The Honda Super Cub has been in production since 1958. With well over 100 million sold, this Lilliputian two-wheeled hero is far and away the most-produced motor vehicle in history. It’s been built in 15 countries, and you can even buy one today, which speaks to the Super Cub’s resiliency as a machine and the small-displacement motorcycle’s role as a lynchpin for modern human mobility. This is especially true across the majority world. The Super Cub is a humble avatar of freedom for tens of millions of people and even a lifeline.
In the 1980s, Britons and motorcycle enthusiasts Barry and Andrea Coleman were heavily involved in charitable causes across rural Africa. In many places around the continent, they encountered isolated towns and villages desperately in need of medical supplies and emergency transportation. Often, these communities were littered with motorbikes and other vehicles abandoned by non-profits and other organizations after a small breakdown or other problem left them inoperable. What if, they wondered, those motorcycles could be resurrected and put back to positive use, shuttling medical supplies and equipment, clinical samples, mosquito netting, and other critical stores from urban centers in Africa to rural areas?
In 1986, the Colemans launched Riders for Health in partnership with American motorcycle racer Randy Mamola. The goal from the beginning was to build an African organization for Africans, and it started in the tiny mountain kingdom of Lesotho with a stable of 47 small-displacement motorcycles and a small cadre of trained riders. Riders for Health focused on building medical supply infrastructure and, importantly, implementing a system that helped its riders maintain their vehicles and keep them on the road. In the words of Andrea Coleman, “If every health worker had access to reliable transport, we could transform lives and end deaths from the preventable diseases that kill millions of people each year.”
Riders for Health has operated in 12 African countries over the decades and maintains four current programs in Lesotho, The Gambia, Malawi, and Nigeria. With over 1,000 vehicles at its disposal, including custom sidecar ambulances and other bespoke transport designed specifically to serve rural Africa, Riders for Health employs 600 people and is 100 percent administered by Africans in their local communities. To support the organization, the Colemans established a partner foundation, Two Wheels for Life, whose charitable giving supports Riders for Health’s mission as they strive for zero-breakdown medical services and bolsters its budget to launch new initiatives.
Small motorcycles, like the Super Cub, have always punched far above their weight in the most challenging conditions, and so has Riders for Health. For 30 years, it has helped millions of people across Africa with crucial medical support, and we can expect to see them innovate for decades to come.
Get Involved
Like any grassroots non-profit, Riders for Health depends on the support and generosity of people worldwide who believe in its mission. While they do not operate a formal volunteer program, they always accept resumes from qualified individuals who want to help in the fields of fleet maintenance, finance, data analysis, and many others. Of course, you can also buoy their efforts through direct donations or organizing a fundraiser or rally of your own. To learn more, visit riders.org and twowheelsforlife.org.
Cover Image: Riders for Health, Two Wheels for Life
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal’s Summer 2025 Issue.
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