Welcome!
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How did this start?
We'll try to be succinct. Malawi has been on our radar since 2010, when Emily and Matt visited "The Warm Heart of Africa" for the first time. In true Malawi style, they made connections with locals everywhere they went, including with village-based healthcare workers who first explained to them how difficult it was for villagers, including pregnant women, to get to the hospital. In the days before they left, they had a local metal worker build the first bicycle ambulance (BA), which they provided to Luhomero village. They left a lot in the hands of the local healthcare workers and villagers, which went on to be an important cornerstone of the project.
In the summer of 2014, Emily easily talked Rebecca into returning to Malawi to further explore the barriers to healthcare access. Via focus groups, they found the methods villagers used to access the hospital included wheelbarrows, home-made stretchers, walking, and carrying each other there. They also found that it was taking the Malawians hours - up to 8 hours - to reach the hospital when they were sick. This was due to atrocious roads, and the fact that it was unheard of for ambulances (and usually vehicles in general) to pick patients up in the villages.
As overwhelming as these findings were, a more uplifting discovery was the effect the initial BA, donated 4 years earlier, was having in Luhomero. It was one thing to see the BA still in one piece, but that it was routinely being used to get villagers to the hospital, and that these villagers felt it was making a huge difference in their health, was heart warming. Matt joined the two in Malawi at the end of the summer, and the Malawi Bicycle Ambulance Project was born.
What is the current status of the project?
Since it's initiation, via the generous donations from friends and family, 21 villages have received bicycle ambulances in 2 catchment areas in Northern Malawi. We have had the opportunity to return to the region -most recently in August 2017- to check in on the project. Though it's been a steep learning curve for all involved (see below re: pig rearing, for example), overall the outcomes have been humbling and promising. Even via conservative estimates, if each BA is being utilized once monthly, this means that the bikes are providing transportation approximately 2 out of every 3 days of the year. Considering how often the Malawians perceive these trips to the hospital as "life-saving", this is a big deal.
What features makes this project unique?
1. 100%: We're proud to say that essentially all of the donations we receive get funneled directly into the project.
2. Promotion of local economy: From the metal worker who builds our bikes, to the seamstress who stitches the water-proof tarp covers over the trailer mattresses, everything is carried out in Northern Malawi.
3. Self-sustaining: The most important feature of the project, the goal is for the BAs to be self-run. As we discuss with all the villages we visit, "the project's success is the villlage's success. We are here as partners". To carry out this goal, each village assembles a committee, which is responsible for overseeing the project and for setting local ground rules. The main strategy for sustainability is... pigs.
4. Pigs: Our Sustainability tab allows you to get your snout more muddy, but overall, each village that receives a bicycle ambulance also receives the resources to raise and breed pigs. By raising and selling pigs, the villages can financially support the necessary BA repairs.
5. Utilization of a pre-existing healthcare agent infrastructure: We are lucky to have 2 outstanding Malawian healthcare agents, who are the local eyes, ears, and legs of the project. It was their idea to use the already in place local healthcare structure, to decide geographically in which villages the BAs would be implemented.
Is there a plan going forward?
Enya! (Yes! In Tumbuka). Slow and steady wins the race, so we're determined that the current villages succeed prior to expanding too quickly. Still, we're always tweaking (for example, we recently provided mattresses for the trailers after we received feedback that this was a need), and we do have the next 5 villages we're planning on lined up. Another plan is to ultimately achieve NGO status, but one step at a time.
How can I help?
We would love your donations and input. Please visit our donations page, or E-mail us to learn more. The other tabs above also link to more information.
