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Malawi
Bike Ride 2007
In
May 2005, Rev Thain took part in a sponsored cycle ride to
raise funds for Ekwendeni Hospital, Malawi.
In 2007, he returned to Malawi to raise funds for the Edinburgh
Medical Missionary Society and extended his trip to visit
and forge links with several schools and hospitals in the
country. This is his 2007 report.
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A
gigantic thank you to all of you who supported my efforts
for the Bike Ride in aid of Edinburgh Medical Missionary
Society's (EMMS) support for Mulanje Mission Hospital
and Tiyanjane Clinic, Blantyre.
My
personal total so far is £17,091. This includes another
great effort by the kids of Bankhead Primary School,
Knightswood (where I am chaplain). They raised £2333
by all taking part in their Malawi challenge, simulating
walking to school, carrying water, carrying fruit, gathering
sticks, carrying a friend to hospital, picking cotton
and dodging mosquitoes (giant ones hanging in the bike
shed).
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 After
seeing my 2005 photos, Mary's cousin Sarah Henderson (my mother
in law's namesake), a midwife in Inverness, was one of the
first to sign up for this year's ride. Now, Sarah is 33, fit,
adventurous and well able to look after herself, but given
how fond Mary's mum is of her youngest sister's youngest,
I think perhaps I'd better keep an eye on her. Besides which,
I might have to answer to Auntie Joyce who has about as much
enthusiasm for this trip as my mum......
The big
plan was that after the Bike Ride I'd use study leave to see
the outreach clinic work from Mulanje Hospital & visit several
primary and secondary schools run by the Church of Central
Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) with a view to links with schools
in west Glasgow. Sarah would extend her stay and learn about
midwifery Mulanje style. To get around, John Challis (Raven
Trust) offered a loan of his Toyota pick up, which we could
collect in Lilongwe.
The week
before leaving I repeat the quip about the second most dangerous
creature in Malawi being the driver. (It has the world's highest
rate of road deaths.)
Wednesday
9th May. St. David's' June newsletter comes out before I'm
back at work, so I have to write a 'minister's letter' in
advance! What I wrote included this:
"Well",
you may be asking. "Did he make it? After all that talk, raising
money and planning, did he make it to the end of the Malawi
Bike Ride in Mulanje or did he get the upset tummy and fall
over again? ..... Soon we will be hearing all the tales of
blistering heat, creepy-crawlies, saddle sores, bats, bad
driving, near misses, how many cyclists fell off, etc...."
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