Bad news and Good news
Bad news first,
One of my relatives and a very good friend passed away this week. She died of HIV /AIDS. I took her to the hospital where they tried everything possible but there were no signs of improvement. She fought really hard but unfortunately she lost the battle. In all honesty, it’s hard to come to grips with this especially after trying really hard, doing what we possibly can, including changing hospitals and we lost a dear one. She died the morning of Aug 19th.
She was 30years old and left behind four kids with a drug addict husband. The older girl who is 12 has to assume full responsibility of the family now.
When she passed, I purchased the coffin that same day, and we transported her home. We spent the night around the fire with other mourners; we dug the grave very early the next morning (with the help of friends and neighbors) and laid her to rest in the afternoon. I’m sad for the kids she left behind especially the little girl, because I know exactly what she is going through, since I was once in those shoes and I hope the best for them. There’s nothing more to really say without this becoming lengthy and extra sad. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
Good news,
The good news is that we finally filled to become a Non-profit. Please visit our website at www.cabikesuganda.com read and see how the project has magnified. Especially read about “what we do” section to see how big we’ve become, and how we are hoping to reach out to more and more people as we move forward.
To become a full registered non-profit we need three certificates to begin operations. We have received two of the three Certificates allowing us to begin; one from the Sub county level and another one from the district. We are waiting on the third one from the Nation level which will be coming soon if all goes as planned.
Another interesting idea is to build a boda boda bike to contribute to the Ugandan economy and may be create jobs for a number of people. In Uganda boda bodas are the most popular bicycles or motorcycle taxis available for hire in urban centers. They operate within a small radius from the town center.
Here is a typical Bicycle boda Boda
It is purely mechanical and one has to be very strong to carry a client (passenger) or load.
Below is the other type of boda boda (the motorcycle kind).
This is somewhat fast, makes work easy but It is expensive to buy, and it consumes a lot of fuel. In an attempt to bridge the gap between these two boda boda types, we have built an in between motorbike that we call CA Motoboda.
See picture below
This bike seems to attract many people’s attention because it’s a brand new idea and something people have never seen.
If used well and sparingly (by this I mean pedal on flat surface /down hill and throttle up hill only), this bike can go up to 3 to 400km on half a gallon of fuel. Though it needs some testing, it seems to be very efficient and cost effective.
Stay tuned on the CA Motoboda.
On the other exciting news, We are ready and set to give out our first wave of bicycles. We have decided that since YES Uganda has a tone of orphans already on their program and walking long distances it’s a perfect spot to place our initial give out. We decided to work with them since most of the assessment (orphans case history) is already done. YES staff has helped us identify the best recipients depending on the need and academic standing. We will give out about 15 bicycles to orphans commuting long distances. For those who may not know Y.E.S Uganda, is a non-profit organization taking care of orphans and other vulnerable children. It is the non-profit that steered me to this point in my life.
In addition, our CA Bikes field worker is investigating many more new applicants who are potential recipients.
Stay tuned
And please check out our website, the blog and give us some feedback on what you like or what you think needs some improvement
Christopher Ategeka
Executive Director
CA Bikes Uganda
No comments:
Post a Comment