UK Charity Commission Registration Number 1120536

Project C

Transport - mini-buses on both sides of the River Nile

September 2008

Luxor’s main mode of public transport is a mini-bus or a service car and which one you use depends of where you are and where you are going. Mini buses nip around central Luxor in a constant stream and the cost of going anywhere is 35 piastas which is about 4 pence in UK currency. These buses have only just been introduced on the west bank where the main mode of transport is a brightly painted service car which is a converted Toyota truck.

Luxor, Egypt, is not particularly friendly for the disabled as kerbs are high, roads have numerous holes and bumps and there are steps everywhere. Getting from A to B involves getting in and out of these buses where there are high steps and little room to manoeuvre. There are no lift platforms or wide doorways that will accommodate wheelchairs.

As our projects have developed, and with the opening of the new clinic on the west bank, the need for transport that can carry wheelchairs is vital. We are aiming first to have an adapted dual purpose min-bus on the west bank to bring children to the clinic and the nursery school and then another on the east bank which can be used both by the Good Samaritan Home to bring their children to and from the Home and their school and by Karnak Charity Hospital so that children who need treatment can be brough to the centre there.

The buses would not have to be new but they would have to be in good order and would need adapting so that they are easier to get in and out of and so that there is sufficient room for disabled passengers. This is not overly expensive and with your support we might be able to buy the first one early in 2009.

Please contribute to the Little Stars Trust Fund and help us get these buses for the children. Thank you.