Boda boda riders stationed near the footbridge are, in practice, often the first people on the scene when someone slips, falls, or is injured at the crossing, long before any formal emergency service can arrive in a neighborhood without a nearby ambulance base.
Recognizing this reality rather than fighting it, we partnered with a Kasarani-based Red Cross volunteer trainer to run a one-day basic first aid course specifically for the riders who work the footbridge stage, covering wound care, managing suspected fractures, safe patient movement, and when to call for further help rather than attempt transport themselves.
Twenty-eight riders completed the training and received a small first aid kit for their stage, stocked with basics like bandages, antiseptic, and gloves, replenished through a small monthly contribution the riders themselves agreed to pool.
“Before this training, if someone fell at the bridge, we would panic and just try to rush them somewhere on a motorbike, sometimes making the injury worse. Now we know what to check first and how to move someone safely.”
— Boda boda rider and training participant
This is a small, low-cost intervention, but it fills a real gap: the footbridge is roughly a fifteen-minute walk from the nearest health centre, and those first few minutes after an injury often determine how serious the outcome becomes.
We hope to run a refresher session annually and would welcome a partnership with a health facility willing to donate replacement first aid supplies for the stage's kit.
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