We received this letter from a missionary in Malawi that just began using a Basic Utility Vehicle in their ministry. It is another example of how a simple solution like a BUV can change the life of a village.
Dedza, Malawi … 09/19/2008
Our School Was “Just Far”
Our group was up to 20 and we were headed for a meeting that was described as “just near” by one of the natives. After about 30 miles on a dusty, pot-holed bush road, I asked the man beside me how in the world they could think the meeting was “just near”. He explained it this way. “In our country our people have to walk everywhere they go. Hence every place is 'just far'. But, when Americans come here they travel around the country in cars. That is very easy so we say the distance is now 'just near.' "
Therefore no matter how far you must go in Malawi, if you have a motorized vehicle “just far” turns into “just near.”
Our School is now “Just Near”
Recently this same experience became reality for the children on the farms of Mama Cecelia Kadzamira near Dedza, in the central part of the nation. It came suddenly with the arrival of a motorized Basic Utility Vehicle from the Institute for Affordable Transportation in Indianapolis, Indiana in cooperation with the Malawi Project. The day the unit arrived the distance to school changed from “just far” to “just near”.
Not only is it more convenient for the children to get to school, it is now possible to get produce to market in a timely efficient way, carry the heavy bags of maize to the maize mill, and transport sick patients to a medical facility that was nearly impossible to reach before the basic utility vehicle arrived in Malawi. The trading center is now “just near”, the hospital is “just near”, and the life of the village has taken a definite turn for the better.
When i jump in my car and go to the grocery store tomorrow to pick up a gallon of milk, I now know the store is "just near." Come to think of it, I think I'll leave my car in the garage and walk to the grocery, it's not that "just far."
Ned
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