Container FCL64, carrying the “Good Hope”, arrived safely at Chilumba on Lake Malawi on 9th August. When it had been lifted off the lorry the next day and opened, it was found that the boat had travelled thousands of miles from Macduff without damage.

John Watt, who built the boat at Macduff Shipyard, was on hand to help with the unloading and re-assembly. A group of scouts from York were also there to witness and record the historic event..

At 14.30 CAT (Central Africa Time) on Monday, 10th August the “Good Hope” was lifted into Lake Malawi and, after final checks and stowing of equipment, the engine was started and she set off on Lake Malawi for the first time.

On Tuesday John Watt and George West took her down the Lake to Mlowe where she will be stationed and laid her mooring there. Her “placing on station” service was held on the beach the next day. The Malawian “boat boys” are delighted with the boat and the way she handles - even in rough weather.

Within a fortnight “Good Hope” had made her first emergenct run - to evacuate a newly delivered mother who was haemorrhaging and needed urgent hospital treatment.

Livingstonia Eye Clinic - 20th June

Work progresses well in the warm, dry weather. The walls have been built up to window height and the first lintel has been placed in position today. It is expected that the bricking, up to wallplate level, will be completed by Wednesday this week. The workforce consists of 4 bricklayers and 8 labourers who have been able to collect materials from the various local sites. We have Tiwonge as foreman again and Muma Cook makes the boys tea and sweeps and clears up at other times. The treated timber for the roof has arrived and roof trusses will be started this week by Mzimbe, a local carpenter.

We have since heard that the roof trusses have been constructed and put in place and the roof is now being put on.

General News

Fortunately there is not too much malaria about at the moment and the crops are being harvested, so there is lots of maize about in the country. At Ekwendeni, they only had 2 cases in the hospital nutrition unit.

The local chief from Chitimba died last week and many people were involved in the funeral arrangements. Some of the work force were absent for a couple of days as a result. It was very strange driving into Chitimba on the day of the funeral. There was no music, many of the shops were shut and all was very quiet as people went about serviceing the busses etc.

Mlowe Water Mill

Chris and I went to see the storm damage on Friday. The storm ripped through the source channel to the pond which has silted up and the wheel is damaged. We have been asked to estimate costs for rebuilding and strengthening, which we will do this week.

Arrivals

Next weekend (27th June)sees the arrival in Lilongwe of Keith and Judith Feay. Keith will be doing some x-ray maintenance as well as running a training course at Ekwendeni for 8 electrical engineers on x-ray and other equipment.

Update - The course was a great success and much appreciated.

First - the bad news
The mill lade serving the water mill at Mlowe has been almost swept away by the storm which caused so much damage in Ekwendeni at New Year. Professor Alan McGown will be in Malawi soon to survey the damage and make new plans.

and the good news…
The building of the Livingstonia dental / eye clinic is coming on well. Daniel and John laid the foundations during their visit in March, and now the walls are up and the roof is going on. There is still much to be done, but it is hoped to have the building finished soon.

John returned to Malawi on 1st June with youngest son Chris. John will be to building the new dental / eye clinic facility at Livingstonia, and the maternity wing at Ekwendeni and he will also help supervise the unloading and recommisssioning of the marine ambulance “Good Hope” in August. Chris, who is a trainee civil engineer, will be working on the plans for the Mlowe Mill, the Gorodi Road and looking at various wells in the area under the guidance of Professor Alan McGown, and will also be helping with the dental / eye clinic new build at Livingstonia.

A little over a week after the commissioning service, the “Good Hope” was partially dismantled, turned on her side, and very, very carefully loaded into a container with all her attendant equipment for the long journey to Lake Malawi. She should arrive in August. We wish her, and all who use her, God speed - may she be of great service to the people of northern Malawi.

To see more of the loading process, please follow this link

During his two week visit to Macduff Shipyards to familiarise himself with the marine ambulance and be present at its sea trials, Lovemore Mkandawire was not wasting any time. He was fascinated by the tools and machines around the yard and will take back to Malawi a new skill - gas welding. Taught by the men at the yard, Lovemore succeeded in making a perfect weld at his fourth attempt. He then went on to manufacture one of the anchors for the “Good Hope” which was then galvanised and shipped out to Malawi with the boat.

We are sure this anchor will, indeed, hold!

Good Hope in Macduff Harbour

On Saturday 2nd May, Rev David Randall, minister of Macduff Church, led the commissioning service for the new marine ambulance designed and built by Macduff Shipyards Ltd. As the day was cold and blustery, the first part of the service was held in the fish market next door to the shipyard, but as the crowd of around 350 moved outside for the launch, the sun came out and the wind dropped.

The marine ambulance was named by Lois Watt, daughter of John Watt of Macduff Shipyards, who broke the traditional bottle across the bows and named the boat “Good Hope”, the name chosen by the Synod of Livingstonia.

After the Good Hope had been lifted into Macduff harbour, there was an opportunity to try her out around the harbour.

To see pictures of commissioning service follow this link

The Marine Ambulance, which will serve the people around northern Lake Malawi, came off the stocks and was launched on Saturday, 25th April. There to witness the event with John Watt of Macduff Shipyards were Young Soko of Livingstonia Primary Health Care and Lovemore Mkandawire, the engineer who will be responsible for the running of the boat when it reaches Malawi. The boat will be named and commissioned at a service to be held at Macduff on Saturday, 2nd May at 3pm and who all would like to attend will be welcome. The name chosen for the boat by the Synod of Livingstonia is “Good Hope”. Thanks to Ena Macnab and Eunice for the photographs.

 The commissioning service for the new ambulance boat will be held on Saturday, 2nd May at 3pm. All are welcome to attend. Lovemore Mkandawire, the engineer who will be looking after the boat when it reaches Malawi , and Young Soko will be at the service and Lovemore will be working on familiarising himself with the boat during its sea trials.

 The new male ward toilet and shower block at the David Gordon Memorial Hospital in Livingstonia, funded by Rotary, was completed with the tiling of the floor, painting and plumbing work. The water system is now working. Hot water will be provided by a direct solar heating system.

The bench saw at the Ekwendeni Lay Training Centre got a lew lease of life lately when new drive belts and blade, provided by Ian Dickson from Irvine, were fitted to it. The bench saw came originally from Dunoon and has given good service for over two years. Thanks to the new parts, it is now working like new.

During his recent visit to Malawi John Challis took the opportunity to hand over a cheque for £520 from Lochgoilhead Church to Mrs Soko of Livingstonia Primary Health Care. The money will be used to buy mosquito nets for those too poor to buy them for themselves but who do not fall under any of the government schemes.

Iain MacPhillimy, Trustee of the Raven Trust, loads the last box into the container which was packed at Strachur on Thursday 19th February.The box was one of 1134 sent off in this consignment and included 119 boxes of bedding and household supplies,
133 of hospital equipment and supplies,
266 of educational materials,
320 of used clothing and shoes
48 of toys and sports equipment
29 of tools
90 sewing and knitting machines and craft supplies
and 12 bicycles.

Within a few minutes the container set off on the first leg of its journey to Malawi

The commissioning service for the new ambulance boat will now be held on Saturday, 2nd May at 3pm. All are welcome to attend. Tourist accommodation in Macduff is limited, so if you would like to attend but would prefer to stay overnight, we suggest that you contact the Tourist Information Centre in Banff (tel. - 01261 812 419) to book accommodation.

Lovemore, the engineer who will be looking after the boat when it reaches Malawi and is put into service, will be arriving in Scotland near the end of April to attend the sea trials and familiarise himself with the vessel.

After the commissioning service, the boat will be loaded into a container during the week commencing 4th May to begin its journey to Lake Malawi.

It may seem strange that the Raven Trust sends quantities of blankets and woollen clothes to such a hot country as Malawi. However, many of the children we work with live in the mountainous region, high above sea level where it can get very cold, especially at night.

Because of the high rate of death among infants, babies are sometimes not particularly well looked after until they are considered “viable”. Not only do these clothes and blankets keep them warm, but also, the fact that the baby has been given a special gift can increase its chance of good care.

Donation of knitted and crocheted goods for children are always needed.