Walking

Lilongwe, and Malawi as a whole, is experiencing a diesel and petrol shortage at this time!  It’s not due to a lack of oil…but it’s due to a lack of foreign exchange to purchase that oil from suppliers outside of Malawi.  So, everyone is dealing with it in different ways. 

We are using the car much much less, walking everywhere we can and only using the tank for grocery shopping.  Others who don’t live as close to school as we do, bike to work, carpool or just bite the bullet and drive.  This Friday, one of the teachers asked for help…She had managed to drive herself to school, but her car totally ran out of gas at the parking lot and she was looking for a couple of liters so she could drive herself back home! 

The school has started a daily petrol and diesel run with jerry cans.  Last week, some drivers were in lines all week and only got petrol and diesel once!  Those who were lucky enough to have a jerry can in that bus each received 5 liters!!!

Others choose to purchase on the black market, at a price double or triple what you would pay at the pump.

We hope to be able to drive out of Malawi during the Christmas break, with enough diesel to get us to the other side of the frontier and fill up as soon as we can.  That’s also hoping we can get for-ex from the bank…that’s another challenge! (read the previous banking blog if you want to understand what this means)