Donors drive donated cars to Malawi

A group of 46 German citizens will arrive in Namibia this weekend to deliver donated off-road vehicles over 3 700 kilometres by road to Malawian development projects for the global organisation Opportunity International. “The 17 Amarok vehicles were sponsored by Germany’s Volkswagen Company and were shipped to the Port of Walvis Bay where they were cleared from customs today,” Hendrik Vodegel, project manager of Opportunity International’s Germany branch, said on Tuesday. “The 46 people will arrive in Namibia on Saturday and the two-week road trip starts on Sunday and will take the group through central and northeastern Namibia via Zambia to Malawi with arrival set for mid-February,” Vodegel added. “The group pay all their travel expenses from their own pockets, including all the costs to transport the vehicles from Germany to Malawi.” According to him, the aim is to collect €250 000 (N$3.3 million) through sponsorships to support micro-schools in Malawi and to give the people who donated the funds an opportunity to experience Africa through what is called an ‘insight trip’ and to visit Opportunity International’s support projects. The motto is ‘Go4school’ and the vehicles will be put to use for micro schools. Micro-schools in Malawi are small, private rural schools usually started by villagers as a kindergarten and when children reach school-going age, classrooms are added each year through micro-loans from Opportunity International for a full primary school. The organisation is also active in South Africa since 2006 under the name ‘Opportunity Finance’. The donated Amarok vehicles are completely overhauled and were used as backup and service vehicles for the Dakar rally in South America a year ago. Opportunity International is a global non-profit organisation that helps people in developing nations work their way out of poverty, strengthen their families and improve their communities in 22 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe. WINDHOEK NAMPA/SAPA