On the road in Sierra Leone with Bombali’s ‘bike ladies’
Mariama Timbo is a striking figure – and not because of her pink motorcycle. As the sole female biker in her province ferrying people and goods to town, she is now training a new generation of women to follow her leadWords and photographs by Caitlin Kelly in Makeni, Sierra LeoneStreaming through the green fields of Sierra Leone’s Bombali district, Mariama Timbo sits tall on her pink motorbike. Women selling nuts on the side of the road wave as she glides by; policemen give an approving nod as she passes through checkpoints. “They don’t give me any trouble,” she says – a badge of honour in the rural district. Taking her time on the rocky roads, she brakes, slowly approaching the bumps.Her careful driving is not the only thing that makes Timbo stand out. The 26-year-old is the sole female motorcyclist in the northern province ferrying people and goods to Makeni, one of Sierra Leone’s fastest growing cities.Mariama Timbo outside eWomen, an NGO that helped her apply for a grant to learn how to ride a motorbike Continue reading...
Mariama Timbo is a striking figure – and not because of her pink motorcycle. As the sole female biker in her province ferrying people and goods to town, she is now training a new generation of women to follow her lead
- Words and photographs by Caitlin Kelly in Makeni, Sierra Leone
Streaming through the green fields of Sierra Leone’s Bombali district, Mariama Timbo sits tall on her pink motorbike. Women selling nuts on the side of the road wave as she glides by; policemen give an approving nod as she passes through checkpoints. “They don’t give me any trouble,” she says – a badge of honour in the rural district. Taking her time on the rocky roads, she brakes, slowly approaching the bumps.
Her careful driving is not the only thing that makes Timbo stand out. The 26-year-old is the sole female motorcyclist in the northern province ferrying people and goods to Makeni, one of Sierra Leone’s fastest growing cities.
Mariama Timbo outside eWomen, an NGO that helped her apply for a grant to learn how to ride a motorbike Continue reading...
