MOTO was founded in November 2016, by an empathetic group of friends who wanted to make a real difference. The spark of inspiration came from a lecture Judy Freeman (Founder and Director of MOTO) attended as part of her Occupational MSc course with the University of Cumbria. During the lecture, there was a discussion about occupational deprivation, dysfunction, and equality. Together with Johnson Dickson (Co-founder and Country Director) and Laura Boothby (Co-founder and Advisor), the team worked hard to learn more, and to understand how change could be made and resolved in Malawi and Tanzanian communities she had grown to love. And so, MOTO was born.

It soon became apparent that access to speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy was limited due to resources and access to trained professionals. Access to these therapies often significantly affects those living in poverty, further exacerbating poverty by limiting access to education, work, and social inclusion and increasing vulnerability. MOTO is a small Organization with big international aspirations.