Friday, March 7, 2008

My Africa

My first trip to Africa was in February of 2000, this coming July will be my ninth visit. I say this not to boast about my travel experiences, but to tell you what an impact Africa has has on my life. I think from my first visit there in 2000, I felt the 'pull'.  I have a rewarding job here in Canada, but the rewards I feel there are different. To see the courage it takes for a person to live day by day, not knowing where tomorrow's food is coming from, or school fees for their children... it just has a very profound affect on you. Then to see these same people welcome you into their home and feed you, AND give you a gift before you leave, saying ' this is our culture', wow.... I can't even explain how it makes you feel. I'm not sure if I would be so kind given the situation. I'd like to say that I would be, but I'm not sure. 

While in Zimbabwe, I stay in a tiny rural village called Tshelanyemba. At the centre of this village is Tshelanyemba hospital. It offers health care to a population of about 35,000 people. It has one doctor and many amazing nurses. For some people living at a hospital would be depressing, I'm often uplifted by the many experiences I gain there. More than half of the patients in the hospital suffer from AIDS/HIV, or some related illness. Living in Canada, we are often so far removed from the whole issue of AIDS, its something we read about in a Maclean's magazine. I've been often overwhelmed and sometimes brought to tears to see the 'face' of an AIDS sufferer. I have a friend in Tshelanyemba, her name is Mavis. She was diagnosed with HIV in 1994. She has lost her husband and her 11 year old son to AIDS, if anyone had a reason to be bitter, it would be Mavis. This is not the case, she is a very strong determined woman, never shying away from telling people about her status. She made the very bold move of starting support groups for people living with AIDS/HIV. There is a huge stigma attached to you if you tell the community that you are HIV+, Mavis took the chance and it has had a very positive affect on many peoples lives. She really is an amazing woman.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Here is my plan

I've just bought the first tickets, this will get me to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Got it from a very southern guy in Kansas, of all places. My plan is to be very flexible during my year of travel, only booking one country ahead. Most of my time in Africa will be spend traveling over land, so thats easier to plan (sorta). The flights on the other hand take a bit of planning. I hope to have a ticket booked from Kenya or Ethiopia to India over Christmas before I leave Canada. I know myself, and if I don't have a 'bit' of a schedule to keep, I'll get stuck in a place that I like. Which I guess isn't really a bad thing, but I want to see other countries. So, the Christmas flight to India will force me to move on. From January to June, most tickets will be booked on-line. Although I'll probably have to have at least one flight booked to the next city, many countries will not let you in if you don't have an onward ticket, so we'll see how that works out. A friend that has travelled a lot told me you can often 'talk' your way out of this.