Bring a Boda Ambulance to Buyobo
Donation protected
For every 100,000 live births in Uganda, 343 women are expected to die (UNICEF). This number is 150% higher than the world average, and 2,450% higher than it is in the United States. This discrepancy is caused by the inaccessibility of urgent medical treatment: the most critical factor in patient survival after severe trauma is time until medical care is received. To reach life-saving medical care, rural villagers and mothers in labor must walk or travel on the back of a motorcycle over long, bumpy roads, which extends the time until treatment or forces many to stick it out in their homes. These rural villages lack any on-call emergency transportation.
We are the Women’s Microfinance Initiative (WMI), an organization that administers small loans to women in rural villages of East Africa. Our organization has worked in solidarity with the rural community of Buyobo for over 10 years. This summer, our eight dedicated college interns stationed in Buyobo, Uganda and Bethesda, MD: Noah Martin, Natalie Andrasko, Michael Chang, Sarah Barasko Martin, Marlee Grant, Madeleine Scanio and Jack Devoe Arnold, looked at this problem in depth and came up with various solutions. After discussing with the community the best way to address the issue of emergency medical care, WMI has determined that an emergency transportation service is necessary. We aim to install an emergency vehicle in Buyobo, and have decided on a “boda” ambulance. Locally, “bodas” are motorcycle taxis used as a main form of transportation. The boda ambulance is a fast, maneuverable, motorcycle-pulled carriage that can minimize the time it takes to reach a hospital while still providing the safety and comfort of an ambulance. If we can install a boda ambulance in Buyobo we will save lives. Communities with boda ambulances report saving an average of two lives per week.
Olive Wolimbwa, Director of WMI, describes walking three miles through mountainous terrain to deliver five of her six children:
“It was unfortunate that all my labor pains started at night. After midnight, around 3 in the morning. So there are no means, there are no vehicles in the community. So I used to walk. I walked for two to three hours to arrive in the hospital. I thank God that all five children were delivered and they are still alive.”
Based on our interns’ research, we have decided to purchase a boda ambulance from PULSE, an East African organization that manufactures affordable, sturdy boda ambulances. The total cost of this ambulance program, including the ambulance, a driver system, and maintenance, is estimated to be $7,500. These costs will allow the service to run for many years. The ambulance program will be managed by a partnership between WMI and the Village Health Teams - two non-profit groups with a proven long-term commitment to the community a track record of successful, sustainable outreach projects. Their oversight will ensure that your contribution is put to good use.
What Your Money Will Contribute:
$15- one month of fuel
$30- phones for the drivers and dispatch
$50- more than one month of vehicle repairs
$150- defensive driver training for an ambulance driver
$500- over a year of vehicle repairs
$1,000- this will help us purchase nearly half of a Boda Ambulance
Thank you,
2016 Buyobo Intern Team
We are the Women’s Microfinance Initiative (WMI), an organization that administers small loans to women in rural villages of East Africa. Our organization has worked in solidarity with the rural community of Buyobo for over 10 years. This summer, our eight dedicated college interns stationed in Buyobo, Uganda and Bethesda, MD: Noah Martin, Natalie Andrasko, Michael Chang, Sarah Barasko Martin, Marlee Grant, Madeleine Scanio and Jack Devoe Arnold, looked at this problem in depth and came up with various solutions. After discussing with the community the best way to address the issue of emergency medical care, WMI has determined that an emergency transportation service is necessary. We aim to install an emergency vehicle in Buyobo, and have decided on a “boda” ambulance. Locally, “bodas” are motorcycle taxis used as a main form of transportation. The boda ambulance is a fast, maneuverable, motorcycle-pulled carriage that can minimize the time it takes to reach a hospital while still providing the safety and comfort of an ambulance. If we can install a boda ambulance in Buyobo we will save lives. Communities with boda ambulances report saving an average of two lives per week.
Olive Wolimbwa, Director of WMI, describes walking three miles through mountainous terrain to deliver five of her six children:
“It was unfortunate that all my labor pains started at night. After midnight, around 3 in the morning. So there are no means, there are no vehicles in the community. So I used to walk. I walked for two to three hours to arrive in the hospital. I thank God that all five children were delivered and they are still alive.”
Based on our interns’ research, we have decided to purchase a boda ambulance from PULSE, an East African organization that manufactures affordable, sturdy boda ambulances. The total cost of this ambulance program, including the ambulance, a driver system, and maintenance, is estimated to be $7,500. These costs will allow the service to run for many years. The ambulance program will be managed by a partnership between WMI and the Village Health Teams - two non-profit groups with a proven long-term commitment to the community a track record of successful, sustainable outreach projects. Their oversight will ensure that your contribution is put to good use.
What Your Money Will Contribute:
$15- one month of fuel
$30- phones for the drivers and dispatch
$50- more than one month of vehicle repairs
$150- defensive driver training for an ambulance driver
$500- over a year of vehicle repairs
$1,000- this will help us purchase nearly half of a Boda Ambulance
Thank you,
2016 Buyobo Intern Team
Organizer and beneficiary
WMI Team
Organizer
Bethesda, MD
Noah Martin
Beneficiary
