A number of grant making trusts have also supported the appeal which has meant we’ve been able to secure a Griffon hovercraft which will be suitable for use in Mozambique and Madagascar and which is currently being made ready in the UK. We understand the greater needs of the people of Haiti and now Chile have rightly been responded to by many of our supporters and we are tremendously grateful for the sacrificial giving by so many in supporting our work too.
The rains in southern Africa have been less than feared, and consequently the gates on lake Kariba have not had to be opened yet despite the reservoir remaining very full compared with average years. There have also been fewer cyclones than predicted which means that at the time of writing there has been far less flooding than was expected by the Mozambican government when we met them in December. The rainy season is far from over, and cyclones may yet strike Mozambique so we will continue our efforts to get the hovercraft to Africa as swiftly as we can.
Over the past ten years there have been numerous occaisions where floods have devastated many thousands of lives in Mozambique and the surrounding countries. Whilst the Zambezi has remained quieter than expected for the past month we cannot expect that to remain the case. Flooding has occurred on the Incomati river further south and we are continuing to watch the rivers along the east coast as the rains inland reach their peak in the coming few months.
In the mean time we are continuing our work in Madagascar and the first Mad Medical Safari team returned from the field this week after providing an clinic attended by over 450 patients.
