Dear Friends of Makeni,
I am sorry I have to bring you today a very bad bit of news. Two weeks ago, our Family Planning vehicle went on one of its usual rural visits to bring family planning services and supplies to Chongwe District, a remote rural area.
While on a badly potholed road, staff suddenly detected acrid smoke in the cabin of the vehicle. As they were coming to a stop to investigate, the interior of the vehicle burst into flames. They, and local villagers, made desperate efforts to extinguish the flames with sand and fresh leaves, but the fire quickly raged out of control. Soon the whole vehicle was engulfed in flames and those trying to put out the fire were driven back by the intense heat and by the danger of the fuel tank exploding.
The fire was apparently caused by the fact that the garage which recently repaired the vehicle moved the battery from its usual place under the bonnet to a site under the rear seat of the vehicle. Although we are still awaiting the police's report, we are 95% certain that this caused the fire. The battery was moved because the plate on which it stood had been corroded away by acid; as a result, acid corrosion had also begun to affect engine parts. The garage manager says he consulted with MEC's management over this problem, and that there was mutual agreement to move the battery, a procedure he had used on several Toyota vehicles.
The vehicle was totally destroyed and is a write-off. It was comprehensively insured till April of this year, when it had to be decided to terminate this very expensive type of insurance due to budgetary constraints and the age and condition of the vehicle - the vehicle was twelve years old.
The loss of the vehicle puts an end to all our rural family planning work. This constitutes 75% of our clientele. A new vehicle will cost US$19,118 for a high clearance Toyota singlecab or US$9,789 for Toyota Venture van. It is unlikely that we shall be able to find a grant for this as we have already in vain been battling for nearly two years to get longterm funding for the Family Planning Project. It therefore looks like this valuable project, which served tens of thousands of families, shall finally, after 28 years, have to close down.
The reason why we bring this report so late to you is because we are so depressed by this development. We are very sorry to bring you this bad news.
With sincere regards,
Yours in Christ,
Fr Pierre J Dil / Hon. Chairman