I'm back in Pemba, arrived monday night after getting the 1000 tennis balls I was waiting for. It is great to be back home! But things are totally chaotic here. I think I might want to cry. The sound systems are a wreck - I might have 1 working system... but I need 5 before next tuesday when the mission school starts. And the things I need to make it work are BIG things, like generators and speakers - not just little connectors or microphones. I'm so tired of buying new things and just them being messed up within 6 months - I feel like saying 'NO!!!' but I cant, cos then the evangelism wont be as effective/wont happen.
I looked at the sound room where I lock all the systems away. I had it nicely organized into sections, each system seperate. Now everything is just jumbled into one heap, broken and working together. I looked at the toolkits I have made up for the outreach teams - they are all empty, the tools just missing. I feel like just not bothering to replace the toolkits - let them suffer if something breaks when they are 5 hours into the bush in the middle of nowhere. Then maybe they wont steal it. Of course nothing was stolen, its just missing. Do I sound frustrated?
So now I am faced with the enormous task of getting it all sorted before Tuesday evening when the Mission School kicks off with an guest speaker from the States. Oh, and did I mention that I have to have one system working perfectly by tomorrow night so that nothing will go wrong when a film crew that is here at the moment can experience an evening bush outreach...???
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Nearly Back in Pemba
Well here I am, 1 week later and only 5 hours before I get to Pemba!!! I am in Nampula at an internet cafe, wasting time... I have to buy 1000 tennis balls and they´ll only be ready at noon... so I have 3 hours to kill. There is an interesting rock formation mountain thing with a little house ontop of it, so now I´m trying to figure out how to get up there! (hoping to find the info on the internet)
I´ll write a complete update of my journey up to Pemba, it was fairly interesting - made loads of detours, stayed in many places and of course drove a LOT! So keep an eye out for that!
I´ll write a complete update of my journey up to Pemba, it was fairly interesting - made loads of detours, stayed in many places and of course drove a LOT! So keep an eye out for that!
Friday, May 18, 2007
Photo: Where I live: Centre 1
I came across this photo of Centre 1, my HOME in Pemba! It was taken by Will Hart, one of my fellow missionaries. (See their website)
1: My House where Jessie & I live with our puppy, Bala
2: 5 Appartments: Jacques and Mary, Dr Eric, Betty Johnson & the 2 Pedros' Appartments.
3: My Old House area (used for male Mission School housing)
4: My Old room (used for male Mission School housing)
5: The water tower
6: Mozambican staff housing & Accomodation for our older Mozambican boys (its all behind the baobab tree)
7: The Old church
8: Mantown - Long term missionary accomodation for guys
9: Housing for our Mozambicans Bible School Students
10: Katie & Octavia's House
11: Where Papa Joelie and Josham Live
12: Julio (Our Mozambican Administrator)
13: Norberto's room
14: Where Ania, Shara & Melissa live
15: The 'Elijah House' where Heath & Emie and their kids live
(also in that area, Doctor Angela's House)
16: The Parking area
17: Kent & Andrea
18: Will & Musy (and Baby Joshua)
19: Angela, Teisa & Yonnie
20: Old Administration Offices & Store rooms
21: The Old Kitchen (no longer used) - but this is where they deliver supper to our centre
22: Store Rooms
(The Hand-Pump well is located between 20 & 22)
23: The Generator
So there is where I call HOME!
1: My House where Jessie & I live with our puppy, Bala
2: 5 Appartments: Jacques and Mary, Dr Eric, Betty Johnson & the 2 Pedros' Appartments.
3: My Old House area (used for male Mission School housing)
4: My Old room (used for male Mission School housing)
5: The water tower
6: Mozambican staff housing & Accomodation for our older Mozambican boys (its all behind the baobab tree)
7: The Old church
8: Mantown - Long term missionary accomodation for guys
9: Housing for our Mozambicans Bible School Students
10: Katie & Octavia's House
11: Where Papa Joelie and Josham Live
12: Julio (Our Mozambican Administrator)
13: Norberto's room
14: Where Ania, Shara & Melissa live
15: The 'Elijah House' where Heath & Emie and their kids live
(also in that area, Doctor Angela's House)
16: The Parking area
17: Kent & Andrea
18: Will & Musy (and Baby Joshua)
19: Angela, Teisa & Yonnie
20: Old Administration Offices & Store rooms
21: The Old Kitchen (no longer used) - but this is where they deliver supper to our centre
22: Store Rooms
(The Hand-Pump well is located between 20 & 22)
23: The Generator
So there is where I call HOME!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
My Helicopter Ride
OK so while I am waiting for the anti-malaria tablets to fully envelope my body with its potent anti-malaria mosquito formula I thought that I would tell you about the helicopter ride I had at the beginning of April while I was doing flood relief!
Just to recap the events leading up to the ride: I heard about an area called Malingapansi where apparently they had not received any food aid. This are was completely cut off, and only accessible by canoe, or helicopter. Thru some contacts at the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), a helicopter was arranged to take myself and an official from the Mozambican Disaster Management Agency (INGC) to make an assessment of the area. It would be my FIRST ever trip in a helicopter and I was very excited (and totally flabbergasted that it had actually been arranged and was going to happen!)
So the morning dawned bright and clear... I would know, I was awake. Not by choice believe me, that is just when the village wakes up! Miguel, my translator was going with me - I can speak Portuguese, but I'm not fluent enough to speak to government officials - and it is his first time to ever fly. So he was really excited too.
We had to meet at the 'White House'; a large white tent set up to be the Air Ops command centre, at 9am. It is staffed by South African Air Force personnel, and we sat and waited while they sorted out the paperwork for the flight. Our pilot asked me to point out Malingapansi on the map. Slight problem... I had NO idea where it was. No one actually knows exactly where is was, except the government administrator in Marromeu who had contacted us about the place! There was a slight uproar as the pilot tried to figure out in which direction we should fly!
When Colonel Fringe, the INGC representative arrived he solved the problem quickly: "We will fly to Marromeu and get directions there". Simple as pie!
They called the helicopter 'Augusta', I thought that was weird until I realized that was cos it was an 'Augusta'!
~Augusta MH68 Helicopter~
The rotor blades started spinning and we had lift-off. It felt like I was in a car, except for the fact that I was hovering above the ground. That was until the pilot suddenly made a mad dash for the fueling station just a 100m away, then it stopped feeing like a car and started feeling very much like I thought a helicopter should! After we had re-fueled we headed to Marromeu, skimming along quite close to the water, following the twists of the Zambezi river. We saw hippopotami!! And there were many canoes in the water, the people fishing - they looked up and waved, some jumping up and down excitedly (the people in the canoes wernt jumping up and down... these bouncy people where on sand banks in the middle of the river). We were flying so low, so they could see us wave back at them! :-)
It seriously felt like I was travelling in a car! We arrived in Marromeu, circled and landed in an open field next to the road. Within seconds we had what felt like half the town lining the roads on all sides, and the Deputy administrator arrived on his bicycle 2 minutes later. The Administrator who had told us about Malingapansi was not in town today, but the Deputy was able to give us directions to get there:
"Just go straight towards that tree, and then after a while you will see big flat plains. Go across them. Then you will get to a bend in the river, and you must turn right, then you will see some buildings. That is Malingapansi."
The pilot wasn't impressed to say the least, and he went to fetch a map, hoping that the Deputy would at least be able to point out on the map which grid block Malingapansi was in.
There was some 'oooing and aaaing' as they tried to figure out which way was north, but finally the deputy pointed at a block on the map and said, 'There'. So now we had a general direction that was a bit more specific than the directions we'd been given!
The kids who had dared come closer to 'Augusta' scattered as the blades started moving. We were strapped in and ready to go. After a few minutes in the air we crossed the plains, and finally we saw some buildings. The pilot circled twice trying to find a field big enough to land in, and by the time we had landed the WHOLE village was there! The doors opened and the village chief ran forward. Colonel Fringe asked the vital question, "Is this Malingapansi?". "YES", came the reply.
We had made it - the chief led us down the main road (the only road) towards the brick administration office.
~The Main Road in Malingapansi~
There was a flag pole in front of it, proudly flying the Mozambican flag. I won't go into detail about what our assessment was, You can read about the that here.
By the time the meeting was done, all the chiefs of the 10 other villages had arrived, and all had huge toothless grins, everyone wanting to shake our hands, and each asking "How do you do?" (in Portuguese of course). This was a HUGE honor for them! The meeting over, we were lead back to the helicopter, our entourage of the whole village following us back. The now 'back to nearly normal level' Zambezi River was quite running close to the road, and I imagine that this whole area had been underwater during the worst of the flooding.
The engine on, the crowd scattered, and we lifted off for the last time.
~Lift off from Malingapansi~
The pilots set the course home and we flew high above the earth, the trees specks against the green of the grassy plains. It seemed like the trip back was faster than the flight out, and in no time we could see Caia in the distance (its quite a large town actually!).
~A small part of Caia from the Air~
Back on the ground we got out quickly, the engine still running, and by the time we got to the edge of the runway only a few steps away and turned around, 'Augusta' had disapeared; off to go refuel and go on another mission.
It was fun, quite an experience - Not something that I ever imagined I'd do when I signed up for the Flood Relief, but really cool!
Just to recap the events leading up to the ride: I heard about an area called Malingapansi where apparently they had not received any food aid. This are was completely cut off, and only accessible by canoe, or helicopter. Thru some contacts at the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), a helicopter was arranged to take myself and an official from the Mozambican Disaster Management Agency (INGC) to make an assessment of the area. It would be my FIRST ever trip in a helicopter and I was very excited (and totally flabbergasted that it had actually been arranged and was going to happen!)
So the morning dawned bright and clear... I would know, I was awake. Not by choice believe me, that is just when the village wakes up! Miguel, my translator was going with me - I can speak Portuguese, but I'm not fluent enough to speak to government officials - and it is his first time to ever fly. So he was really excited too.
We had to meet at the 'White House'; a large white tent set up to be the Air Ops command centre, at 9am. It is staffed by South African Air Force personnel, and we sat and waited while they sorted out the paperwork for the flight. Our pilot asked me to point out Malingapansi on the map. Slight problem... I had NO idea where it was. No one actually knows exactly where is was, except the government administrator in Marromeu who had contacted us about the place! There was a slight uproar as the pilot tried to figure out in which direction we should fly!
When Colonel Fringe, the INGC representative arrived he solved the problem quickly: "We will fly to Marromeu and get directions there". Simple as pie!
They called the helicopter 'Augusta', I thought that was weird until I realized that was cos it was an 'Augusta'!
~Augusta MH68 Helicopter~
The rotor blades started spinning and we had lift-off. It felt like I was in a car, except for the fact that I was hovering above the ground. That was until the pilot suddenly made a mad dash for the fueling station just a 100m away, then it stopped feeing like a car and started feeling very much like I thought a helicopter should! After we had re-fueled we headed to Marromeu, skimming along quite close to the water, following the twists of the Zambezi river. We saw hippopotami!! And there were many canoes in the water, the people fishing - they looked up and waved, some jumping up and down excitedly (the people in the canoes wernt jumping up and down... these bouncy people where on sand banks in the middle of the river). We were flying so low, so they could see us wave back at them! :-)
It seriously felt like I was travelling in a car! We arrived in Marromeu, circled and landed in an open field next to the road. Within seconds we had what felt like half the town lining the roads on all sides, and the Deputy administrator arrived on his bicycle 2 minutes later. The Administrator who had told us about Malingapansi was not in town today, but the Deputy was able to give us directions to get there:
"Just go straight towards that tree, and then after a while you will see big flat plains. Go across them. Then you will get to a bend in the river, and you must turn right, then you will see some buildings. That is Malingapansi."
The pilot wasn't impressed to say the least, and he went to fetch a map, hoping that the Deputy would at least be able to point out on the map which grid block Malingapansi was in.
There was some 'oooing and aaaing' as they tried to figure out which way was north, but finally the deputy pointed at a block on the map and said, 'There'. So now we had a general direction that was a bit more specific than the directions we'd been given!
The kids who had dared come closer to 'Augusta' scattered as the blades started moving. We were strapped in and ready to go. After a few minutes in the air we crossed the plains, and finally we saw some buildings. The pilot circled twice trying to find a field big enough to land in, and by the time we had landed the WHOLE village was there! The doors opened and the village chief ran forward. Colonel Fringe asked the vital question, "Is this Malingapansi?". "YES", came the reply.
We had made it - the chief led us down the main road (the only road) towards the brick administration office.
~The Main Road in Malingapansi~
There was a flag pole in front of it, proudly flying the Mozambican flag. I won't go into detail about what our assessment was, You can read about the that here.
By the time the meeting was done, all the chiefs of the 10 other villages had arrived, and all had huge toothless grins, everyone wanting to shake our hands, and each asking "How do you do?" (in Portuguese of course). This was a HUGE honor for them! The meeting over, we were lead back to the helicopter, our entourage of the whole village following us back. The now 'back to nearly normal level' Zambezi River was quite running close to the road, and I imagine that this whole area had been underwater during the worst of the flooding.
The engine on, the crowd scattered, and we lifted off for the last time.
~Lift off from Malingapansi~
The pilots set the course home and we flew high above the earth, the trees specks against the green of the grassy plains. It seemed like the trip back was faster than the flight out, and in no time we could see Caia in the distance (its quite a large town actually!).
~A small part of Caia from the Air~
Back on the ground we got out quickly, the engine still running, and by the time we got to the edge of the runway only a few steps away and turned around, 'Augusta' had disapeared; off to go refuel and go on another mission.
It was fun, quite an experience - Not something that I ever imagined I'd do when I signed up for the Flood Relief, but really cool!
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Gettin Better
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
OK here is an update! I am pretty much recovered now. I woke up 3 days ago and I felt sorta normal... the pain had mostly gone (my skin had been very painful to the touch), the swelling had gone down loads and I could get out of bed without having to rest for 2 minutes first! Everyday since then I have been improving.
I have started swimming at a local gym (since monday), taking it slowly, and I can feel the difference in my energy levels already, which is, after 3 weeks of feeling SO sick, really wonderful.
So, at the rate I'm going I should be well enough to leave early next week for the 40 hours of driving it will take to get back to my house in Pemba!
*****************************************
Friday, May 11, 2007
I am out of hospital now and doing MUCH better. Still pretty sore & tired, and my body is working hard getting all the 'nasty' out of my system, but I can feel that I'm getting better each day. I sure wont be travelling to moz again without anti-malaria tablets!!! You kinda get lax when you've been there for over a year, it stops being an 'exciting safari' and more day to day life - and taking a tablet everyday gets kinda annoying. But from now on I'll take them, everyday!
So for now I am just resting - from the day I start the malaria tablets its takes 2 weeks to fully protect my system, so I am aiming to leave South Africa 2 weeks from now. I probably wont be going back to the flood area - things have quietened down quite a bit and I am told that the sound systems in Pemba are in some need of serious TLC!
OK here is an update! I am pretty much recovered now. I woke up 3 days ago and I felt sorta normal... the pain had mostly gone (my skin had been very painful to the touch), the swelling had gone down loads and I could get out of bed without having to rest for 2 minutes first! Everyday since then I have been improving.
I have started swimming at a local gym (since monday), taking it slowly, and I can feel the difference in my energy levels already, which is, after 3 weeks of feeling SO sick, really wonderful.
So, at the rate I'm going I should be well enough to leave early next week for the 40 hours of driving it will take to get back to my house in Pemba!
Friday, May 11, 2007
I am out of hospital now and doing MUCH better. Still pretty sore & tired, and my body is working hard getting all the 'nasty' out of my system, but I can feel that I'm getting better each day. I sure wont be travelling to moz again without anti-malaria tablets!!! You kinda get lax when you've been there for over a year, it stops being an 'exciting safari' and more day to day life - and taking a tablet everyday gets kinda annoying. But from now on I'll take them, everyday!
So for now I am just resting - from the day I start the malaria tablets its takes 2 weeks to fully protect my system, so I am aiming to leave South Africa 2 weeks from now. I probably wont be going back to the flood area - things have quietened down quite a bit and I am told that the sound systems in Pemba are in some need of serious TLC!
Sunday, May 06, 2007
In Hospital... AGAIN!
I was discharged from hospital with a clean(ish) bill of health last tuesday (the malaria parasites were dead), but was readmitted on friday night again. The cerebral malaria had affected my spinal cord which caused numbness and weakness in my arms and a constant horrible headache. This is only the 2nd case like this that my doctor (a specialist in tropical diseases) had seen this year, and apparently its very rare.
The malaria has also caused the red blood cells in the very teeny tiny blood capillaries to clump together and the doc described the red cells as 'sludgy' - this just affects the availability of oxygen to my limbs and brain, causing pain and discomfort.
The neurologist is treating me on Cortisone, and I am feeling so much better today! I have energy and for the first time in 2 weeks I actually am starting to feel better! I have an appetite now, and was contemplating a walking tour of the hospital... but maybe later!
My specialist doctor will see me again on monday (he was off for a well deserved break this weekend) and then between the two of them they will see what else needs to be done.
So I am (hopefully) on the road to recovery and maybe my next post will be an update from my home in Pemba!
The malaria has also caused the red blood cells in the very teeny tiny blood capillaries to clump together and the doc described the red cells as 'sludgy' - this just affects the availability of oxygen to my limbs and brain, causing pain and discomfort.
The neurologist is treating me on Cortisone, and I am feeling so much better today! I have energy and for the first time in 2 weeks I actually am starting to feel better! I have an appetite now, and was contemplating a walking tour of the hospital... but maybe later!
My specialist doctor will see me again on monday (he was off for a well deserved break this weekend) and then between the two of them they will see what else needs to be done.
So I am (hopefully) on the road to recovery and maybe my next post will be an update from my home in Pemba!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Importing my 4x4 (Not!)
I have interesting news for ya'll, apparently (according to the Mozambican Customs Officials) this is a prime example of a DOUBLE CAB 4x4:
Pray tell, where do you see a second row of doors?
Anyways, they wanted 35% import tax on my "luxury double cab 4x4", either that or I could pay 5% import tax and a 20% bribe to them, thereby 'SAVING' myself 10%...when in fact I should only have pay a 5% import tax on a single cab 4x4. So I've just refused to pay the bribe money, not out of principle, but dang it - I could really use that money for myself!!!
Africa is so CORRUPT!
SO, after much much much hassle and frustration I am not going to import my 4x4 to Mozambique. It will stay a South African registered vehicle and instead I will get a year temporary import permit or 'Carnet de Passage' from the AA.
We only found out about this option in the last few days, but becuase of the conditions of this CDP I may not apply for Residency in Mozambique , which means that I still have to either exit the country every month, or extend my visa every month for 3 months at the local Immigration Office before having to exit the country. A hassle, but an oh so wonderful excuse to have a short break every three months (granted the cost of buying airtickets from Pemba to either South Africa/Kenya/Tanzania/Zimbabwe/Malawi every 3 months aint that great!... plus accomodation, transport and visas... So I usually just come to South Africa and stay at my parents' house)
So hopefully this is where my car saga ends...
Pray tell, where do you see a second row of doors?
Anyways, they wanted 35% import tax on my "luxury double cab 4x4", either that or I could pay 5% import tax and a 20% bribe to them, thereby 'SAVING' myself 10%...when in fact I should only have pay a 5% import tax on a single cab 4x4. So I've just refused to pay the bribe money, not out of principle, but dang it - I could really use that money for myself!!!
Africa is so CORRUPT!
SO, after much much much hassle and frustration I am not going to import my 4x4 to Mozambique. It will stay a South African registered vehicle and instead I will get a year temporary import permit or 'Carnet de Passage' from the AA.
We only found out about this option in the last few days, but becuase of the conditions of this CDP I may not apply for Residency in Mozambique , which means that I still have to either exit the country every month, or extend my visa every month for 3 months at the local Immigration Office before having to exit the country. A hassle, but an oh so wonderful excuse to have a short break every three months (granted the cost of buying airtickets from Pemba to either South Africa/Kenya/Tanzania/Zimbabwe/Malawi every 3 months aint that great!... plus accomodation, transport and visas... So I usually just come to South Africa and stay at my parents' house)
So hopefully this is where my car saga ends...
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Malawi to Pretoria in 4 Days...
So now we had given out the last of our food and were planning to head back to Dondo to restock, but my visa and car papers were about to expire, so I scheduled a quick trip up to Malawi to 'go around the flag pole' and get everything renewed for another month. Getting from Caia to Malawi should not really be too hard, the map says its only about 90km... that is 90km of dirt roads, potholes, washed away bridges and a 3.7km long train bridge across the Zambezi. The train bridge has been used as a vehicle bridge for the last few years, but recently work has started to repair the bridge and railway... I went to the WFP office to find out the opening times for vehicles crossing the bridge (the UN have made an agreement to allow food aid to be trucked across at certain times) and I was told it opens at 7am, and again at 12noon. All sorted, we will leave Caia at 5:50am and be at the bridge at 7am when it opens.
The next morning, FRIDAY, 06:55 we arrive at the bridge. The guy operating the boom looked at us and said, "Sorry the bridge is closed now, it opens again at 12." Oh no! But its 06:55!!! I pointed this little fact out to him and said the brige should open in 5mins, and he said "no, it CLOSES at 7am!" I am determined to cross the bridge, even if I have to pay the guy. "It is still 5 mins before 7am, we can cross in 5mins, no problem, PLEASE!"... He looks at me and opens the boom! YEAH! I didnt have to pay a bribe or nothing.
The drive across was pretty cool, its a LONG bridge and your wheels straddle the old iron tracks, they have packed planks of wood for you to drive over, it sounds interesting too!
When we get to the other side the boom is locked, but the guy is there and he opens for us. I roll down my window and double check the opening time for going back to Caia. He confirms that it opens at 12noon. He thinks I'm slightly crazy to be going to Malawian border and coming straight back again.
Finally I get to the Moz border and do all the paperwork, then I drive the 4km to the Malawian borderpost and pay all I have to pay, get stamped into the country. I told them I'll be back in 15mins and then I drove 3km to the first town, and there dropped Tor, a Norwegian guy who had been helping with the flood relief in Morrumbala, and who was now going to be hitchhiking thry Malawi. When I returned to the border within 15mins they laughed at me, and proceeded to stamp my car and me out the counrty. I drove the 4km back to the Moz side and redid all the paperwork and paid all the entry fees. Yeah, I was legal for another month! I picked up Miguel (the translator) who had waited at the Moz side for me and we headed back to Caia.
We were just within cellphone reception when my phone rang, it was my father, he had received a message from our Administrator in Maputo, the guy who was dealing with the import of my vehicle - Francisco wanted me to be in Maputo on Monday morning early!
I text the guys in Caia, told them to pack up and be ready to leave for Dondo at 1pm when I got there. Get to the bridge at 11:30am and wait till 12 for them to open it. 12 comes and goes, 12:15... the boom operator wanders to the car and says, "Oh they are still working, we will open in maybe 30mins" GRRRR! 12:45... still nothing happening, then the boom guy wanders over again, carrying some green plastic containers, "Can you give this to the guy at the other side, its his lunch"... Of course no problem, does that mean they're going to open the bridge now? Of course not, silly me, when they say 12noon, its secret code for 1:15pm. I really must remember that!
Finally we get over the bridge, over an hour late. I still have to get to Caia, load the rest of the team and then its a 5 hour drive back to Dondo, and I wasn't keen to drive at night, the road is badly potholed and also when its dark the Mozambicans are attracted to the road like moths to a candle. Loads of foot traffic and only about 1 in 50 bicycles have reflectors, and NON of the pedestrians wear reflective clothing, even when they are walking in the road, in the middle of the road. SCARY. So I dont like driving at night.
We ended up only arriving in Dondo at 7:30pm, so tired!!! It was a long day for me, and if I was to be in Maputo for Monday there was still quite a lot of driving ahead.
SATURDAY morning I load the car and set off for Inhambane, its 8 hours away and appart from the bit before Dondo the road is good. (OK and the bit before Inhambane is bad too). I am driving alone, I had my music and a thermos of strong coffee so I was fine. I stay at a place in Lindela (Quinta de Saint Antonio), a guest house on the main road run by a couple from South Africa - Good clean chalet to myself, with hot running water and a decent bed - they even had sattelite TV and a DVD player with some DVDs. It was amazing!
SUNDAY morning I had a late start, its only about 4 or 5 hours to Maputo. I stopped in the next town to refuel and just as I left the gas station I was still in the town, so I slowed down to 60km/h, after the town ended I didnt see a 100km/h board so I figured it must have been stolen, but there were no houses so I saw no reason to drive slowly. I got to my usual speed of 140km/h and watched the scenery flash by. I was going down a hill and just around the corner, ahead in the road, hidden from view was a police car and 4 cops! They couldnt see me yet, but I could clearly see them from above. Thats when I realised that this was still a 60 zone. I hit the brakes and as I came around the corner I was innocently crawling along at 45km/h. They were in the road radar gun outreached as they painted my car. I could see the disapointment on their faces as they retreated! Score 1 for me, 0 for them. YEAH!
Straight after I passed the cops I was crossed a lagoon which I think is the most beautiful part in all of Mozmabique, the ocean is going into a lagoon (with a low brige across the water) and its very shallow there, so the water is crystal clear and there are dead tree stumps sticking up out of the water. The water is a turquiose light blue, but its clear clear clear, with palm trees lining the shore in the distance. Its a gorgeous view, my favorite. Should remember to stop and take a picture next time...
I arrived in Maputo in good time - I always stay at the Iris Children's center in Zimpeto (They also suffered some damage with the recent bombing when an old military ammunition dump exploded - but no fatalities).
MONDAY - I went to see the customs people early the morning, they wanted to take some photos of my car to work out if it is a single or a double cab... its obviously a single cab but ITS the clearing agents made a mistake when they inspected my car and now its causing a LOT of hassle for me - ITS refuses to change their mistake and the Mozambican officials see this as a perfect opportunity to line their pockets with some extra cash... So they took their photos and discussed and finally said that they will have a final answer for me on Thurday...
I got back to the Zimpeto base and right there and then decided that I might as well go to South Africa. Visions of Dros' 1kg rack of ribs floated before me and I swear I could even smell the bbq basting...
After a quick oil change (my father nearly had a fit when he heard that I hadnt changed the oil yet, and I had driven 14000km, apparently I had to change the oil every 7500km. OOPS!) I set off for Pretoria. I left at 3pm, and I arrived at 10pm. Not bad, hope there were no speed cameras!
The next morning, FRIDAY, 06:55 we arrive at the bridge. The guy operating the boom looked at us and said, "Sorry the bridge is closed now, it opens again at 12." Oh no! But its 06:55!!! I pointed this little fact out to him and said the brige should open in 5mins, and he said "no, it CLOSES at 7am!" I am determined to cross the bridge, even if I have to pay the guy. "It is still 5 mins before 7am, we can cross in 5mins, no problem, PLEASE!"... He looks at me and opens the boom! YEAH! I didnt have to pay a bribe or nothing.
The drive across was pretty cool, its a LONG bridge and your wheels straddle the old iron tracks, they have packed planks of wood for you to drive over, it sounds interesting too!
When we get to the other side the boom is locked, but the guy is there and he opens for us. I roll down my window and double check the opening time for going back to Caia. He confirms that it opens at 12noon. He thinks I'm slightly crazy to be going to Malawian border and coming straight back again.
Finally I get to the Moz border and do all the paperwork, then I drive the 4km to the Malawian borderpost and pay all I have to pay, get stamped into the country. I told them I'll be back in 15mins and then I drove 3km to the first town, and there dropped Tor, a Norwegian guy who had been helping with the flood relief in Morrumbala, and who was now going to be hitchhiking thry Malawi. When I returned to the border within 15mins they laughed at me, and proceeded to stamp my car and me out the counrty. I drove the 4km back to the Moz side and redid all the paperwork and paid all the entry fees. Yeah, I was legal for another month! I picked up Miguel (the translator) who had waited at the Moz side for me and we headed back to Caia.
We were just within cellphone reception when my phone rang, it was my father, he had received a message from our Administrator in Maputo, the guy who was dealing with the import of my vehicle - Francisco wanted me to be in Maputo on Monday morning early!
I text the guys in Caia, told them to pack up and be ready to leave for Dondo at 1pm when I got there. Get to the bridge at 11:30am and wait till 12 for them to open it. 12 comes and goes, 12:15... the boom operator wanders to the car and says, "Oh they are still working, we will open in maybe 30mins" GRRRR! 12:45... still nothing happening, then the boom guy wanders over again, carrying some green plastic containers, "Can you give this to the guy at the other side, its his lunch"... Of course no problem, does that mean they're going to open the bridge now? Of course not, silly me, when they say 12noon, its secret code for 1:15pm. I really must remember that!
Finally we get over the bridge, over an hour late. I still have to get to Caia, load the rest of the team and then its a 5 hour drive back to Dondo, and I wasn't keen to drive at night, the road is badly potholed and also when its dark the Mozambicans are attracted to the road like moths to a candle. Loads of foot traffic and only about 1 in 50 bicycles have reflectors, and NON of the pedestrians wear reflective clothing, even when they are walking in the road, in the middle of the road. SCARY. So I dont like driving at night.
We ended up only arriving in Dondo at 7:30pm, so tired!!! It was a long day for me, and if I was to be in Maputo for Monday there was still quite a lot of driving ahead.
SATURDAY morning I load the car and set off for Inhambane, its 8 hours away and appart from the bit before Dondo the road is good. (OK and the bit before Inhambane is bad too). I am driving alone, I had my music and a thermos of strong coffee so I was fine. I stay at a place in Lindela (Quinta de Saint Antonio), a guest house on the main road run by a couple from South Africa - Good clean chalet to myself, with hot running water and a decent bed - they even had sattelite TV and a DVD player with some DVDs. It was amazing!
SUNDAY morning I had a late start, its only about 4 or 5 hours to Maputo. I stopped in the next town to refuel and just as I left the gas station I was still in the town, so I slowed down to 60km/h, after the town ended I didnt see a 100km/h board so I figured it must have been stolen, but there were no houses so I saw no reason to drive slowly. I got to my usual speed of 140km/h and watched the scenery flash by. I was going down a hill and just around the corner, ahead in the road, hidden from view was a police car and 4 cops! They couldnt see me yet, but I could clearly see them from above. Thats when I realised that this was still a 60 zone. I hit the brakes and as I came around the corner I was innocently crawling along at 45km/h. They were in the road radar gun outreached as they painted my car. I could see the disapointment on their faces as they retreated! Score 1 for me, 0 for them. YEAH!
Straight after I passed the cops I was crossed a lagoon which I think is the most beautiful part in all of Mozmabique, the ocean is going into a lagoon (with a low brige across the water) and its very shallow there, so the water is crystal clear and there are dead tree stumps sticking up out of the water. The water is a turquiose light blue, but its clear clear clear, with palm trees lining the shore in the distance. Its a gorgeous view, my favorite. Should remember to stop and take a picture next time...
I arrived in Maputo in good time - I always stay at the Iris Children's center in Zimpeto (They also suffered some damage with the recent bombing when an old military ammunition dump exploded - but no fatalities).
MONDAY - I went to see the customs people early the morning, they wanted to take some photos of my car to work out if it is a single or a double cab... its obviously a single cab but ITS the clearing agents made a mistake when they inspected my car and now its causing a LOT of hassle for me - ITS refuses to change their mistake and the Mozambican officials see this as a perfect opportunity to line their pockets with some extra cash... So they took their photos and discussed and finally said that they will have a final answer for me on Thurday...
I got back to the Zimpeto base and right there and then decided that I might as well go to South Africa. Visions of Dros' 1kg rack of ribs floated before me and I swear I could even smell the bbq basting...
After a quick oil change (my father nearly had a fit when he heard that I hadnt changed the oil yet, and I had driven 14000km, apparently I had to change the oil every 7500km. OOPS!) I set off for Pretoria. I left at 3pm, and I arrived at 10pm. Not bad, hope there were no speed cameras!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Distribution
Well finally after a week of running around in cirlces we got some food to people in need! There was a village where some people had lost their farms, and a few their houses, but so far they where not on any official lists and the only way we heard about them was thru our church in the area.
5am, dawn has hardly broken and we are on the road to scout out the village where we are going to go do distribution later that day... We got back to the base at about 8am!
First hurdle: Getting a 4 ton truck. I had an agreement with the one that was delivering stone to the construction site where we are building the church, he was to arrive at 8am the next morning. When he didnt show at 8:10 I decided to find another one, but there were none to be found, not at the usual camiao hire area, nor at the ferry. Just then a team from America who had driven up from South Africa arrived and I had to go meet them, so I sent Chris to go find a truck. He found one and it 'quickly' went off to fill up with diesel...haha. After about 30mins I went to find it. It had a flat and was trying to find a spare...
Eventually we make it to the WPF warehouse and load the truck with 4 tons of maize flour and 100kg beans... then the fun began! We were about 30km out of Caia, down a little footpath when we came across a little muddy puddle/stream that we had to cross. I got thru easily but the truck, well it kinda got stuck! We first tried towing him with his old frayed rope, then I remembered I had a good tow rope in my car, it was only goot for up to 5tons, but I thought to give it a try anyways. Well it broke. So then the African way of doing it started. We used the broken tow rope (now sorta fixed), the other broken frayed rope (now fixed) and another rope I had with me and they tied these 3 ropes more than once between my car and the truck. Then we got 50 guys to push while my car pulled. It was quite a sight and with a great heave-ho the truck was un-stuck! It was not moments later, while turning into the drive of the church property that the truck fell prey to the deep sand. We were only about 200 meters from the church so I drove to and fro with my car carrying 1 ton at a time until the truck was empty. Then we had to do the whole towing thing again! Then to top it all off, basically whenever the truck stalled it had to be push-started... or in my case, pull-started, so that was quite fun, interesting to say the least.
While all this driving and towing and pull-starting was happening the pastor was in the church preaching, so when I got there the distribution was ready to start. We personally gave food to about 100 families in the hour and half we were there, but then it was starting to get dark and I wasnt keen to get lost in the myriad of foot paths there were around this area.
We got home at 6pm, a full 13 hour work day for me!
Then today we gave out the last of the food, there were 5 churches that were affected and we sent messangers to 4 of them to let them know to come to Caia to receive food. The 5th church was too far away for people to easily walk, so we went to them. It was a surprise visit, they had not been expecting us so it took quite a while to gather them - so we dropped the food and showed them the portions to give and we left to go do the distribution in Caia 'city'. Some of these 4 churches that were coming to us were still in-accessabile by car, so it was a good thing they came to us.
They started arriving early, but 9am there were already a number of people waiting for the distribution that was due to start in the afternoon. We arrived back from the morning distribution at about 1:30, and immediately started giving out food to these people. It kept us busy till about 4, and each family received about 12kg maize flour, 1 kg beans and 1 litre oil.
We are quite tired now, its exhausting work, but so fulfilling!
5am, dawn has hardly broken and we are on the road to scout out the village where we are going to go do distribution later that day... We got back to the base at about 8am!
First hurdle: Getting a 4 ton truck. I had an agreement with the one that was delivering stone to the construction site where we are building the church, he was to arrive at 8am the next morning. When he didnt show at 8:10 I decided to find another one, but there were none to be found, not at the usual camiao hire area, nor at the ferry. Just then a team from America who had driven up from South Africa arrived and I had to go meet them, so I sent Chris to go find a truck. He found one and it 'quickly' went off to fill up with diesel...haha. After about 30mins I went to find it. It had a flat and was trying to find a spare...
Eventually we make it to the WPF warehouse and load the truck with 4 tons of maize flour and 100kg beans... then the fun began! We were about 30km out of Caia, down a little footpath when we came across a little muddy puddle/stream that we had to cross. I got thru easily but the truck, well it kinda got stuck! We first tried towing him with his old frayed rope, then I remembered I had a good tow rope in my car, it was only goot for up to 5tons, but I thought to give it a try anyways. Well it broke. So then the African way of doing it started. We used the broken tow rope (now sorta fixed), the other broken frayed rope (now fixed) and another rope I had with me and they tied these 3 ropes more than once between my car and the truck. Then we got 50 guys to push while my car pulled. It was quite a sight and with a great heave-ho the truck was un-stuck! It was not moments later, while turning into the drive of the church property that the truck fell prey to the deep sand. We were only about 200 meters from the church so I drove to and fro with my car carrying 1 ton at a time until the truck was empty. Then we had to do the whole towing thing again! Then to top it all off, basically whenever the truck stalled it had to be push-started... or in my case, pull-started, so that was quite fun, interesting to say the least.
While all this driving and towing and pull-starting was happening the pastor was in the church preaching, so when I got there the distribution was ready to start. We personally gave food to about 100 families in the hour and half we were there, but then it was starting to get dark and I wasnt keen to get lost in the myriad of foot paths there were around this area.
We got home at 6pm, a full 13 hour work day for me!
Then today we gave out the last of the food, there were 5 churches that were affected and we sent messangers to 4 of them to let them know to come to Caia to receive food. The 5th church was too far away for people to easily walk, so we went to them. It was a surprise visit, they had not been expecting us so it took quite a while to gather them - so we dropped the food and showed them the portions to give and we left to go do the distribution in Caia 'city'. Some of these 4 churches that were coming to us were still in-accessabile by car, so it was a good thing they came to us.
They started arriving early, but 9am there were already a number of people waiting for the distribution that was due to start in the afternoon. We arrived back from the morning distribution at about 1:30, and immediately started giving out food to these people. It kept us busy till about 4, and each family received about 12kg maize flour, 1 kg beans and 1 litre oil.
We are quite tired now, its exhausting work, but so fulfilling!
Friday, April 06, 2007
What I found in Malingapansi
Malingapansi District
Assessment Report
This is an isolated area located between tributaries of the Zambezi River. During the floods they were classed as an official refugee center until end of February, after which time the people we relocated to higher ground fairly quickly. Because they were no longer classed as a camp, they were removed from the official lists requiring assistance. The people are living in their houses again, but all the crops have been destroyed and they have been unable to obtain food, except for the bit they have in their yards, or from trees in the area.
The following is an outline report made on April 5, by Nikki Wheeler of Iris Ministries, and a representative of the INGC, Colonel Raimundo Fringe. The assessment was made with the assistance of the South African Air Force, by who provided transport by helicopter to Malingapansi.
Population: 7500 (±1800 families)
Distribution: 10 Villages forming the Malingapansi District:
Sorcace Muligo
Chilolo
Nhaminaze
Nhamangowe
Mazungo
Daude
Nhando
Milombe
Luawe
Ndode
Location: S18 40 .44 | E 036 06 30
Accessibility: By boat and by helicopter only. Roads are impassable.
Flood Damage: 1500 lands containing crops were lost, as well as farming implements. No human casualties.
Previous assistance by INGC:
March 10 – 800kg sugar, 200 mosquito nets
They have never received any maize flour, beans or oil
Food available at present:
Bananas, sweet potato and cassava
Facilities:
Hospital staffed by nurse and medical technician. Emergency care is available in Marromeu, 2 hours away by canoe.
Schools are operational in each of the 10 areas.
Administrative post.
No electricity.
No cellular phone reception.
Requests:
Food: Maizemeal, oil, beans, milk
Equipment: Boat, farming impletments
Seed
Limited water available for drinking, more wells and/or purification (Certeza/PuR)
This district is very isolated, so regular food drops would be un-economical.
Possible Plan of Action:
Hire a BARGE to transport:
37.5 metric tons maize meal
1.8 metric tons oil
1.9 metric ton beans
Distribution from a central point – people will come to collect food in smaller groups, provide own transport.
Costs involved:
Maize meal =5 kg per person = $10 613
Oil = 1Litre per family = $2505
Beans: 1kg per family = $1886
Transport from Beira to Caia = $1500
Barge Hire per day - 3 days = $3000
Other Overheads = $500
Total Cost = $20 000
Total cost per family = ±$11.11
*****
I met with the INGC today, and the director of operations for this area, Mr Tambiri, has decided that because of the unofficial status of this District, they would prefer that Iris Ministries' resources be elsewhere employed. Should we want to pursue this endeavor, we would have to do it without the assistance of the WFP, INGC and other local government organizations. (Which would be very difficult to do.)
This is very sad for me, but I respect their decision and will wait till Monday to receive instructions as to where we will be distributing the 15 metric tons of maize flour, 300KG beans and oil we currently have with us.
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