17% of Women in East Africa die in childbirth, Bel Air, MD non-profit can change that

The statistics are staggering...in Tanzania, nearly 20% of pregnant women die during childbirth. This isn’t because they are too far away from a hospital, though, but because these women simply don’t have access to transportation that will get them to a hospital in time. Rugged Medical Transport is developing gyrocopters, similar to helicopters, to create a transportation option to help those in need living in The Bush. The gyrocopters are capable of landing in rugged terrain, and therefore, able to help transport the sick, pregnant and injured to a hospital. A gyrocopter, which costs just over the price of a Subaru Outback, is easy to maintain, safe, and capable of flying at 90mph. Most importantly, they require little to no skill to fly, and run off car engines that rugged areas have available.

The first gyrocopters will be built later this year by founder Patrick Wensel and his family, who will be moving to the African Bush in the fall of 2016. Wensel has secured an assembly location in Tanzania, and his family will bring along materials needed to begin building and actively using the new gyrocopters.

For more information, see www.ruggedmedicaltransport.org

“Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?’” — Martin Luther King, Jr.