Thomas Miller celebrates its 125th anniversary by supporting the renovation of Africa's oldest ship

News Release Thomas Miller & Co. Ltd June 14, 2010

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD><TITLE></TITLE>
<META content="text/html; charset=unicode" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18904"></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV>
14 June 2010

 
Thomas Miller celebrates its
125th anniversary by supporting the renovation of Africa’s oldest ship
 
Built in Glasgow in 1898,
Chauncy
Maples will
become a floating clinic serving the health needs of villagers living around the
shores of Lake Malawi
 
Believed to be the oldest ship still
afloat in Africa, the 38m long motor ship Chauncy Maples is to be
renovated as a floating clinic to bring primary health care to half a million of
the world’s poorest people living around Lake Malawi. The necessary funds are
now being raised by the Oxford-based Chauncy Maples Malawi Trust with
considerable support from Thomas Miller, a London-based specialist insurance
company, which has chosen to make the renovation of Chauncy Maples the
focal point of its 125th anniversary celebrations.
 
The Trust needs to raise up to £2m
(US$3m) in order for the planned refit to be completed within a 12 month time
frame. Thomas Miller is contributing £250,000 (US$375,000) from its own
resources and has already raised a similar amount from its friends, employees
and business associates even before the official launch of its appeal on 17
June. The Government of Malawi is also expected to make a substantial
contribution towards the local labour costs.
 
Half a million people living long the
coastline of Lake Malawi, which is 560km long and 75km at its widest point, have
neither access to health care nor medical protection from malaria, tuberculosis,
dysentery and HIV-Aids. Malawians seeking medical attention currently paddle
dugout canoes up to 80km to reach medical aid, risking fatal attacks by hippos
and crocodiles.
 
Chauncy Maples was built in Glasgow in
1898 for British missionaries working in Central Africa and was named after the Bishop of Nyasaland who
drowned in a storm on Lake
Malawi. Shipped to Mozambique in
3,481 small parts plus an 11 ton boiler mounted on wheels, the vessel components
were subsequently moved by river and then overland, local tribesmen carrying and
dragging them the final 100 miles to the lakeside for assembly.

 
The two year rebuild was well documented
and photographed. Since then, Chauncy Maples has served as a
gunboat, a trawler and even a refuge from Arab slave traders. Until recently,
she has been administering to the needs of the local population as a bar, a far
cry from what is now envisaged for her future.
 
 According to Thomas Miller director,
Mark Holford, the trust is not only seeking financial
contributions:
 
“Several potential donors have already
come forward to ask whether they can offer more practical support by way of
equipment or services. We are already in detailed discussions with a major
manufacturer of diesel engines who we hope will offer us a new main engine on
favourable terms.”
 
Currently Chauncy Maples is
fitted with a Crossley diesel engine that itself replaced the former steam plant
in1967. The original steam machinery is now in a museum in Malawi while
the last boiler languishes in shallow water at the side of the lake. Originally
Chauncy Maples was fired using
local timber.
 
Thomas Miller’s Chairman, Hugo
Wynn-Williams, explained the background to the company’s decision to support the
Chauncy Maples project:
 
“In former days, organisations would
celebrate major anniversaries with lavish parties and dinners but even before we
all felt the full impact of the current global recession, there was a growing
feeling amongst the more forward-thinking companies that it would be more
appropriate to devote time and resources to projects that benefit the
community.
 
<A name=OLE_LINK1>“In Thomas Miller’s case, we were
looking for a project that reflected not only our global reach and our maritime
heritage but one that would appeal too to our </A>UK clients such as members of the legal profession,
patent agents, housing
associations and pension fund trustees. The Chauncy Maples project ticked both boxes –
and a host more.”
 
Chauncy Maples is owned by the Government of Malawi and
Malawi State and
President Ngwasi Dr Bingu Wa Mutharika has announced his full support for this
unique undertaking in the fifth poorest country in the world. 
 
Patrick Zimpita, Director of Planning, Ministry of
Health, Malawi, believes that the Chauncy Maples project is important because it fits into the
Government’s key objective to ensure access and availability of health services
to all Malawians, regardless of income, status or geographical
position:
 
“The people who live on the lake shores
have many socio-economic problems. Cholera is common in the wet season because
the shallow wells become contaminated with sewage. These communities along the
lake have no infrastructure and large numbers of people are still severely
challenged for health care.
  
“Chauncy Maples will go a long way in improving the lives of these
people. Rainy season is October to March during which there is a
high prevalence of malaria. Immunisation coverage is very low because it is
expensive, or even impossible, for a mother to take her children to the nearest
clinic. It might be only a mile away but with a mountain on one side, and the
deep and stormy lake on the other, it’s not a simple journey. 
 
“This is a Golden project.  The demand for this service
is huge - it will be several decades before roads will reach these sea-locked
villages.”
 
Qualified local marine engineers,
supported by a number of apprentices, will renovate Chauncy Maples. With
support from international donors, the floating clinic should be fully
operational in one year. 
 
Janie Hampton, the Director of the Chauncy Maples Malawi Trust, is
confident of success:
 
“Sailing between the small village communities scattered around the
lake, Chauncy Maples will bring free treatment for common diseases,
dentistry, maternity care, immunisation for babies, family planning and
information on safe sex. Presently, Malawi citizens
have a life expectancy of just 36 years; with only one doctor for every 52,000
people, the infant death rate is 111 per 1,000 births - 20 times worse than
Europe. We are certain that the team of nurses
that will be living and working aboard Chauncy Maples will reduce
mortality rates of both adults and children.”
 
Despite their country’s acute poverty, Malawians are slowly improving
economic conditions by good management of minimal resources. Poor health is
still a millstone to progress. The Chauncy Maples project on Lake Malawi combines health service delivery;
preservation of Africa’s marine
heritage and training for local apprentices and will be a catalyst for both
national pride and tourism. </DIV></BODY></HTML>