Fuel Crisis and Record-High Diesel Prices
Coming out of the hotel, which is just a short way from the end of the city, there were some pretty long waiting lines for gas stations, meaning that no gas is being pumped, or diesel for that matter. They’re just waiting, expecting a tanker truck and hopefully going to be able to get some.
The fuel here is the most expensive I’ve ever experienced. Diesel costs 6,687 kwacha per liter. With one kwacha in the bank at 1,700, that means for a gallon (3.78 liters) you almost pay $15 US dollars. That’s just sort of insane. Apparently Hong Kong is even more expensive, but that’s the only place that tops this. This is an extreme case — Mozambique was a lot cheaper, and everything else I’ve been to was tons cheaper, but of course the times are changing.
How the Land Cruiser Donation to Ngoma Mission Hospital Came About
Getting on my way to Ngoma, the reason I decided to donate the car to the Ngoma Mission Hospital came about through Julie. She suggested that Dr. Sekke Kayuni would be the right person to ask where the vehicle would have the most use, and he was able to see the Land Cruiser.
The first question he came back with was whether it mattered what religious denomination the recipient was, because it was going to be a religious denomination. I said no, that does not make a difference to me because it’s all about people, and whatever they believe is totally secondary.
He said he’d talk about it with his MD wife and get back to me. A few days later, he came up with the Ngoma Mission Hospital. It doesn’t hurt that one of his study buddies was Dr. Vincent Moyo, who happens to be the assistant medical director at Ngoma Hospital and is also an ophthalmologist — an eye doctor. So that connection made perfect sense.
Working Through the Donation Process
I got to communicate with Agnes, who is the administrator, and ended up dealing with Steven Mvula (M-V-U-L-A), who is helping to administer this whole process. Everything happened pretty much on the day I arrived — I came there in the second part of Friday morning, and we figured out enough. I made sure they knew I really didn’t need to be here anymore. I just wanted to leave the car and be gone.
We ended up driving to Lilongwe that afternoon together with Steven Mvula and got to the place where we needed to get permission and submitted all the documents. He did that by himself while I waited in the car, primarily because I had caught a cold and didn’t want to share it. Plus, they speak their own language that I don’t speak, so hopefully that will work out for the best.
There were a few more things needed, so now at least we know what’s required and Steven can work on those documents. One fascinating item was that they wanted a “”blue book.”” To me, that means Kelley’s Blue Book in the US, which talks about vehicle value. So I took it upon myself to do some research on that.
Staying at Hope’s Inn and Exploring the Area
I got a place to stay at Hope’s Inn, an accommodation run by PBJ4Life.org — Peanut Butter and Jelly for Life. Very American! It’s an accommodation right next to the hospital where they can now house doctors-to-be who come and study at the hospital. Ngoma has been a teaching hospital since 2017.
I also explored a nearby place called Bella Restaurant. Glory be, that’s a lot for one day. I feel pretty good about all this, and we’ll see you tomorrow.
