Getting Around

January 22
Transportation is a big problem here. Cars are very expensive and gas costs about $7/gallon. The vast majority of people in Malawi walk. (There are only 7 cars for every 1000 people.) In the mornings there are hundreds and hundreds of people from every walk of life walking along the streets-kids dressed in school uniforms, woman in traditional costumes with babies on their backs, men in suits and ties, girls with large packages balanced on their heads. Since there are few sidewalks the people crowd the side of the streets making driving hazardous.
Some who can afford it have bicycles. They are often packed with huge bundles of charcoal, or other goods from the markets and being pushed up the hills. We’ve seen the handlebars of bikes lined with live chickens hanging upside down. Once we saw a goat riding in the back of a bike.
Public transportation is provided by the dreaded “minibus”. These 15 passenger Toyota vans are normally crammed with 25 or more. Most have cracked windshields and huge dents. The men who drive them have little regard for regulations or human life. They careen crazily through the streets or are speeding at break-neck speed along the roads beeping their horns and daring walkers not to jump out of the way. In fact, one of the babies who lives at Open Arms was orphaned when a minibus crashed, killing the mother and throwing the baby from the vehicle.
Many of the vehicles in Malawi are bombs. Trucks labor up even slight inclines belching smoke. Broken down vehicles are everywhere. Many cars look like the winner of the demolition derby-beat up and barely running. They have worn tires, huge dents and we wonder what keeps them going. There are of course many decent cars as well. We are shocked at some of the brand new SUV’s we see dropping kids off at the girls’ schools. Cars are so expensive to buy and maintain here, nice cars are for the few, not the many.
We bought an Izuzu pick up with two seats, sight unseen, before we came because we heard that it is very difficult to find reliable used cars in Malawi. We were told that this truck had been “well maintained”. Our first glance at our new vehicle made us wonder. The rear view mirror was held in place by a piece of string. The headliner (upholstery on the ceiling of the cab) was hanging limply. The emergency brake didn’t release. The tires were nearly worn out. It runs, and compared to many vehicles here, it is a dream. Sunday morning I went to go to church and discovered that we had a flat. I was able to get a ride. (no small feat since I was preaching at the 6:30 am service and discovered the flat at 5:45.) After church it took us more than an hour to change the tire since the jack only went up 8 inches forcing us to raise the car, and prop it up with bricks and then raise it another 8 inches until it was high enough to change. Monday it wouldn’t start and now the car is in the shop with a broken starter and leaking brake fluid. At least we got home safely from a long trip we took Saturday in the pouring rain. Just another typical experience of the challenge and the grace of our new life in Malawi.