On Friday the 15th of May ADRA Malawi handed over a new bicycle ambulance to Ndunde site in Chiradzulu. The ambulance was donated by private donors from Denmark through ADRA Malawi’s partner organisation ADRA Denmark.
Present at the handover were representatives from ADRA Denmark communication officers Lise Jensen and Mette Hansen, the village chiefs, the ADRA community facilitator and health assistants. After a small formal function the bicycle ambulance was taken in use and tried by the health assistants. The ADRA community facilitator said, “We are very grateful for this precious gift. It will help many people in our community. Zikomo Kwambiri!”
The bicycle ambulance will be attached to Ndunde Health Clinic. The clinic serves 17000 people from the surrounding 49 villages. 250 people are treated at the clinic each day.
The bicycle ambulance will take patients from the villages to the health clinic. The advantages of having a bicycle ambulance at the local health clinics are numerous. As Stanley Mpasa District Coordinator from Mulanje district explains:
“There are very few ambulances in the districts and people who are critically ill have to wait for hours to be taken to the hospital. With the bicycle ambulance, patients can be taken to the local health clinics for preliminary treatment, while they wait to go to the hospital. Furthermore, the bicycle ambulances are able to drive on the smaller roads where ordinary ambulances cannot go. And lastly, the people in the villages have bicycles already and they can maintain the ambulances themselves”.
ADRA Malawi and ADRA Denmark will continue their efforts in providing bicycle ambulances to as many communities as possible.
Kadewera
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