the riders about STIs and STDs, encouraged them to love their families, and support their partners (wives) economically by working together.
This project was conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, with funding from the Oak Foundation.