Helicopter

I have a warm bucket bath every morning - They have a little outdoor latrine area with a drain so it doubles as a bathroom, its made out of bricks, and when I stand up straight I think people can see the top of my head. Its quite cold early in the morning, everything comes to life at 5am, and I finally capitulate and get out of bed at 6. Disrobing in the cold outdoors is quite interesting, and I think that if a helicopter flies past they would see everything! But there is something really refreshing about being outside so early, and when it started raining while I was bathing this morning it just made it more interesting! We are being fed SO well, Pastor Phombo's wife is cooking all our meals - we've had chicken stew, fried fish, beans with bush-rat meat (interesting!) grilled chicken and of course rice. They even gave us maize meal, Shima, yesterday! Its first class hospitality, so amazing! The village itself is quite quiet actually, I havn't felt clausterphobic at all - the people have respected our 'space' - and staying in the storeroom is SO much better than living in a tent!

Then in a different world, just down the road there are meetings meetings and more meetings. Running around in a circle becuase NO ONE seems to know anything about the camp where there are apparently 10 000 people! Finally I spoke to Julia, my contact at the WFP, and mentioned that if no one else knows anything, then maybe we could rent a helicopter to go see whats what. She said I should wait till the meetings that afternoon to see what people know. At the first meeting when I raised my question the INGC and a guy from the Mozambican Army said, 'there is NO official camp in that area', so I said, 'well there might be an unofficial camp and if there is then Iris would like to go help them...' There were officials grumbling, they said they would check it out, and then the meeting was over. I pulled the INGC official aside and asked when I would be able to have an answer about Maringapaz. He said, well come to the next meeting you can ask about helicopters there. OK... I quickly drive to the UN House and plug my computer into the electricity. I only have 20mins before the meeting starts and I really need to re-charge my mac! The 20mins over and I have 3 mins to get to the meeting I have a bright idea - Miguel my translator wouldn't be needed for the next meeting because there are many others who cannot speak Portuguese so there will be a general translator! "Miguel, would you mind waiting here with my computer? I will be back in an hour or so..." He was more than willing - incidentally he even had his cellphone and the charger with him, so he was happy to be able to charge it.

When I got to the meeting they were all still standing around outside: WFP, World Vision, Feed the Hungry, Moz Army, INGC... waiting for the representative of 'Air' - he arrived, an affable Frenchman who is actually a Sea Captain... but now in charge of logistics for the 3 helicopters and 1 Caravan plane they have here in Caia.

Each person brought their daily report, 'Barges', 'Road', and finally 'Air'. He rattled off the figures of what had happened that day, then moved on the what was scheduled for the next day. "...World Vision food drops...., INGC scouting..., Arco-Íris..." WHAT? I was on the schedule? WOW. There was some consternation and the Army guy was adamant that there was NO camp in Maringapaz. INGC concurred. But I was on the schedule! I helpfully tried to give the army guy the phone number of the Administrator who had contacted us with the news, but he had his number already. Finally it was decided that even if the Administrator couldnt be reached we would go anyways. They asked me who was going from Iris, so I picked: Myself (naturally) and Miguel (translator). It is apparently only a little chopper, space for pilot plus 3. We will be meeting the administrator in Marromeu, then continuing on to see the actual vilage.

So lets see how it goes!

Caia - Logistics

We are in Caia, finally made it - we bought 15tons of milled corn in Beira and hired a truck to bring it up to Caia. We thought he had left at 11am, but when we arrived in Caia at 4pm that afternoon he was still in Beira!!! HE had decided to have lunch, take a nap and have a bath... so, we will not be hiring him again! They kindly called me the minute they arrived - at 5am. Not impressed. But we got permission to use the huge storehouses of the World Food Programme to store the food for free, so that is really good.

We are staying at Pastor Phombo's house, Lois and I are sleeping in one of the 2 storerooms, and the guys have pitched the tents in the old church.

There are things to do before we can actaully go hand out the food - first we have to check in with the INGC and see if the place we have chosen needs help, who has been there, what has been done etc. We want to go to Maringapans, a town accessible only by plane/helicopter. But no one here seems to have any info about them! There is a meeting later today where I will try and see if any of the other NGOs have info, else I will ask about the possibility of scheduling a helicopter to take us out there to 'recon' the place! Its all quite exciting really.

I am writing this blog at the UN WFP headquarters - they have electricity and internet!

There is lots to do, but I am learning to slow down and just relax a lot more!

Yesterday I got another speeding fine just outside Caia. 89 in a 60 zone... I got out my car with the 1000mets in my hand. They were still telling me that I was speeding when I cheerfully said 'Please may I have a fine?' They laughed at me took the money and then started writing the receipt... suddenly they closed the book, gave me my license and the 1000mets and said 'go by yourself a coke or something...' WHAT? they were just letting me go. SO that was pretty snazzy!

Shopping

Day 2 of the shopping spree in Dondo went well and I have very little to report... No fines, only a bit of harassment by the police and I think know Beira inside out now! I decided that the original list was too little - that would only cater for about 200 families )±1000 people), so I upped it all to 1000 of everything, so now we can help 1000 families (±5000 people). I plan to go up to Chupanga next week - there is still one camp open, and the WFP have asked that we continue helping there. We want to work with hem and the INGC, so we dont butt heads and cover people who have already received food that week. Once we give out all we have we'll just have to come to Beira and start shopping again!

So all is well, I spent today just resting - 2 of our volunteer visitors packed 1000 plastic carrier bags with all the stuff I bought: 1 candle, 4 boxes of matches, 1 bar of soap, 1 litre of oil, 1 cup and 1 plate! It took them quite a wahile!

We are also looking at buying another 4 ton truck, in the meantime I'm organizing a 15ton truck to go with us to Chupanga and buy 1000 latas (15tonnes) of corn to distribute there! The owner has given us a fantastic offer: Dondo - Chupanga for 17 000mets (±$650), on the condition we dont want a receipt - SO, this one will be a hand-written receipt! Usually trucks from Beira to Caia cost between $800 - $1000, so this is a great price!

Logistics, logistics... what fun!

Crazy day

We went shopping today. I have a little list, with only a few things on it:

5 bulk boxes of boxes of matches
10 bulk boxes of candles
1 tonne of beans
30 bulk boxes of oil
1000 plastic plates
1000 plastic cups
20 bulk boxes of soap bars
10 rolls of thick black plastic

All I managed to buy after 5 hours in Beira were the plates, cups and plastic rolls!

And I got another speed fine on the way in... the roads are badly marked, so I was just driving when the policeman jumped out and stopped me. Apparently it was a 60 zone, but I really didnt see any signs! Oh well, its 1000 mets, about $44. They didnt have a receipt book so they gave me the fine and said I should go pay it in town, they'll keep my license until then, so I set off into town. When I finally got to the police station the guy who writes the receipts was out to lunch! *sigh* so we drove to Air Corridor to get a ticket for Jessie who has to go back to Pemba tomorrow, and I parked outside the office. I had just gone inside when I saw a policeman go to the car. It apparently was a no-park zone and I had just received a 3000met fine (over $100) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! My pleads of, 'I'm sorry I've only been parked for 1min I'll move the car and not ever ever ever do it again' got me nowhere.

So I moved the car and when I got back the cop took me to go see the 'big boss'. I had a translator with me and we were halfway up the stairs when I begged again for him to just let us go, but he said 'No the big boss saw me talking to you, he knows you have to pay the fine' *sigh* then the cop says something to Miguel (my translator)... 'if you give him 20 he will let us go' ooh a bribe. mmmm 20 mets (less than $1) vs. 3000mets (over $100)... YEAH for 3rd world corruption. I paid the bribe. My first one ever. It was interesting. And cheaper.

moving on: I had bought the black plastic and the plates & cups when it was time to go home, well nearly - just have to stop at the traffic police again to pay the speeding ticket. We got there and found that the guy who writes the receipts had gone home for the day, AND that apparently you can only pay fines in the morning. SO my license is sleeping there tonight.

It was an interesting day, and I hope tomorrow will be less interesting... I'm getting the hang of the road rules here in Beira - they're kinda wierd, for example, if you are in the circle/roundabout you have to stop to let the people from the side streets in. But not always. And there are potholes to dodge, and the cars in the lane with the pothole will randomly swerve into your lane to dodge the hole, so you have to watch out for that too! Crazy!

Dondo

I am in Dondo! I drove down with my housie, Jessie... It was fun. 2 girls chillin watching the scenery pass by :-)

We were meant to leave early sunday morning, but Saturday I woke up feeling really really really bad! I think it was food poisoning, so I was in bed for the whole day, sunday I wasnt feeling that great, and so monday I just rested. So we ended up leaving for the 2 day trip early tuesday morning instead.

We stayed in Mocuba overnight, so we did 11 hours yesterday and then 9 hours today... I'm getting tired of driving... Mozambique is so looooong and streched out, and I think the roads are worse in the north than in the south - esp the bit just before Dondo, there is literally nowhere that you can drive without hitting a hole, so in the end I gave up trying and just drove straight, its SO bad for the car!

But anyways - Dondo is great - they have hot running water!!! And a Shoprite (grocery store). So we went shopping and got ingredients for a salad. yummy! There is a bad cholera outbreak in Pemba right now, so we had to be really careful about fresh fruit and veggies, so the salad I had for dinner tonight was especially nice!

I will write an update on the flood relief soon - we are going out tomorrow to go shopping for blankets, candles and other things that are not available in the villages - I'm not sure when we plan to head out, probably in the next few days! But I'll keep you posted.

Sand...

I am trying to enjoy my time here in Pemba to the full. So far I've spent all my time sorting out my house, dealing with small issues that pop up and planning on my up coming time down by the floods.

My friends and I planned a bonfire on the beach out near our other base in Maranganha, and we set out at 4:30pm to stop by the Dolphin to get takeout (chicken kebabs) before driving the 20mins it took to get to where Travis had been collecting driftwood. He was waiting for us, and after the wood was loaded it was dark. We set off down the sandy 2-track path next to the beach, looking for the perfect spot to park and make a fire. It was only about 5mins later that I spotted the perfect spot. The road veered to the right, and just to the left was a space for the car to park with a sandy patch for the fire! I drove off the road and onto the firm looking 'parking space' Just as I was about to stop the whole car started tipping to the left. The sand was giving way and it really felt like the car was just going to roll over! My stomach was in my throat and I just kept driving, trying to get out of the deep soft sand and onto firm ground. Finally the wheels just started spinning and the car wouldn't move. But at least we weren't rolling, and the guys got out to assess the predicament.

'Reverse back and it will be fine' So I reverse and we are fine, all is good. Now to just get back onto the road. Josham walked forward and checked out the road and decided that it looked like going straight forward wouldn't work, I should rather turn to the right and cross to the road there. I did as he said. The wheels started spinning frantically and I was wedged fast in the sand! We tried everything: we dug the wheels free, we placed sticks under the wheels for traction, we racked our brains trying to get the car out of the sand! Finally Josham gets down on his hands and knees and looks under the car. The car was no longer resting on its 4 wheels, instead the belly of the car was resting on the sand! No wonder we weren't able to drive out!

I had a spade and 2 plastic dinner plates. We started digging! An hour and a half later we had completely cleared the sand out from under the car, we had moved half a mountain of sand and we were totally covered with is: our hair, our clothes, even in our mouths! Our hands and fingers ached from the digging - it truly was a workout.

We packed more sticks under the wheels, we prayed then Josham got behind the wheel and we all pushed from the back. The car started, the engine revved and with a mighty lurch the car moved forward and onto the road!!!

That was SUCH a relief to be free!

We decided to have the fire anyways, I mean we were here now! So we built a big fire and sat around it eating our lukewarm kebabs, and roasting marshmallows to make s'mores (2 cookies filled with a block of chocolate and the roasted marshmallow. Its squished together to form a sandwich. - very yummy). But it was a fun evening, I enjoyed it... I guess I can only learn from this experience!

@ home

Well I made it back to Pemba in 3 days! It was quite a hectic drive - at least the roads are fairly good so we could cover large distances daily.

Day 1
11 hours: Maputo - Muxungue...
I was cruising along, carefully slowing down to 60km/h at every village, honking at the odd chicken that chose the very moment I passed to run across the road. Near one such village I was slowing down, trying to find the best bush to make a pitstop at, when suddenly I see a policeman waving me down. He sticks the radar gun into the car and says 'you speed, you have to pay fine, 1000 meticais' (approx. $50). *sigh* I had been doing 68 in a 60 zone. SHOCK HORROR! So I had to pay the fine. While paying the fine the officer asked if he could marry me, but I politely declined and went on my way.

We reached Inhassoro where we had planned to stay the night, but it was still early so we decided to head to Muxungue and see what accommodation they had there. We found a really nice 'motel' - 5 wendy houses each with 2 beds and an en-suite bathroom - they even had running water!! The price wasn't too bad so I got one house, but my travelling buddy struck a deal with the owner to stay in his house for cheaper - but he ended up sleeping in the storeroom! I found it fairly amusing.

Day 2
13 hours: Muxungue - Alto Molucue
We crossed the mighty Zambezi today - driving through again Caia was great - the water levels have gone done SO much - all the areas that had previously been accessible only by boat could now be crossed on foot with relative ease. It was shocking to see how deep the water had been though - and all the crops that had been in the valley is totally gone, a few lone corn stalks stuck up here and there as a reminder of what had been.

The road were TERRIBLE, especially between Mocuba and Alto Molucue. Potholes, long dusty detours and more potholes. It was SO bumpy!

When we got to Alto Molucue it was dark already, so we stopped at the local diesel pump and asked the attendant where the best hotel/motel/guesthouse was. He pointed us in the general direction and we headed into the town to find it. But they were full... My ever resourceful travelling buddy asked, ' could we pitch our tents in the yard?' 'Mmm', the lady considered it, and for a very small fee we camped next to the 4x4 in the dusty parking lot! But it was good, was the first time that I used my brand new tent, and it worked very well!

Day 3
9 hours: Alto - Molucue - Pemba
A smooth day's driving, very short! The roads were good and it was WONDERFUL to be home!

Now I'm in Pemba till the 24th, then I'll be heading back down to Dondo (Caia) to help with flood relief. We are expecting 10 containers of food soon and we have to work out the logistics of distributing it amongst the thousands of people still without homes.

...and off I go!

I am on my way to PEMBA!!! Finally after a 3 month absence I will see my friends, my house and my dog again! I'm SO excited!

My 4x4 is packed to the roof with stuff - bags and bags (and bags and bags) of groceries for me, airplane mechanic tools for our resident plane mechanic, 80kgs of dogfood for my puppy, a bag we have named 'behemoth' for my housie, boxes and boxes of books for our Bible School in Pemba, a generator, 2 large speakers, microphones, and a mixing desk (basically a full sound system) for the Iris base in Chimoio, a keyboard for the Iris base in Dondo, a gate for my house, more bags of groceries for my fellow missionaries, large storage boxes for another missionary, a microwave (for me), 5 LARGE bags of clothes donated for the flood victims, and last but not least: 4 jerry cans of fuel for my truck!

We are leaving at 5am on Saturday morning, and my ETA is either LATE Monday night, or lateish on Tuesday night...

Here is my planned route (for those of you who wish to look it up on a map):

Sat 17 : Maputo - Inhassoro
Sun 18 : Inhassoro, across the Zambezi by ferry - Mocuba
Mon 19: Mocuba - Pemba

Please pray for a safe, hassle-free journey!

On the Road Again

Finally I am on my way again - my car's import papers are STILL not totally sorted out, but things have progressed a bit in the right direction - so I'm hopeful that I'll get my Mozambican license plates and registration papers this week still.

I have been on the road for the past 2 days, accompanying Betty Johnson (our wonderful can-do-anything missionary) on a trip down to Durban in South Africa - we had to go collect the workbooks/syllabus for our Bible Schools in Mozambique. We loaded 25 A3 size boxes and 5 A2 size boxes filled with thousands of books! My 4x4 was up to the test and carried the extra 3/4 ton very well. Then we left this morning and 10hours later we are at the Iris appartment in Nelspruit, a stone throw from the Mozambican border. Tomorrow we will be sorting the books and re-packing them to be transported to our 3 different bible schools across the country! (Maputo, Dondo & Pemba).

Thursday we head off the Maputo, where I will attempt to speed up the registration process for the truck (my 4x4). I just wanna go HOME! I miss my dog (Bala), and all my friends!!! Its been 3 months now since I was in my little house - everything's probably full of mildew by now... mmm that reminds me, I really must remember to ask my housemate to clean my room for me!.... :-P

I've been trying to get my car imported for over a month now - one of the longest most frustrating experiences in my life - but it will all be worth it in the end - Once I've driven up to Pemba I will drive back down to the Zambezi pretty much straight away, and team lead one of the Relief teams in Dondo, so my 4x4 will have many more miles on the odo by the time I'm finally back up in Pemba for good!

Life's NEVER dull (frustrating yes, dull no) when you're a missionary with Iris!

Video: Flood Relief in Mozambique

This is a short (4min) video shot in Caia, Mozambique in February 2007. This is the start of the Flood Relief Operation by Iris Ministries. We went out with $4000, of that $1000 was to buy food for the people, the rest was for everything else. Now with more funding that has come in we are able to feed over 50 000 displaced people.

All their crops were destroyed and many lost their houses.



(click the big play button, then click pause. Wait for the red bar to load - this will allow the video to play without interruption)

Of course, if you'd like to donate towards the flood relief effort, then visit the IRIS website nearest you:

Iris USA

Iris Canada

Iris South Africa

Iris UK