As you may already know, Pikilily is a social enterprise, based in Mwanza, Tanzania, whose mission it is to promote optimal motorcycle riding and maintenance practices. With your help, we have now largely finished constructing our workshop and in the New Year, will be interviewing for our first intake of lady apprentices! These ladies will learn basic motorcycle maintenance and repair before opening our doors to paying customers, helping these ladies earn an income and provide a high quality service to our customers - something that is widely missing at other motorcycle mechanics shops in Mwanza.

The focus of our special Christmas project however, is the second focus of our Pikilily project, namely these motorcycle ambulances pictured above. There are 4 of them in Sengerema District that are only 2 years old but are no longer in service, due to a lack of previous maintenance. Pikilily has been granted permission to renovate these bikes and run training workshops with the riders in maintenance and sidecar driving skills, so that they can once again serve the surrounding large rural communities with much needed, otherwise absent emergency ambulance services.

Right now, if you get sick in Sengerema District without the funds to pay for a taxi to bring you to hospital, there is no way for you to access emergency care. Over 20 mamas die everyday in pregnancy and childbirth in Tanzania, often because they can't reach medical help. We want to remedy that so that whether you are a mama struggling in labour or an individual with an urgent health problem, there is always someone to call so that help can come.

Your donation today will help us in the fundraising for this project and indeed, if you are doing this in lieu of sending Christmas cards, please let us know in the "comments" box when you make your donation and we will send you an e-card of thanks that you can email onto your friends, family and contacts! Thanks and Merry Christmas!

www.pikilily.com