Ngwarati Mashonga

That ability proved the versatility in his competence and ability in managing crisis. Ngwarati was instrumental in the set-up and supervision of a further seven Riders for Health country programs in the following countries, The Gambia, Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe from 1999-2016. In 2016 with colleagues in Africa led the establishment of Riders for Wellbeing International in the UK to support the work in Africa.

His rural African village upbringing in Zimbabwe made him to experience challenges encountered in managing of Transport for Health in Africa first-hand. For example, as a toddler, he had to be carried on his mother’s back for several hours to be attended for a Measles illness at a health centre almost 10km away from his village. To equip him to address the challenges Ngwarati was first trained as a motorcycle mechanic (attained skilled worker class 1) for four years in an African Government workshop in Zimbabwe (1992-1995) and experienced the progressive disregarding of standards in the management of fleets first-hand as the years went by. Standards like standardised driver/rider training and following process and procedures in maintaining vehicles and motorcycles viz preventive maintenance and road safety. He observed the same scenario being replicated in most Sub Saharan African countries he visited and worked in. From 1996 he has been working towards changing that.

Ngwarati is a holder of a bachelor’s degree in Commerce (with a specialisation in transport economics) from the University of South Africa (UNISA) and a master’s degree in supply chain and International logistics from the University of South Wales (USW), United Kingdom. He is a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK) (CILT) and a Fellow at the Royal Society of Arts London (RSA). He has attended other leadership courses from the Leadership Trust (UK) and Oxford University and many other high-level conferences e.g., the annual Skoll conference in UK, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conference in Atlanta etc

He gained working experience initially with Save the Children Fund (UK) in 1996 and then with Riders for Health for 20 years. Of which 10 years were spend in Zimbabwe, Africa, where he rose from being a technician to a Program/Country Director. In Zimbabwe he ran the most successful Riders program at the time from 2001-2006 managing over 1000 vehicles for the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (inclusive of ambulances and motorcycles). The Zimbabwe program became a mother program for all other Riders programs in Africa. Systems and processes developed in the Zimbabwe program were replicated in other new countries. At the time Ngwarati using the Zimbabwe experience led the replications in The Gambia (2002) and Nigeria (1999). The other 10 years in the United Kingdom, rising from being a Field program coordinator to being Operations Director, at the time he was responsible for new product development, leading, replicating, and being the immediate supervisor of Riders for Health programs in Africa. From 2015 onwards he started to manage varied partnerships and cooperative agreement projects for USCDC, USAID, and WHO projects.

Ngwarati is also a Board Member for local UK charities and abroad including Nene Hall, Noor Medic (Germany) etc.