Our immediate primary need: Purchase a 4x4 Toyota All Terrain 8 Seater Vehicle Cost: US$30,000 Deadline: 11 August 2005

Primarily the need for the Vehicle funding will be, to replace the existing old pick-up truck (1982 model), which is in poor condition. Maintenance, with regards to repairs and petrol consumption, is extremely high and rampant, to keep it road worthy.

We are keen to replace it with a 4 wheel drive, 8 seater Diesel Toyota Land Cruiser with modification.

Other reasons for the vehicle requirement are in relation to transportation needs, as follows:

• Purchase of food and materials for the Centre and Mission regularly from the region and on some occasions at the diocese
• Outreach activities e.g., promoting the Homecraft programme to post-primary & post-secondary school leavers, in the region or in the diocese
• Transportation to, on the job, training venues (e.g., UNHCR).

The minimum frequency of transportation needs in terms of destinations, distance are as follows:

• Monthly official trips to Lodwar (119km away)
• Quarterly trips to Nairobi or more when necessary (about 1,000km)
• Daily trips to:
• UN Kakuma Refugee Camp
• Visits to villages
• Trips to schools in the region, planned trips to schools in the diocese
• Assignment based excursions, in Kakuma town and around.
  

	UN Kakuma Refuge Camp
	Kakuma Village

The journeys are further aggravated by terrible terrain conditions:

• The heartland of Turkana is desert or semi desert
• Roads are bad, sandy areas with hills, and have not been resurfaced with tarmac or premix for the last 20 years, causing plenty of bumpy and inconvenient movement along the route
• There is only one tarmac road from south to north, measuring about 300 km which is reasonably good
• Sudden spells of heavy rain creates havoc in some areas, where flooding, sometimes causes small vehicles to be swept away and eventually drowning occurs.

	Mud road
	Bumpy rides