MDF Instruments Crafting Wellness - July 10, 2026
One Question That Changed the Road to Healthcare
Image: Boda Girls, About Boda Girls https://www.bodagirls.org/about-boda-girls
Sometimes meaningful change begins with a simple question. In 2019, while visiting Kenya, Diane Dodge, Executive Director of the Tiba Foundation, met with the principal of a local girls' high school following a volunteer presentation. As they spoke, a student climbed onto the back of a motorcycle taxi driven by a man. The principal shared a concern that many girls relied on motorcycle taxis despite reports of harassment by some drivers.
Diane asked a question they had not considered before: "Why aren't women driving the motorcycles?"
That conversation sparked an idea that would grow into Boda Girls— a program that is transforming access to healthcare while creating new opportunities for women.
Crafting Wellness with Tiba Foundation and Boda Girls
Boda Girls is a program co-created by Matibabu Foundation and Tiba Foundation that empowers women in rural Kenya as motorcycle taxi drivers and health advocates, helping more women safely access essential healthcare while creating economic opportunity.
More Than a Ride
For many women living in rural Kenya, accessing healthcare isn't simply a matter of scheduling an appointment. Distance, transportation and safety can all become barriers to receiving preventive care, maternal health services and cancer screenings. According to Boda Girls, nearly three-quarters of Kenyans live in rural communities, where reaching a hospital or clinic can be difficult.¹
Created through a partnership between Matibabu Foundation and Tiba Foundation, Boda Girls trains women to become motorcycle taxi drivers, entrepreneurs and community health advocates.
The women provide free transportation to pregnant women and patients traveling to essential healthcare appointments through partnerships with local hospitals. Between rides, they operate their own motorcycle taxi businesses, earning an income in a profession that has traditionally been dominated by men.
Every ride represents more than transportation. It is an opportunity for a woman to access care she might otherwise postpone, and for another woman to build a future through meaningful work.
Image: Boda Girls, Our Story https://www.bodagirls.org/our-story-1
Building Healthier Communities Together
The journey doesn't end when patients arrive.
Many of the women transported through the Boda Girls program receive care at Matibabu Hospital, a growing community hospital serving families throughout western Kenya. Together with Tiba Foundation, the hospital is helping expand access to quality healthcare while investing in long-term community wellness.
The impact of this partnership is already being felt. Matibabu Hospital has reported a significant increase in hospital births and greater participation in preventive health services since launching the Boda Girls program, demonstrating how something as simple as reliable transportation can improve access to care.²
To help support the healthcare professionals serving these communities, MDF Instruments partnered with Tiba Foundation by donating stethoscopes and sphygmomanometers, for use at Matibabu Hospital and through the Boda Girls program.
Reliable diagnostic instruments help clinicians provide accurate assessments, confident diagnoses and compassionate care for every patient who walks through their doors.
A Shared Symbol of Care
A recognizable part of the Boda Girls program is its signature pink. From motorcycles and uniforms to community events, the color represents confidence, visibility and the women leading change in their communities.
With that in mind, we selected MDF® Acoustica Pinkore and Pinkalloy stethoscopes as part of this partnership, a small but meaningful reflection of the program's identity and the women working every day to improve the health of their communities.
While the color creates an immediate connection, it's the purpose behind these instruments that matters most. Every stethoscope supports healthcare professionals caring for mothers, families and communities, while every partnership helps remove another barrier to quality healthcare.
Wellness as a Commitment
We believe healthcare extends far beyond the walls of a hospital. Sometimes it begins with a healthcare professional equipped with reliable diagnostic tools. Sometimes it begins with a woman determined to build a better future. And sometimes, it begins with a single question that inspires an entirely new way of thinking.
Through our partnership with Tiba Foundation and Boda Girls, we're honored to support a model that strengthens healthcare, empowers women and creates lasting change for entire communities. Because when barriers to care are removed, healthier futures become possible.
Our Crafting Wellness initiative is a core expression of what we believe: that health is a fundamental right, that the people and animals who need care most are often the ones hardest to reach, and that a company with resources has a responsibility to use them. Across more than 807 missions in 73+ countries, MDF has donated over 45,000 instruments to organizations working on the front lines of global health.
How You Can Help
Organizations like Tiba Foundation and Boda Girls remind us that improving healthcare isn't always about building something new— it's about making existing care more accessible.
Boda Girls - Ways to Give
Tiba Foundation - Ways to Give
You can support their mission by learning more about the work they're doing to expand healthcare access, women's empowerment and community development throughout rural Kenya. Sharing their story, supporting their initiatives or making a contribution helps create more opportunities for women to become leaders, entrepreneurs and advocates for healthier communities.
And if your organization is running a medical mission and in need of medical instruments such as stethoscopes, sphygmomanometer and reflex hammers, visit our Crafting Wellness donation request page to learn how MDF Instruments can help equip your team.
Every act of support helps move someone one step closer to the care they deserve.
¹ Boda Girls. Rural healthcare access statistics. https://www.bodagirls.org/
² Boda Girls Impact Report. https://www.bodagirls.org/impact
About MDF Instruments: Since 1971, MDF Instruments has handcrafted stethoscopes, sphygmomanometers, and reflex hammers used by healthcare professionals in over 73 countries. Our Crafting Wellness program donates medical instruments to missions serving underserved communities worldwide.
Crafting Wellness Missions
Tiba Foundation and Boda Girls
Nampa High School
University of Alabama MEDLIFE
Dr. Garcia Rinaldi Foundation
Rotary International Lander, Wyoming Club
