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Travel
Journal
Africa
Day
120 Maputo to Pretoria
After
enjoying a light breakfast at the Café Continental we left
Maputo and headed towards the border. The road to the border shows
all the benefits of South African investment into this part of Mozambique
and was of the standard of good European Autoroutes, meaning we
made good time. At the border (where on our last visit five years
ago we'd seen police officers shooting at people) we were quickly
and efficiently herded onto the South African side. The South African
Customs officials said we'd need to pay to get our import documentation
in order - we'd hoped to miss any charges as HFA had arranged us
to be exempt from import duties. Given that neither we nor the officials
seemed totally sure about the best course of action to take, we
chose to enter the country using our Carnet, circumventing any charges
but possibly meaning more paperwork later……..
The
road continued in its immaculate state (such a dramatic change from
all the African roads we'd been on so far) and we headed on, hoping
to reach the Hope for Africa office before it closed that evening.
Sadly we'd underestimated how long it would take us and at four
o'clock it became apparent that we wouldn't arrive until after seven,
in the dark. Phoning ahead, we agreed we'd instead head for a backpacker's
in Pretoria use that as a base to get a few things sorted on the
Land Rover before heading up to meet HFA.
As usual, with nothing but our trusty basic Lonely Planet map of
Pretoria (certainly no A-Z) we headed into a capital city after
dark with only a rudimentary idea of where we were going. In the
lead, Andy & Giles pulled another blinder and without too many
u-turns we arrived safely at the Pretoria Backpackers. Kindly (especially
given Giles' greeting) they let us park in their secure parking
and we dumped our bags and headed out for some food. It was a pleasant
evening out as we all realised that we'd finally reached the most
Southerly point in our journey and that from now we were going to
be responsible to people other than ourselves. We all felt a great
deal of satisfaction at having completed the journey and that we
and Bert & Ernie were all still in one piece.
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Day
118-19 Maputo
Foolishly
(in retrospect) we got up early to "enjoy" the rugby surrounded
by Kiwis. Still the cricket was going well. The city itself afforded
good opportunities for internet and some fabulous eating establishments.
It had become clear in Chiaquelane that the problems facing the
locals were fairly large so we spent the days formulating plans
as how best we may be able focus the resources to deliver the maximum
sustainable result. None of us wanted the prospect of leaving the
vehicles only for them to end up slowly rotting due to a lack of
mechanical or financial support. As the accounts of Mobilemedics
are looking healthy at present, we discussed the ways in which we
could commit to keeping Bert and Ernie functioning for as long as
possible. We decided to aim to assist to the upkeep of the vehicles
after our return to UK and looked forward to discussing with HFA
exactly what form this would take.
The
cricket went better, the football worse, but the food in Maputo
stayed on excellent form. With Bethany safely on a flight home it
was time to head down to Pretoria to get the vehicles in as good
a shape as possible and finally meet with the Hope for Africa team
to discuss where best the vehicles could be utilised.
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Day
117 Chiaquelane to Maputo
Once
again we were awoken in the wee small hours by the harmonious church
singers. With breakfast duly laid on, Pastor Clatus took us out
to the fields where the agricultural fieldwork is accomplished.
This area spans 16 hectares, irrigated by channels left over from
the Portuguese era. As the HFA fields are the last in a long series
along the water channel, their water supply is sporadic at best.
As a result they can only really farm one crop a season, despite
a large amount of water in the area. Currently they are only farming
a one third of a hectare, but there are plans to extend to the full
16 hectares.
This
will be farmed by both students and local villagers with the hope
of not only providing food but also additional income which can
then be channelled into setting up similar projects. It became clear
that with the addition of a pump they could redirect flow from the
local river and plant more than one crop a season, dramatically
increasing the yield and hence the amount of people they would be
able to support.
Once returned from the fields we said our goodbyes and headed on
to Maputo to pick up our missing member, Pastor Clatus in tow as
the Mozambique authorities require him to visit the border every
10 days to get his visa renewed. This is a considerable undertaking,
both financially and in terms of deprivation of his expertise in
teaching the students. As such we agreed to take him down to the
border to attempt to minimise the impact on this occasion.
The journey down to Maputo highlighted the investment of South Africa,
in terms of roads and filling stations. This made the journey relatively
quick and we drew into Maputo by lunch that day. The city itself
is on a raised spit of land overlooking the sea and the main deep
water port of Mozambique. A vibrant city of crumbling colonial houses
and broad tree lined avenues, cafes and live music. The afternoon
was spent tracking down various people who'd been in Tofu, and finding
our missing member (Duncan) and his girlfriend. That evening we
had dinner with them, regaling stories and generally catching up
on all the news from home. It was lovely to see a face from home;
all of us were feeling the length of the tour by now, and the huge
task that still lay ahead. The later part of the evening was highlighted
by watching a live band of incredible talent, and bizarrely, opera
singing.
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Day
116 Chiaquelane
Rather
unexpectedly we were awoken at four the following morning by the
sound of the morning service getting underway. The reason for the
pre-dawn start being the need to get to the fields early in the
morning. Far from being upsetting it proved to be quite magical
as the melodic voices singing hymns drifted across the night.
Slightly later in the day we rose for tea and established that we
were to go en masse to Chokwe to meet the area chief, local authority
head and local minister for health. We had the feeling that this
'brief visit' was rapidly snowballing into a major undertaking.
Along with Isaac, Clatus and the local chief we made our way to
the office of the chief of the Chokwe region.
He was far younger than his local counterpart but no less impressive
as a result. As before we discussed the relevant health issues facing
the community and he proved a highly intelligent and useful source
of information. He expanded on the theme of Malaria, Cholera and
AIDs telling us that the majority of people were unable to afford
mosquito nets and the lack of accessible water pumps led to people
drinking the standing water in the fields with disastrous results.
We discussed the attitudes of the community to people with AIDs
and he told us that those known to be infected were thought of as
being already dead and as a result no real attempt was made to provide
comfort or support.
The issue of health education on AIDs as well as other basic health
matters was raised and the Chief told us of a theatre group that
toured the area providing entertaining and educational shows about
AIDs attempting to banish some of the myths and get people talking.
Again a fascinating insight into the local views on the issues and
it gave us hope that with people like the Chief in charge real progress
could be made.
From here we went on to the local Government office where we met
the Deputy Chief Administrator and Head of Health for the region.
They were effusive in their greeting and spoke of the dire situation
following the floods. The flooding led to the entire town of Chokwe
being underwater to the point where people sought refuge on the
roof of the three storey Administration office as it was the only
building not completely submerged.
They had generously and enthusiastically put together a two week
plan for us allowing us to tour the many different health facilities
of the area, sadly given that we had to get to South Africa to register
the vehicles we had to pass on the offer with the sincere hope that
we would have the opportunity to return to the area.
With warm farewells we made our way back to the mission where we
found a group of locals waiting for our return. The word had gone
out that there were some doctors staying there and it didn't take
long for a queue of people with medical problems to collect.
Slightly nervously we agreed to see if we could help and set to
work. An impromptu clinic was set up and it was with trepidation
that we started to see and treat what we could. This was all made
possible through the help of Pastor Anton who had a talent for translation.
We saw everyone from a two year old child with breathing problems
to a local guy with fully blown Falciparum Malaria. We treated what
we could and gave advice when we couldn't.
It was an extraordinary privilege to be in a position to help out
and the experience gave us a real sense of purpose and fulfilment.
It also provided an insight into the potential value of our medical
training, something that one can lose sight of when in the thick
of it in the UK. Of course we all rather hoped that we hadn't horrendously
misdiagnosed some serious problems and sent our unsuspecting victims
off to their doom. I was reassured by the thought that we could
only be of value ultimately as if we didn't help out then the likelihood
was that nobody else would.
After we had seen all of the people waiting we were asked into the
main building where a number of the local community had gathered
to ask us questions. It was another remarkable experience as we
walked into the building to be confronted by the local womenfolk
singing a welcome, surely this couldn't be for us, don't they know
who we are?
Again with the help of Pastor Anton we did our best to answer the
questions asked of us, this time it proved harder as they talked
of issues such as the need for another water pump, medicines and
a working generator. Having established our limited resources we
discussed the other problems facing the community such as difficulties
in childbirth in the absence of a midwife. Child mortality and death
in childbirth was worryingly high and the views on these issues
fascinating.
As the meeting drew to a close we were once again treated to a thank
you song and made our way to have a final dinner with the pastors
and then fall into bed and contemplate the barrage of experience
and information we had come across that day.
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Day
115 Xai-Xai to Chiaquelane
Up
early as promised we drove the final few hundred kilometres to Chiaquelane
and found ourselves surrounded by increasingly open countryside
hinting at the proximity to the Kruger National Park just over the
border.
Soon after getting underway we came across the broad expanse of
the Limpopo River, the nominal endpoint of our journey as it is
located roughly near the sites in Southern Mozambique and South
Africa (and sounds good after London). Unfortunately we were unable
to stop at the river itself due to strict security restrictions
that had lead to someone we met coming the other way being thrown
in jail for stopping to take a picture. Naturally we courted controversy
by taking a sly photo as we drove past the sign (that was Dr Andrew
Shawyer officer….). And seemingly in an instant we were across
the river with barely time to appreciate the significance; 4 months,
18,000 miles (roughly), one puncture and a whole heap of stories.
Quality, well done us.
The journey soon came to an end and having driven straight past
the Hope for Africa site we executed a swift about turn and found
ourselves drawing up to the mission. The first impression was very
positive as the mission was set in attractive open ground just off
the road with a colourful playground by the side of the cluster
of buildings.
First to greet us was Pastor Isaac, the man in charge of the mission.
With him was Pastor Clatus, originally from Zimbabwe he was heading
the Agricultural training regime.
The mission itself has been there since 2000 when it is was established
in response to the terrible floods. Isaac has been there since then
and has overseen the construction of over 140 houses built for people
displaced by the floods.
He has subsequently gone on to aid in the building of 14 brick buildings
for other local pastors as well as large open-plan buildings that
act as a church, school and meeting place for the community. All
of this whilst still living in a small tent with his wife.
After their warm greeting we were beckoned into their office/dining
room/meeting room where we had tea and heard more about their set
up. It was here we discovered the pastor was to be our first contact
with Malaria as he had been struggling for the last few days with
the effects of this potential killer. Having established this was
a benign form of malaria we were able to provide him with the appropriate
treatment and hoped his condition would improve swiftly.
We discovered the mission was primarily there to provide religious
support to the community and establish an agricultural programme.
This involved them taking on 10 students from the area and training
them over a three year period in the essentials of farming and a
basic theological training. It seemed strange that it an area of
such fertile land there just didn't seem to be the knowledge or
resources there to farm it. We found out that of a potential 4000
acres in the area a mere 500 were being actively farmed, and a great
deal of that was ineffective.
The idea seemed to be to provide the knowledge to a select few who
could then take that back to their communities and allow them to
propagate that knowledge. The students were coming to the end of
their three years and there was palpable excitement at prospect
of them fulfilling their potential.
Having had tea we learnt we were to meet the local chief, whose
approval would greatly help us. We piled into the back of Clatus'
dysfunctional van and headed up the road to the chiefs home. With
a crash course in the appropriate words of greeting in Shangani
(the local language) we introduced ourselves to the top man. He
proved to be a charming, benign character that very much resembled
the type cast African community chief. Grey haired and quiet he
proved a fascinating source of information on the health issues
affecting the local population.
He told us that the community was made up of around 4000 people
who suffered mainly from conditions such as Malaria, Cholera secondary
to a lack of clean water and HIV/AIDS. It seemed to come down to
the lack of the most basic health requirements and education. There
were local health posts staffed by competent nurses however they
lacked the materials to deal with anything other than the most basic
of problems. The nearest hospital was over 30 kilometres away in
Chokwe, an impossible distance to the significantly unwell with
no transport available.
After this constructive meeting we were taken to see one of the
local health posts and meet another pastor who worked with the nurse
there. A bumpy trip up the road saw us arrive at the home of Henni
who, with his wife and daughter, had relocated from South Africa
to the area. Amongst his pastoral duties, Henni made time to help
out at the local clinic becoming the resident expert in the treatment
of minor injuries. With basic training and a paucity of materials
he was working wonders treating a huge quantity of cuts, scrapes
and burns that walked through his door. A combination of common
sense and perseverance meant he coped, even with a rather unconventional
use of animal disinfectant as a cure for septic wounds.
We went on to tour the clinic itself and meet the nurse who dealt
with anything and everything. In the absence of ARV's she was limited
to symptomatic relief of the many manifestations of AIDS in the
multitude of patients suffering from this widespread problem.
It
was after dark by the time we got back to the mission and after
a very welcome dinner we collapsed into bed exhausted, our minds
buzzing with information.
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Day
114 Tofu to Xai-Xai
The
day began with a final breakfast overlooking the Indian Ocean in
beautiful Tofu. The journal needed updating and as both vehicles
had been static for a few days inspections were more involved than
normal. Happily both vehicles were in good order so off we headed
to Inhambane to send the journal. The journey down to Xai-Xai was
marked by our first encounter with the Mozambique police. With prior
warning of an impending speed trap Austin slowed to 10kph below
the speed limit. This limit had been imposed at the bottom of a
hill by the unique method of repainting the sign to 50kph, the very
first time any limit below 60kph had been imposed. Needless to say
the police stopped us and presented a radar gun with 57kph displayed.
Neither Giles nor Austin had seen this gun being fired and it became
laughably apparent that this was a method of increasing wages. The
officer duly imposed his fine which was halved with a little gentle
persuasion from Austin, no receipt naturally. Doubly frustrating
since we have had no such problems since leaving West Africa and
so were a little out of practice. The Nigerian defence may have
been a possibility. He was never going to be strong enough….
Thanks to this delay and a later than expected departure time we
found ourselves driving into the darkness with the best part of
100 miles to go to Chiaquelane. Given the poor state of the roads
and the suicidal driving we have encountered at night we decided
to stop for the night at Xai-Xai and then get up early the next
day to make Chiaquelane for early morning.
We made camp at a strangely desolate caravan park with howling offshore
winds shaking the tents alarmingly and settled down to a relatively
sleepless night.
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Day
102– 113– Tofo
Mozambique
continued to impress us as we took the chance to stop to rest for
a few days and make contact with Hope for Africa to update where
we were heading for. Another round of e-mails and counter e-mails
with the fantastic staff at Hope for Africa found them pleasantly
surprised at our imminent arrival and allowed us to find out that
there was a site that they had built that is doing some great work
in the community near Xai-Xai that we could visit. We managed to
arrange to visit them the following week; we were hoping this would
give us a chance to see the kind of work they do, which encapsulates
aspects of Religious, Agricultural and Health support.
We were excited to think we might get a sneak preview of the kind
of stuff they are doing before we have to head south to register
the vehicles, especially given that we may be able to purchase supplies
in South Africa that we could bring back up to Mozambique.
The time in Tofo also gave us a chance to start getting in gear
ideas about how best we could apply ourselves in terms of research
or education. We have a number of different potential projects in
mind but are acutely aware that these need to be flexible to allow
for adaptation on site. We all very much hope we will be able to
do some basic health education whilst we are there and possibly
some research into what is known locally about HIV/Aids.
Whilst in Tofo we had the kind of chance encounter that never ceases
to amaze us. Staying in the same camp site for a couple of days
were Marcus and Nicola, a couple of HIV specialist nurses who had
driven down from the UK, via a different route to our own, and had
spent time in Ghana setting up a health post and doing health education
at a local school (under the name of Africaid).
They were continuing on to further fantastic projects including
another site in Durban and working for the Harare based Mildmay
project (the same group who’s site we visited in Uganda). We
had actually had a series of e-mail contacts with them whilst we
were still in England but never expected to meet them in person.
Quite apart from being great fun they provided inspiration to us
as they gave us a run down of the amazing work they had done both
establishing the health post and putting together education about
ARV’s (Antiretrovirals – the mainstay of treatment of
HIV/AIDS).
Given that we have no specialist knowledge of HIV we were encouraged
to hear that the majority of their work outside of teaching about
ARV’s was on basic health education such as sanitation, nutrition
and information about sexually transmitted infections. This is all
very much along the lines of what we hope to achieve ourselves and
was a timely boost to our efforts.
Around all of this excitement we fully recuperated and enjoyed the
beautiful surrounds of Tofo, meeting the locals as well as the many
South Africans and other nationalities. We were fortunate to meet
a fellow Englishman who talked of current plans in the community
to establish a health post and the great needs for education and
health support there are here, and it has certainly been added to
the list of potential sites that need future support.
It was with a sad heart that we prepared to leave Tofo but excited
at the prospect of seeing some of Hope for Africa’s work first
hand.
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Day
101– Chimoio to Tofo
We
continued our journey with the aim of getting to the coast that
day. As per usual our approach to travelling dictated we pulled
long days of covering great distances before resting.
Throughout this slog our appreciation of the difference between
Mozambique and the rest of East and Southern Africa was growing.
Originally known as Portugese East Africa, Mozambique has seen years
of highly destructive civil war followed by horrendous floods in
2000 that left the economy crippled and infrastructure almost non-existant.
Despite all of these problems (or perhaps because of them) the people
are some of the friendliest we had come across, all around the country
there seemed to be a crumbling Portugese flavour combined with sunny
African smiles. We were happy to find that our group’s lack
of Portugese didn’t hamper us thanks to the multilingual capabilities
of the majority of the people we met.
We once again drove on better roads than we expected and made good
time to Villanculos, the stepping off point for the Bazaruto Archipeligo,
a stunning group of islands. Having quickly cased the joint we decided
we could still push on further down the coast and to a smaller but
equally lovely site called Tofo.
The road took us past acres of swaying palm trees and paddy fields
that increasingly took on a sandy background until we finally arrived,
exhausted at a campsite near the beach.
Verging on the side of masochism Duncan decided he would push on
to Maputo very early the following day to enable him to be there
in good time to meet the lovely Bethany, his girlfriend (and supplier
of the emergency rations that we enjoyed so much in the middle of
the jungle), with whom he would be having a few days holiday. Having
had a quiet pasta supper and an early night he was ready for the
uncomfortable bus journey to Maputo, suffice it to say we said our
goodbyes in good style the night before to avoid dawn the following
day.
God speed Bunky….
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