The below is an excerpt from Paula’s email:
As you will quickly understand the most relevant needs to immediately preserve lives are food and medicine. I’ve heard that some of the main organizations assisting are simply running out of food, but I do know that Plan International did assist with some food in our area, but it would have not been enough to last a month. In driving by the Grain Marketing Board on the outskirts of Mutare Christmas day,
that serves all of Manicaland, it appears that the premises were completely empty, with not even one small stack of grain to be seen. We hope to have another shipment from S. Africa some time in January which may be barely enough for our own workers and their families but insufficient to assist the communities. Will keep you posted on this. I think additional could be purchased in S. Africa and brought in if means were available. I can check to see what a shipment would be, but I think it is between ten and twelve thousand dollars, including transport costs, but it may be more.
As to the other needed small projects:
1) Upgrading our vehicles.
2) Drip Irrigation/Greenhouse set-up
3) Boreholes
4) Pump & Generator
5) Income Generating/Skills Training
6) Furnishing an Operating Suite (There is only one at the Provincial Hospital here- thus doctors have to take turns to do surgeries).
Forthwith is what I can tell you now re the above needs. One of our most urgent needs is reliable transport to save lives (as we act as ambulance several times a week) and to transport food as well. We need an all terrain vehicle as the roads we are forced to traverse quickly seriously damage ordinary vehicles and we are constantly paying repair bills. I’ve been told we need a Land Cruiser or similar vehicle, but no used ones are available locally, because everyone keeps theres as they never seem to wear out!
