Novus has received this letter from Roger Neuberg, a member of the Rotary Club of Oadby:
Dear Pam
I hope you and the members of the Rotary Club of Leicester Novus are safe and well.
You will recall that your club supported the eRanger Motorbike Ambulance Project which resulted in a fleet of 32 ambulances being sent to the Mbale Region in Eastern Uganda in April 2014.
An eRanger ambulance bearing your club name is operational at namawanga Health Centre III in the District of Mbale
In the six years June 2014 to June 2020, the District 1070 fleet of eRangers have carried out 31,308 emergency call-outs. 54% of these were for Maternity emergencies. Up to 50% of the total will have been life-saving.
During this period the eRanger sponsored by your club has responded to an emergency 1,729 times. 667 (39%) of the calls were for emergencies arising in pregnancy. The remainder will mainly have been for children under five years of age but include adult malaria statistics and other emergency calls as well. (I took the attached photos of your eRanger when I was involved in training the motorbike ambulance drivers in Mbale in November 2019)
Although initially low, the number of Covid-19 cases in Uganda is now rising rapidly in spite of strict lockdown measures and mandatory mask-wearing out of doors..
On 22nd April 2020, I received the following email:
Dear Roger,
Hope you are well. We are fine this way, trying our best to keep safe.
I’m glad to share with you the 4th Quarter Ambulance data from our partners.
Despite the challenges that have come with the lockdown, they have been able to work, to protect and to save our people.
In fact, the Motorbike Ambulances are among the few vehicles allowed to transport people. So they have been on high demand, helping out in many desperate situations. Many of them have problems with tyres and the wiring system but they serve.
This situation, however, is increasing the wear and tear which raises the cost of maintenance.
We appreciate your support and we are praying that you all remain well in this difficult time.
Loyce
Administrator
PONT- MBALE CAP (Coalition Against Poverty)
The average number of call-outs per eRanger has rocketed since March. Your eRanger carried out 101 call-outs January – March and 190 call-outs between March – June. Although other vehicles are now allowed to carry passengers, there is a curfew between 9.00pm – 6.00am. The eRanger ambulances are permitted to function during the curfew.
It would be tremendous if your club could support the eRanger programme once more. Any amount will be so welcome and will be used for fuel, essential repairs and PPE for the eRanger drivers.
For a BACS transfer, the details are:
Lloyds Bank
Account Name: Partnerships Overseas Networking Trust (PONT)
Sort Code: 30-96-72
Account Number: 64687368
Please indicate that the payment is from your Rotary Club in District 1070.
For cheque payment, if the cheque is made out to: ‘Partnerships Overseas Networking Trust (PONT)’ and sent to me at my home address, I will ensure that it is received by PONT and that they are aware of the source of the donation.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this email. It is amazing to save a single life. For your club to have already saved up to 850 lives is almost beyond imagining. I can only applaud the contribution your club has made in achieving this astonishing result.
Warmest wishes
Roger Neuberg
Member of TRF Cadre of Technical Advisers
Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist
Last edited: 14:40 on Thursday, 01.10.2020
