Hind, Zimbabwe – Anna Bhobho, a 31 -year -old housewife in the rural area ZimbabweOnce he was a silent observer in his home, excluded from making financial and family decision making in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a change driver in her town, thanks to an electric tricycle she now possesses.
In many parts of rural sub -Saharan Africa, women have been excluded for a long time from conventional economic activities, such as operational public transport. However, three -wheeled vehicles driven by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a new sense of importance.
“My husband now admires me to take care of a large part of the expenses, including the purchase of furniture and other assets,” Bhochho said in a market where he offers farmers for farmers in the Wedza district, about 150 kilometers (almost 100 miles) in Harare.
Called “Hamba”, which means “go” in Ndebele, tricycles work with lithium -ion batteries with solar load. Mobility for Africa, a local startup, tested the project in 2019 by leasing vehicles to women’s groups for $ 15 per month. Today, individual women like Bhobho can possess them through a lease program.
“I used to depend on my husband for everything, even money for bread,” he said.
Bhochho now has land, has opened a small grocery store, is paying a car and has transferred his children from a rural public school without funds to a better equipped private institution. She wins up to $ 300 per month, comparable to government workers as school teachers.
Beyond material profits, she has gained self -esteem.
“Even my husband and my in -laws respect me more now. No one used to listen to me, but now I have a seat when important decisions are made,” said the mother of three children.
According to Carlin Thandi Ngandu, Community Communication Coordinator for Mobility for Africa, 300 women in Zimbabwe are part of the program, with the aim of ensuring that 70% of the beneficiaries are women.
In Wedza, only women possess and operate tricycles. They receive training in safe driving skills and exchange a lithium battery for a completely recharged after about 100 kilometers (approximately 70 miles) costs $ 1.
Motorcycles are a common public transport in sub -Saharan Africa, and some now change to electricity to reduce fuel costs. The United Nations Environment Program is presenting two and three -wheel electric vehicles in nine countries, mainly in East Africa. In Nigeria, a green energy firm and the United Kingdom Foreign Ministry are providing 120 three -wheeled electric vehicles to women, promoting sustainability and economic empowerment.
In Zimbabwe, the life of many women has changed dramatically, even for those who do not have tricycles but use them for daily tasks. Gone are the days of transporting firewood, water cubes or heavy agricultural products at long distances.
The tricycles, capable of navigating in narrow paths inaccessible for cars, reach remote farms and orchards. Their affordability makes them accessible to the locals.
Hilda Takadini, a tomato farm, said her business has flourished since she began using Bhochho’s transport services. Previously, I had to leave home at 3 am, using a cart lying by ox to travel 18 kilometers (11 miles) to the market. Often, he arrived too late or not, and his tomatoes could.
“I get better prices because now I get to the market on time with my still fresh tomatoes. Even children now know they can trust me for school rates,” said the 34 -year -old mother.
In the Wedza shopping center, almost a dozen women align with their tricycles, which can transport loads of up to 450 kilograms (almost 1,000 pounds) and have a maximum speed of 60 kph (37 mph), waiting for customers. They transport passengers, patients who go to hospitals and people who transport construction materials such as bricks, groceries and firewood.
However, women have to deal with challenges such as the rough terrain worsened by recent rains, as well as several men resistant to see women lead in spaces traditionally dominated by men, Bhobho said.
Beyond business, tricycles are revolutionizing access to medical care, particularly for women and children. Josephine Nyevhe, a health worker from the voluntary community, uses his tricycle to bring medical services closer to rural families.
On a recent afternoon, a group of mothers with children waited on a road. Nyevhe reached its tricycle, hung a weighing scale in a tree branch and began to measure children’s growth. He recorded details in his notebook, offered nutrition advice and sent severe cases to the local clinic.
Many times, its tricycle has served as an ambulance of the village.
“I am on hold 24 hours. I receive calls for strange hours and I have to take people to the hospital. Sometimes she is a pregnant woman who would otherwise have given birth at home in unsafe conditions,” Nyevhe said, with his brown uniform.
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