Last weekend, a very special journey came to an end. It took me from Cape Town via many places in Namibia, Zambia and Tanzania to the Musichimi Health Centre in Eastern Uganda. While I had travelled all these countries before, I had never done so with the responsibility to deliver a much needed ambulance vehicle.
I want to thank the board of Freundeskreis Uganda e.V. as well as our friends at the Musichimi Health Centre and Community Initiatives NGO for supporting the initial idea and for entrusting me with this honorable task. I also very much appreciate the warm welcome we received from the community who lives in the vicinity of the clinic. That, I will never forget. I want to thank all donors for supporting the purchase of a suitable vehicle with their donations. Without you, the Musichimi Ambulance would have remained but a dream. I appreciate the support from Chris Pollak and Wolfgang Kruszek who, respectively, designed and printed the stickers for the ambulance. Solidarity made in Geislingen…
Moreover, I owe big thanks to Michael Scott and Tellan don Millan, two first class car mechanics with a big heart who were very supportive of the project and managed to even teach a good-for-nothing like myself a few things about cars. Make sure you do not go for any other “fundi ya gari” once in Cape Town and Dar es Salaam, respectively. Thanks to all the strangers who caught a lift with me for the interesting conversations – sometimes in sign language, for the lack of a common spoken one.
Last but not least, I want to Thomas Lamparter for his support and for joining me for the last leg of the journey… “Nisamehe” to all the others whom I forgot to mention here. I am grateful to have you around… It was an unforgettable mission – unthinkable without you.
For those interested, HERE you can find a few more photos as well as some explanations about the project. Alternatively, invite me for a (gluten-free) beer and I’ll tell endless stories from a “safari maalum”.