We now have a Project Vehicle! How thankful are we?
We are SO thankful! We have a Hard-top Land Cruiser! A rugged, durable vehicle, especially built for off-road driving! This has been something we have been looking to get since we arrived in Mwanza, and our prayers have been answered! Thanks to the very generous provision of funding from Emmanuel International Australia, we have been able to buy this well-cared for Land Cruiser in very good condition from a German couple leaving Mwanza last month. We want to say a huge thank you to the awesome Aussies who have made this possible! Thank you, Allison Chapple for all you did to make it happen!
This will make such a huge difference to the work we are able to do here. We want to be working with people in rural areas ... but it has been difficult making sure we had a vehicle in town for school pick-up which ranges from 2:15-4:30pm on different days. This has limited the distance Tim has been able to travel for projects and the time he has had in the village. And he won't miss waiting for daladalas and bouncing on pikipikis for getting from A to B! Also, especially with rainy season starting now, which makes the roads to villages so terrible, we really needed a tougher vehicle with higher clearance, able to take the beatings on the roads! So, yes! We are SO thankful!
We picked the vehicle up on Sunday morning and already we have put it to the test! Watch the clip below to see our drive to school yesterday... eeks!
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Driving to School from Rachel Monger on Vimeo.
On Monday morning, we had one of the most torrential rainstorms we have seen here. It was loud and powerful and the amount of water was unbelievable! It was gushing in torrents like a mighty river down our road and through our property. We managed to get out to drive the girls to school, but even the main roads were terrible, completely flooded with overflowing deep ditches with small wooden bridges floating down the middle of the road. Yet, daladalas, small cars and motorbikes persisted in trying to navigate the chaos. We didn't realise at the time, but where we drove through, there were four deaths that we know of, where motorbike riders and passengers were washed away in the torrents. There were more deaths across the city and many homes were damaged or lost. It is tragically sad, and puts our leaky ceiling and flooding basement into proper perspective. But locking into 4-wheel drive, our Land Cruiser took us safely along the eroded roads, through the torrents, pot holes and mud.
It is hard to effectively communicate how much having a good vehicle means here. It means a lot. In many ways. And we are so very grateful.
We are SO thankful! We have a Hard-top Land Cruiser! A rugged, durable vehicle, especially built for off-road driving! This has been something we have been looking to get since we arrived in Mwanza, and our prayers have been answered! Thanks to the very generous provision of funding from Emmanuel International Australia, we have been able to buy this well-cared for Land Cruiser in very good condition from a German couple leaving Mwanza last month. We want to say a huge thank you to the awesome Aussies who have made this possible! Thank you, Allison Chapple for all you did to make it happen!
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| Three Cheers for a Land Cruiser...! |
We picked the vehicle up on Sunday morning and already we have put it to the test! Watch the clip below to see our drive to school yesterday... eeks!
.
Driving to School from Rachel Monger on Vimeo.
On Monday morning, we had one of the most torrential rainstorms we have seen here. It was loud and powerful and the amount of water was unbelievable! It was gushing in torrents like a mighty river down our road and through our property. We managed to get out to drive the girls to school, but even the main roads were terrible, completely flooded with overflowing deep ditches with small wooden bridges floating down the middle of the road. Yet, daladalas, small cars and motorbikes persisted in trying to navigate the chaos. We didn't realise at the time, but where we drove through, there were four deaths that we know of, where motorbike riders and passengers were washed away in the torrents. There were more deaths across the city and many homes were damaged or lost. It is tragically sad, and puts our leaky ceiling and flooding basement into proper perspective. But locking into 4-wheel drive, our Land Cruiser took us safely along the eroded roads, through the torrents, pot holes and mud.
It is hard to effectively communicate how much having a good vehicle means here. It means a lot. In many ways. And we are so very grateful.
Thank you EI Australia Team!
A good vehicle is truly a blessing. Well done to Emmanuel International Australia for making this possible. When we were in Musoma we were even blessed with diff lock and locking 4 wheel drive from inside the cab!
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