Today is the launch of the Chauncy Maples hospital ship restoration fund raising website.
Robert created the website for Auntie Janie who is director of the project of restoring the ship. Aunt Janie has spent her whole life writing Health books for Africa and making it her main concern.
We are very lucky in the UK to have ambulances, that pick us up from where ever we have an accident, no matter how hard it is for the ambulance people to get to us by sea, air or van. Then we are taken to a hospital that is 5 minutes or so away and then helped by doctors at the hospital with in an hour.
In Africa this is not the case, they are very few doctors per people and hospitals and if you have a broken leg you may have to drag it a few hundred miles to get help.
So the Chauncy Maples is really great, the ship moves around lake Malawi and helps people that live miles apart. The ship was originally made in Glasgow by fine ship builders in 1885 and taken in separate pieces to Africa to be assembled there. The ship has been used constantly, till 2003. Which is a good run of over a hundred years.
I see this project as very important. Much more important then restoring ships for historic purposes or buying a yacht to cruise round the world in.
The quicker the funds are raised to restore the ship the quicker it can be back in action on the lake Malawi, serving the community.
Janie has lots of photos of the parts of the ship that need repairing, for you to see on the beautiful Chauncy Maples website.
1 comment:
Thank you, Eloise. This is indeed an important, and very exciting project which links health care for people who have none, with marine engineering history, and a green approach to restoration and the running of this ship.
Every pound donated will help someone in Malawi stay healthy.
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