Crutches 4 Africa Hit 51,000 MD's Distributed

Trip 13 goals

Establish potential partners for Rotary grant.

 This goal was met with our contacts with the Rotary club of Tororo and the Kampala central RC.  In addition initial contact was made with the DGE of the new district coming into existence in July of 2013.  Further dialogue is in progress to further develop all of these contacts

Develop additional contacts in Uganda for future distribution partners. 

Three primary contacts were made in this area.

 1)        The Ugandan Defense Forces.  Several dozen mobility devices (mds) were delivered to a local military hospital in Tororo district.  This contact was initiated from their side and we were pleased to meet their request.  Additional mds were requested for their ongoing need and to also supply another larger veteran’s hospital in western Uganda.  The UDF would provide necessary transport of those mds to that hospital.  Discussion for further collaboration took place with the possible provision of UDF vehicles to be used to transport container(s) from Mombasa, Kenya to Uganda.  Also discussed was the need for sharing of these mds once in Uganda.

 2)      Ugandan district collaboration.  These districts are the equivalent of our US states but much smaller.  There are 111 districts in Uganda.  Their involvement will help with contacting disability groups in their district and actual distribution.  It is the desire of C4A to have the districts work hand in hand with local Rotary so as to provide joint accountability.  Tororo district is the point district in Uganda for outreach to persons with disabilities.  This should lead to C4A obtaining appropriate documents for unhindered transport throughout Uganda.  This is a constant hindrance as police and military have arbitrary stops along the roads with requests for documents which may be occupied with another area of transport in some other district. 

 3)      Church, Mosque and local hospitals/clinics.  These contacts continue to provide a continually wider network across the country and provide direct, hands on distribution.

Evaluate the functionality of donating future containers for to local disability groups for workshops.

 This is a definite area of need as disability groups are in great need of workshop space.  Every group we visited during this distribution was wide eyed at the possibility of obtaining an empty container for this purpose.

Experiential travel possibilities for working with volunteers to come on future distribution trips.

 The couple that accompanied us on this distribution were acquaintances at the beginning and sold out comrades upon their departure.  Providing this travel/distribution aspect for supporters of C4A, both in and external to Rotary remains a high priority for C4A.  The greatest difficulty remains the arrival and customs clearing of the container.  When C4A owns the container, this relieves the need for secure storage making it much easier to then arrange for a distribution trip.  NO DISTRIBUTION TRIPS SHOULD EVER BE PLANNED WITHOUT THE CONTAINER HAVING CLEARED CUSTOMS!

Evaluate essentials for distribution trips with volunteers.

 This area includes first night accommodation needs, i.e. air conditioning?  Safe vehicle and safe driver requirements.  Research needs to be done on what type of release is needed for C4A not to be responsible for any and all incidents.

 Essentials would include:

      Safari

Recommended.  It’s just crazy to go all that way and not check out the African wildlife and natural reserves.

     Length of trip

Two weeks is recommended with shorter trips possible.  Three weeks is our personal limit with our possibly staying a few extra days for cleanup operations.

     Expenses, how much would a trip cost?

$4,500 - $5,500 is the optimal goal.  Current airline tickets with KLM and affiliates runs + or - $1,500.  Game park fees, vehicle rental including larger trucks to transport mds to outlying areas, hotel, labor costs for native workers (primarily loading and unloading the container and transport trucks) and fuel are the largest costs.

Conclusion:  With each distribution trip we find greater clarity on what where when and how as we seek to stream line distribution and to include more people in the distribution experience.  Keeping a distribution team small is essential.  A team would include two team leaders with not more than six additional distributors.  Flexibility and a “can do” attitude are a must.

 David Talbot

founder, www.crutches4africa.org

 "MOBILITY, a basic human right!"