Riding Toward Health: A Fistula Ambassador’s mission in motion to reach underserved.

Riding Toward Health: A Fistula Ambassador’s mission in motion to reach underserved.

Tatu Bona is more than just a Community Health Worker, she is also a passionate Fistula
Ambassador, serving the people of Nyarugusu Village in Geita District. Her mission is deeply personal: to
bring hope and healing to women living with obstetric fistula. Everyday, she educates communities, identifies and refers women in need of treatment, raises awareness, and follows up with survivors after surgery to ensure they receive the psychosocial support required to reintegrate into their families and
communities.

Life in Nyarugusu and the surrounding villages is not easy The communities are scattered across vast distances, with households often separated by kilometers of rough terrain. For Tatu, reaching everyone who needs her help has always demanded extraordinary devotion, time, and resources. And because her role is voluntary, the challenge of covering such wide ground was even greater.

Before receiving a bicycle, Tatu would walk an average of 7 to 12 kilometers per day as far as
her workplan is concerned to conduct household visits and community education sessions. This
meant she could only reach 6 to 8 households in a single day. Progress was slow, and the need
was overwhelming. But everything changed when she received a Buffalo Bicycle on 8 th July 2025
through the Amref Health Africa Tanzania under the support from World Bicycle Relief.

“With this bicycle,” Tatu explains, “I can now travel across several villages in my catchment
area, reaching hundreds of households every month with vital health information. I’m able to
visit between 22 and 34 households per month conducting awareness sessions and following up
with women who have received treatment or are rebuilding their lives through livelihood opportunities.

These visits ensure survivors continue to receive quality care and the support they need to thrive again.” Her impact goes beyond fistula awareness. Tatu also promotes antenatal care by encouraging pregnant women to book early clinic visits and deliver at health facilities. She educates families on child nutrition, vaccination, and tuberculosis prevention, helping to build healthier communities from the ground up.

The bicycle has transformed her work. It has given her mobility, efficiency, and the ability to be
present whenever and wherever she is needed. “I am now reachable all the time, even beyond
my catchment area,” she says proudly.

Gratitude shines through her words: “I am truly thankful to Amref Health Africa, World Bicycle
Relief, and Magu Poverty Focus on Older People Rehabilitation Centre MAPERECE for
supporting our work. With this bicycle, I can continue reaching more households, identifying
women in need of care, and improving the health of my community.”