Brenda's African Adventures

Monday, 04 May 2009

Location: Penticton, Canada

May 1st

I wouldn’t recommend using the shuttle and travelling to Nairobi overland. The road has been under construction for three years and it doesn’t appear that they’re making any progress. It was seven hours of bumpy, gravel roads, and then it rained most of the way. We got off at the airport and tried to negotiate an earlier flight home but Kenya Air said it wasn’t possible. We weren’t about to give up that easily so asked a cab to take us into the city to the KLM main office where they finally agreed to put us on a flight that day.
We had just gotten to the point where we wanted to go home. Africa is such a beautiful place, the people are wonderful and I have many good friends there. It also can feel dirty, depressing and at times the problems they face just seem so numerous that it’s overwhelming and you begin to doubt that there’s anything you could ever do that could make even the slightest bit of a difference in anyone’s life. That’s when I really start to feel like I need to go home, recharge and regroup.

When we landed in Vancouver, we had been travelling for 42+ hours. We were tired but so happy to be home. In some ways it felt like we just left, but in others, it felt like a lifetime ago that we all were just setting off on our big adventure. The adjustment back to Canadian life is always hard at first. When I say to Denise, “I don’t know what’s the matter with me, I just burst into tears for no apparent reason,” she always reminds me that this is how I feel after every trip. It’s just so hard to forget what you’ve seen and experienced. It’s difficult to relate to people here who haven’t been there. (MJ and Wendy, you know exactly what I mean.)
For me, I feel such a big sense of responsibility to deliver what ever it is that everyone over there expects of me and of TOPP. Whatever we’ve done or are planning to do, I feel like it’s never enough or it’s not going to happen fast enough. Kahama District is a place with almost 1,000,000 people and only one actual doctor. The HIV/AIDS rate is 4% higher than the rest of the country. 58% of the people live on less than $1.00/day. Every year when we visit our kids, there are more orphans than there were the previous years. One third of the population doesn’t have access to clean drinking water. Malaria, a very preventable disease, is still the number one reason that children are dying. People are still sleeping on mud floors with only rags to cover them.
The people there don’t want handouts, they want to work but there are no jobs. They’re watching whole generations of their families die from HIV/AIDS and don’t have access to the proper health care they need. They’re looking for ways to become self-sustained so they can provide for their families but they need help getting started. Those of us that are part of the One Person Project believe that we can’t change the world, we can’t change things in Africa, but together we can make a difference in Kahama.
On this trip, together, with the help of our communities, we purchased 5 more bikes for the HIV/AIDS Association that will enable them to reach more people in their outlying communities and provide them with support and palliative care. We bought 10 goats for the Faraja Orphanage who will breed them and sell them to provide an extra source of income for the orphanage. We bought 3 dairy goats and gave them to vulnerable families. We brought 4 volleyball nets with balls to distribute to schools. We brought almost 200 soccer uniforms along with balls/pumps for school children. We brought three large suitcases of medical equipment and supplies, which included a microscope and BP cuffs, etc for the Kahama Hospital. We donated $4550 CND to the Kahama Hospital to purchase supplies. We bought and distributed 21 bikes to families in Kahama. We donated supplies to some schools. We visited 61 sponsored children (five in Rwanda) and brought them gifts from their sponsored families as well as purchased food and other household items for them. We met with most of the associations (Women’s Headed Household, HIV/AIDS, Vulnerable Families,) that have been set up by NGO’s such as World Vision. They were able to give us specifics regarding how we can best assist them in the future. We met with the 36 ward (like a county) heads, the department heads, the local government (District Council members) and I was lucky enough to form a relationship with the head of the central government, Major Matala whom I stayed with.
The nurses and lab tech spent time at the hospital, which helped us gain a better understanding of the challenges that the staff are facing. They have all come home with specific fundraising projects to work on. Val helped them design the new lab that is being built shortly. All of these things have helped us further develop our relationship and credibility with the people of Kahama and we now have more of the tools we need to help us advocate for the people there, now that we’re back in Canada. There’s a lot of work to be done but as TOPP expands and more awareness is raised, we will make a difference in this area. If any of you reading this would like to learn more about TOPP or become involved please visit our website at www.theonepersonproject.org

Sunday, 26 April 2009

Location: Arusha, Tanzania

April 26th

We’ve been in Arusha for two days now and Pola and I are considering heading to Nairobi a few days early. With the world economy the way it is, the tourist trade is not doing well and so many of the locals have been laid off from their already low-paying jobs. There are safari companies that aren’t even operating right now. This creates an atmosphere of aggressive, somewhat desperate people. You can’t walk into the downtown area without being swarmed by vendors who just won’t leave you alone. It’s worse than Mexico! We were told the crime rate is very high and muggings are quite common. We had walked home up a quiet street yesterday and today found out that that area is especially dangerous; it looked quite serene and safe to us!
Last night we had an episode that made a couple of the girls nervous. I had remembered going to a place for dinner on my 2006 trip and wanted to take the girls there for dinner this time. It was a place that a lot of the ex-pats go to. We got dropped off by our cab only to find out that it wasn’t the place and was in fact a men’s club. We asked around and found out that the place was probably called the Massai Club and thought it was close enough to walk. It was dark and quite intimidating walking in this rural area. After five minutes we decided to call a cab and found our cell wouldn’t work. A local man said he would get us one and disappeared across the road into the darkness. He showed up minutes later in taxi with another man so we hopped in and gave him instructions. We drove further out of town along a deserted road and finally into a gated dark compound. It wasn’t looking familiar and when I looked in the back, the girls didn’t look too happy. Liz and I felt obligated to check it out and walked through a crowd of men on the pathway into the building. We quickly decided it wasn’t a place for ‘mzungu’ women and asked the driver to take us back to town to a newer hotel to have our dinner. We talked about it later and realized that it wasn’t smart of us to get into the car in the first place.
One of the things we had thought we would do in Arusha was to volunteer at an Orphanage that I had volunteered at in 2006. We were all feeling a little burnt out from all of our experiences on the trip so far and weren’t all that enthusiastic about the idea any more. We still had items to give away so were happy when Liz met up with a reverend and his family who were heading to an orphanage that very morning. We were able to unload everything with him to deliver and that left us with a little bit more space in our suitcases so……
We went shopping!!! We found a great little market that sells a lot of Massai crafts and other things unique to Tanzania. We couldn’t buy much in Kahama besides fabric; since tourists don’t go there, there’s no market. We e happy to have the opportunity to grab a few more souvenirs and spent the day haggling and negotiating prices. That night we ate an Ethiopian place and I decided that I don’t really like Ethipian food.
Pola and I purchased our tickets for Nairobi and went home to pack….we have to be at the bus by 7:30am. Our room looks like a Chinese laundry. We washed all of our clothes in buckets the day before and strung up four clotheslines, criss-crossing throughout our room. It’s so damp here that we aren’t optimistic that they will dry before we leave tomorrow. We said our good-byes to Liz and Wanda who will follow the day after us.

Saturday, 25 April 2009

Location: Arusha, Tanzania

April 24th

I’ve been to Africa twice previously and had yet to see an undomesticated animal besides the two glimpses of the baboons on the highway between Rwanda and Kahama. When we were planning this trip, we calculated that the difference between a flight from Mwanza to Kili Airport with food and motels in Arusha for a three day period, would be only $150 different than a three day Safari in the off season. That convinced me that I should join the others and travel overland through the Serengeti and into Ngorangora Crater. It was an unbelievable experience that I’m so glad I didn’t miss.
We travelled from Mwanza to about half way through the Serengeti plains where we stayed at an amazing lodge built into the giant boulders that surround the area. On that first day and including the second, we saw everything from giraffes, to zebras, warthogs, hippos, alligators, lions, various types of gazelle and other hoofed animals, ostriches, monkeys, and even a cheetah (he was right on the road on front of us just walking along.). We also caught a glimpse of a leopard also but didn’t get any good shots.
We drove to the Ngorangora Lodge situated on the cliffs above the crater for the second night. We were awestruck by our first glimpse of the crater. It’s 110 metres from the crest to the crater floor, 14km across, covers 340 sq km and has 25,000 animals living in it. We spent the day in there today and I’d have to say the highlight for us all was having a huge, bull elephant almost rubbing up against the side of our vehicle. We almost could’ve reached up and touched it. (I have it all on film for you any of you who think I might be exaggerating). We saw black rhinos, more hippos, hyenas, lions, all of the hoofed animals, flamingos, ostriches, etc, etc, Because it’s the end of the rainy season, the flat grasslands at the bottom were lush and full of colour from the millions of wild flowers that covered the valley floor. The sides of the crater are jungle-like and at one end there’s large shallow lake that’s the home to huge flocks of pink flamingos. It was simply spectacular to see it this time of the year. Pola was so impressed with the scenery that she had a blond moment and asked us on the way back if that’s where they filmed the animated film, “The Lion King.”
We left the crater in the afternoon and drove the three hours to Arusha. I have some great shots of the road we drove on which winds its way up along the steep sides of the crater. What you don’t see in the pictures is the clutch slipping on our vehicle and us coasting backwards a few times with our hearts pounding.
Arusha’s changed a lot since I was here plus I think I just forgot how just big it was. Someone told me that it’s the fastest growing place in Tanzania. This town is the jumping-off point for safaris to the Serengeti and Ngorangora Crater as well as for climbs up Kilimanjaro and Mt Meru so it’s quite touristy. Definitely not ‘touristy’ in the North American sense of the word though. The drive to the L’Oasis Lodge is up a road that reminds us of the streets of Kahama with ruts so deep and rocks so high that you almost need a four-wheel drive to navigate it. The area we drove through is typical of what we saw in the back roads of Kigali and all over in Kahama, so the girls were very surprised and happy to see the little lodge I had booked us in to. It’s very rustic, with little thatched huts and an open lodge with a banana leafed roof. The food is good; on this trip that’s become one of the most important things in our day. We celebrated Pola’s birthday with a plate of nachos and pizza, along with a few beer. It was so great to eat something that tastes like home!
We loose two of our team tomorrow when Val buses up to Nairobi for her trip back to Canada and Heather sets of to Mombasa for a week on her own, (brave girl!) We’ve had an amazing experience and as homesick as some of us are, it’s still sad to see things come to an end. Four of us will be here until Tuesday morning and then will also bus up to Nairobi and stay there for the night before flying home. (We have a few more things we’re planning on doing here so stay tuned.)
I rushed in to use the Internet, that the staff said was wireless, and of course it doesn’t work. I will have to go in to town tomorrow and try to find somewhere to email from. I had tried five times (between Kahama and Mwanza) to post some pictures for PR but was unable. I guess I’ll try that again tomorrow also. Take care everyone…I miss you all!!!!!!

Friday, 24 April 2009

Location: Arusha, Tanzania

Hi Everyone. We arrived safely in Arusha tonight. I had composed a Planet Ranger entry to post here, but I can't use my laptop at this lodge and the old computer here doesn't even know what a memory stick is. I'm sure this is the same old one that was here at L'Oasis when I stayed here in 2006! I don't want to have to write the entry again so will post it first thing tomorrow from 'who -knows-where!' I have tried repeatedly to post pictures since the last ones but so far wasted a lot of time and did not have any luck. I'll try again tomorrow providing I can find a place that has reasonable rates. it takes about 40 minutes to upload a set.
(See how much I care about all of you!!)
Take care and thanks for the messages!!!!

Tuesday, 21 April 2009

Location: Mwanza, Tanzania

April 21st

We spent our last day in Kahama shopping, packing, purchasing our bus tickets to Mwanza, and finalizing things with WV, Nesphory and Major Matala. Had a quick bite at the Pine Ridge and said a sad good-bye to the staff that looked after us so well. We tried to arrange our two taxis for 6:20am but with all of the assistance we had and a few phone calls, we were unsure how many cabs would actually show up, if any. The next morning, we were happy to see the car arrive on time, to take the first load. Even though we had given away so much stuff, with our personal belongings and purchases, we still had 1-2 suitcases each plus our backpacks. The cabs were absolutely packed!
The bus stop in Kahama is dirty, chaotic and not a nice place to be if you’re a ‘mzungu.’ Everyone crowds around and you don’t feel like your suitcases are safe. There are different independent bus companies wanting your business and they’re all over you like a pack of time-share salesmen. We boarded the bus as soon as our luggage was crammed underneath and waited there. We were quite excited when the bus appeared to start to pull away ON TIME and with empty seats. It moved ahead about 5 feet and stopped. Ticket salesmen started selling tickets to another crowd that was gathering and then the bus really started to fill up. When we finally pulled away, almost full, we thought it was clear sailing but I think we stopped on every street corner of Kahama on the way out, picking up more passengers. This continued as we went down the highway until there was standing room only.
When we stopped at Shinyanga, vendors surrounded the bus, selling everything from boiled eggs, samosas, bananas, water, cookies, etc. It was stifling, but I didn’t want to keep my window open; it just encouraged them to try and get your attention. Val was brave and desperate enough to use the bathroom at the bus stop. She had to pay to use a disgusting, filthy pit toilet that had a hole at the back of the little cubicle so everything had to run across the floor. Of course there is never any water, paper or a sink. Needless to say, the rest of us decided to wait for 2 1/2 more hours….
We rolled into Mwanza in the afternoon and all rushed to the Internet. It’s slow but at least if you sit in the lobby, you can use your own computer.
While we were eating a great dinner our guides showed up to discuss our three-day trek across the Serengeti. We leave at 9:30am and should reach the west gate by lunchtime. I don’t know what the Internet situation will be over the next few days but there might be a satellite feed over the plains. I’ll post when I can. Kwa heri for now…. (I’ve been trying to post photos again today but am not having any luck. I will try one more time.)