Lynne In Africa

Hi all. I'm still here in Vilanculous, camping in a nice big tent in the garden of Jaco and Maria Rudolph. Its the largest square footage I've had to myself since I've been away - what luxury. Its not nearly as hot as it was when I was here in March, in fact its quite cold in the evenings now. I can't believe I need 3 blankets at night!

A number of you have very kindly asked about making a contribution to the projects I've been working on. I thought about it a lot, especially in relation to Livingstone, but at the moment any donations would go into the account of African Impact, which is ultimately a commercial organisation. Rather than do that, I would prefer to use any funds I can raise in different ways. Here are my thoughts:

1) You'll recall the orphanage in Livingstone, where 17 boys were living in a couple of very small leaky classrooms, while sleeping accommodation was being rebuilt. I'm still in touch (via letters and text) with one of the boys there - a boy I've referred to as P in previous blog entries. Another vol, Joyce, and I left him a phone and funds. It must be incredibly hard for these boys to make friends with the vols that pass through for a couple of months and then have them move on. I know P found it so hard for Joyce and I both to leave him in the space of a week. Being orphans, the boys clearly feel abandoned anyway, and I think for this reason some of the boys stay quite remote. I mentioned how awful it was to leave them, and I'm definitely going back later in the year.

At about 17/18 years old, the boys have to leave the orphanage and make their own way. Mostly, they have nowhere to go, no job, no prospect of further education and they struggle to make their way in the world. I would like to raise some funds to help these boys with their transition from the orphanage into adult life - to help them with rent, education fees, clothes/transport for jobs etc - the sort of thing that parents do for their children without a second thought. These boys have no-one who will do this for them and I would like to try to go some way to fill the gap.

2) I'm back in Vilanculos largely because I was inspired by Jaco and Maria themselves and the plans they have for building an orphanage. Jaco and Maria are Christian missionaries from South Africa. Irrespective of whether or what I or others believe, what stands out for me is the goodness, compassion and committment that they have to improving the lives of orphan children in this part of Mozambique.

Jaco, Maria, their children Maggie and Rudo, and the dog Lady, currently live a quite hand-to-mouth existence based on support from their church and their friends and supporters in South Africa. They currently care for 20 children at the orphanage in Pambarra (which I visited when I was last here, and 23 more at Temane, where I visited for the first time yesterday. They provide food and clothing as they can but these children desparately need more resources and better accommodation, especially the kids at Temane.

This is where the local women prepare food inTemane.

Many of the children have been sleeping on bare earth or reed mats in the open or under a tarpaulin cover. I think about this - I've been in a colder place for 2 months and I need 3 blankets. Two nights ago it was 12c, which is freezing for here. I was really feeling it so I can't imagine how the children coped. Yesterday we took as many blankets as we could find and Jaco could afford to the children at Temane. I bought them reed mats to sleep on (just over US$20 in total), which is what people usually use. We also gave them towels and some warm clothes that Jaco and Maria had collected from South Africa. Please have a look closely at the pictures. The tents were put up in March using Unicef tarpaulin. The items you can see in the tents are the mats and towels we handed out yesterday. There was nothing else there as the children don't have anything else. Until last night, the kids slept on the earth with no covers. At least now they have something, but they do need so much more. I really struggle with the fact that in the 21st century there are still children sleeping uncovered on the bare earth.

This is the children in Temane putting away their new mats and towels.

The children at Temane were gathered together quite randomly. One was found wandering by a road; others were orphaned when their parents died, or one parent died and the other abandoned them. They were living in the bush around the Temane community, which is about 265 people. Two of the kids have learning difficulties and were probably abandoned. Others didn't know why they were there and don't say anything when they are asked what happened to their parents. They are currently looked after by a man who is trying to teach them during the day, and 2 local women who all work for no reward. These people have families of their own but the women take turns to stay with the children at night, and there is also a man who keeps guard at night.

The mats and towels lined up in the girls' side of the tent.

When we arrived at Temane the children all stood together and sang a welcome song. They seemed very serious; unlike the children at Pambarra they did not run around or play. They watched us carefully, and were maybe a bit confused when they were given the mats and towels. I did manage to get a couple of smiles when I showed them the photos I took of them, but mostly they had serious faces, and didn't laugh or play. I was very moved also by the reality of their living conditions, which is beyond basic. To say these children have nothing is not right anymore, as they now have people who look after and care for them, but it is meagre in the extreme. I'm putting quite a few photos on this entry so you can see what I mean. I had tears in my eyes quite a few times while I was there, which made me feel a bit silly, but it was how I felt. They are just kids, little kids who don't really know what has happened to put them in this situation, or what is going to happen to them in the future, and it shows on their faces. Their lives are better now than they were a couple of months ago, but still relentlessly hard. The children need to walk 3km to fetch water and then back again. Small girls of about 7 or 8 years old are carrying 25kg containers on their heads for 3km. They don't know where their next meal is coming from.

All of these children and thousands of others across Mozambique are desparately in need of the basics - food and shelter. The orphanage in Livingstone looks luxurious in comparison (ha!). Jaco and Maria are aiming to meet those needs, but also to do more - to provide education, love, guidance, self-esteem and hope. They also remember that they are children and they need to have fun. On Sunday we took the 43 children from Pambarra and Temane to the beach where they played football, had fizzy drinks and sandwiches and built sandcastles - just like any other kids, except these ones had never done this before.

Jaco and Maria know they can't take on every child, but their plans are ambitious. They plan on making a significant impact by building an orphanage which will ultimately take in 350 children, housed in small homes of about 10, with house 'parents' in each one, to give them a home-like atmosphere. They already have a donation of land, and they have teams of volunteers due to come out from South Africa in June and July to start building. Any funds that I can raise will largely go towards building the orphanage itself, but will also be used to look after the children to buy essentials such as blankets, clothes and food. I know I'm tugging at the heartstrings (or trying to); this is because I believe we can actually make a difference. With funds in my account I can take it out of the cash point in town and go and buy the children food, extra blankets, or crayons and pencils as they desperately need stimulation. Food and the basics are quite expensive here, much more than I've encountered in the other places I've been so far.

If you want to know more about Jaco and Maria or the work they are doing their website is at www.mozambique-orphans.co.za. The easiest way to help is to raise funds as to ship items to here would be prohibitively expensive and would only lead to "issues" with Mozambique customs. Most items can be bought in South Africa and brought here by car if they are not available.

A debate that I've had many times with other volunteers I've met in Africa is whether to use funds to help a few people a lot, or a lot of people a little. No one has an answer; the only way I can do something is to do what feels right. Maybe we can help someone who will go on to do great things. Maybe we can start something that will go on to be much bigger. P, the Livingstone orphan I mentioned before, wants to be a doctor - maybe we can make that happen and he will go on to help hundreds of people. Maybe the children at Pambarra and Temane can feel safe and secure, get an education and grow up to have fulfilling lives. I don't know, but I can't be in Africa and remain unmoved, and I would rather try to do something and fail, than not try at all. The chance to give children and young people something like the love, care, attention and opportunities that we have, and hope for their futures, is something I can't walk away from.

Logistics

I have asked a friend to set up a charity for me so that I can start raising funds for these ideas. She is very generously researching how to do this in her non-existent spare time so if anyone knows anything that might be useful, please let me know and I'll put you in touch. I hope that this will be up and running over the summer. Those of you that want to contribute who are UK taxpayers, please hold your horses until I have this in place as any contributions will go so much further.

For any non UK tax-payers, or anyone who is simply bursting to contribute, I have set up a separate account for donations - Account number 6285 3546 Sort code 50 42 37 (Natwest Bank). Please, if you are kind enough to make a donation, can you put your name as a reference, or let me know so I can thank you. Unless of course you don't want to!!

My plan is to allocate donations 30:70% between the Livingstone and Mozambique projects unless a donor specifies a preferred project. I'll keep this under review as we go along. I also promise you totally and unequivocally that any funds put into my savings account will all go to the projects and that I will of course pay for my own expenses out of my own funds. I will also keep proper records which anyone can see (and I'll try very hard not to lose, but obviously without the wonderful Danise to organise me, that will be next to impossible). Of course when funds are going through the charity, proper records will kept as a matter of course.

Thanks for reading this - I know its another epic, and thanks to all those of you who have already started fundraising, or have offered to do so or to make a contribution, or who are about to! As soon as the charity is set up I'll let you know the details and we can really get started. I do genuinely think we can make a difference to childrens' lives. If you think anyone you know might be interested in fund-raising or contributing, please pass on a link to my blog, as every little bit will help, and if you want to know more about anything I've written about, please just ask.

And while I'm at it, thanks to everyone who is interested in my trip still, and to all those who keep in touch. Every message is valued, every thought is appreciated and every friend is precious, even, or perhaps especially, while I am so far away.

19.05.07 Looking back...

I've been in Vilanculos for a few days now. Zimbabwe and the lions seem far away and I've just had a look at the pics on my blog to remind myself about lion love. It really was an amazing privilege to be involved with these fantastic animals. Don't be too deceived by the fact that you see pics that are up close and personal. There is a handler nearby, probably behind the picture taker, distracting the lion from a friendly chew of a stray limb. They were used to people, but in no way tame.

The days at AP were rhythmic and structured. I got up at 6am for the first lion walk at 6.30. It could have been any one of 5 sets of cubs - from the 3 month olds, to the 1 year olds. You get back from the morning walk at 8ish, breakfast was 8.30 and then the morning work session started at 9.30. In that session you could be cub sitting the 3 and 4 month olds, playing and feeding them, or enclosure cleaning the walking and hunting cubs or the big grown ups at the breeding programme, or painting poles, walking in the bush doing a snare sweep or a boundary patrol. There were things I liked better than others, but I was reasonably mellow about doing everything. The morning session ended at 12.30, lunch was at 1, and then the afternoon session started at 2.15. You would do similar things to the morning session. Afternoon cub walks were at 4 to 5.30, brought forward as it started getting to dark to be out with cubs until 6. Not much changed this except torrential rain and thunderstorms, which there was for a couple of unseasonal weeks in April.

Sometimes you got to do other things, such as an orphanage visit, or the SCUD day (social and cultural understanding), or play games, or, on a v rare occasion, do a cub sit with the bigger walking cubs, which everyone loved.

I didn't really enjoy camp life - it was like a holiday camp in the bush, except you were stuck there, and communication was a rip off. Strangely, on the one hand it was all too comfortable with too much food and facilities (which I found particularly difficult in Zim) and on the other hand, it was not really run as a place where people came to enjoy themselves. The management style is perhaps a peculiar combination of white Zim culture (bullying, intimidation, threatening) and lip service (at least) to animal welfare and conservation ideals. The lions are not at all mistreated, in fact they are mostly pampered and spoilt, and I did support the aims of the project, but the evangelical zeal that those working there had about the programme reminded me slightly of cult indoctrination. If it works I'll be as happy as anyone, but I'm not sure about some aspects of the current programme - such as all the lions are that are at the breeding programme, some of whom are in small enclosures, and the fact that no effort is made to ensure that the vols behaviour with the cubs is as it should be (which is very important to the cubs' likely length of walking life vs time stuck in an enclosure). Some of the cubs' enclosures were far too small and stank of pee. And despite being lectured by someone who knows less about horses than I do on the life and times of the African tick, I wasn't convinced that the horses were properly cared for (due to lack of funds, not at all from want of trying from those who worked at the stables). There were several others there who shared these concerns but there was not an atmosphere where you could raise concerns and be listened to so few tried.

As for the way the staff were treated, well, I could go on for a long time! I wrote in a previous entry that the $8per hour of the internet was half a monthly salary of a lion handler, but by the time i left it was probably more than the monthly salary. I don't expect it is much different across Zim, and for all I know AP could be a model employer, but I seriously doubt it. It just seems to me that to treat people in the way that they are treated at AP completely undermines the aims that are espoused at the Livingstone project. Most staff members had to walk hours to work. Some got transport from town, sometimes there was transport to/from the main gate (4km from camp) but for most neither of these options was available. Very few staff members were allowed to eat with the vols and clients. It is a nonsense - we spend all day with the lion handlers and then they have to go and eat sadza (the local name for the African staple maize mush) and beans in a courtyard and are not allowed to sit in the dining area. The vols had to let clients go in front of them in the food queue so every meal time we would have ridiculous conversations telling people to go in front of us, they wouldn't want to do so, and some interfering busy body project manager would bawl over for the vols to let the clients go in front. it was all so embarrassing and boarding-school-esque. maybe that's where the managers get it from. They were not exactly Mr and Mrs Compassion.

I think that the man who started this lion project is an inspirational person who clearly has a vision for African conservation. But as ever, it comes down to implementation, and from the perspective of a volunteer, it is, at the moment, not a great experience if you do not numb your brain with large quantities of alcohol every night. Apparently there used to be many fewer vols, but as the penny dropped about how much people would pay to come and work with lions, the capacity increased dramatically. There were far too many vols there. Ten people on a vol lion walk is a pointless experience and often is disruptive to the lions behaviour. Sometimes you got the feeling they were looking for things for people to do, especially if the paint for pole-painting ran out. Generally, the vols experience there is about making money for the project. I did overhear the owner telling his accountant that vols were an integral part of the project as he walked round the new 26 vol capacity accommodation block. Yes of course we are. We pay GPB 2 - 3K a month!

There was also a real drinking culture, supported in no small measure by the volunteer project managers who often buy the alcohol for the vols, but then are supposed to discipline them when the drinking gets out of hand. Needless to say, as they were participating in the drinking, it didn't happen like that. While I was there 3 vols were kicked out for drink related "offences". For 2, it was a blatant over-reaction to a silly prank, with the camp managers using a previous instance relating to staff discipline to claim "equality" of treatment between blacks and whites. If you read this - it was about equal treatment of staff, not equal treatment of staff and vols. Their wilful and malicious misinterpretation of the principle was probably a deliberate kick in the teeth to the vols who had recently complained about unequal treatment between 2 staff members, and unfortunately 2 nice young lads suffered for it. The other lad that was kicked out was a rather silly American boy who didn't know how to handle his drink, but rather than try to nip the problem in the bud, booze was regularly bought for him, the culture encouraged until it all got out of hand.

There is loads more I could add but I've probably raised many of the issues previously. I learned that the only way I could enjoy the lion experience was to switch off from the rest of it while I was with the lions - to compartmentalise the parts of the experience that I loved, but not, definitely not to ignore the rest. I think this only clicked with me in the second month I was there, so maybe it was a good thing that I stayed for 8 weeks. I did have some fantastic times with the cubs, and I never got over the feeling of wonder that I had about playing with a lion cub. The 3Ms and 3ACs were my favourites, although having favourites is a bit random really.

As always, leaving was awful. I thought I wouldn't be sentimental about leaving the lions but it is like reading some chapters in a book, and then having to leave it behind and not know the ending. Of course the worst part was saying goodbye to the special friends I made there and the thought of not seeing some of these people again is not something I can accept. I have promised to go back and see them before I leave Africa. I think my journey home is going to be a crazy zigzag across southern Africa! If my new Mozambique phone would work I should be able to be in contact, but this is Africa, and nothing goes as planned.

Anyway, that's enough for the moment. I have now moved on, and there are new experiences to be had. I'll update you on life in Vilanculos next week.

Stay well everyone.

15.05.07 Safe Arrival

Just to let you know I've arrived safely in Vilanculos. I'm staying in a tent in the garden of Jaco and Maria, in a huge tent overlooking a lake. I'll put some photos and further updates on later but just wanted to let you know all is well.

13.05.07 There is no such thing as too much cub love

More cub pictures and a few others as well.

This is Lina again, learning to use her paws and claws on food rather than volunteers.

This is Amandla. When he wants a cuddle, he wants a cuddle.

This is Chando, having a snooze. Gorgeous boy.
Msasa on the left and Masai on the right, sound asleep after we'd been playing with rakes and toys I made from long grass.
This is Chando and I chilling in the sun.

This is the 3Ms again. In my hand is a dead bush I'd pulled up to use as a cub toy but they weren't that interested....

.... until I dropped it.

This is Chaka, another teddy bear masquerading as a lion.


Me and Abby, who was my roomie for my last month at AP. She is wonderful, but even more untidy than I am so you can imagine what our tiny box looked like.

The guys are the lion handlers and in the front row are Kirsty (L) and Emma (R) - 2 v nice young vols.


Amandla and I again, although he was a bit fed up of posing by this time.

Don't ask why this pic has come up twice, but I can't delete it. At least its a nice one.

13.05.07 Cub Love (with pics)

Here is a selection of cub photos. I have hundreds and hundreds, but I don't want to bore you silly, so there are just a few cute ones.

This first one is of Chando, one of the 3ACs. He looks like he's concentrating fiercely and is about to pounce on something, but actually he just sat down and stared into space. He vies for first place in my cub top 3.
This photo is of one of the 5Ls - a litter of 5 all of whose name begins with L, after their mother Lulu. It makes me smile as he was posing nicely and then just moved at the last minute. Its such a cute wee chin though.
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This is sunrise about 2 weeks ago, taken from one of the bridges that cross the lake next to camp.








This is with an unidentifiable member of the 5Ls litter, I think its Lisha, but I can't tell from the photo. One of the ostriches in camp committed suicide in front of a truck so we used some feathers as cub toys.






This is a photo of one of the A-frames where guests stay, taken from across the lake.

This is Anne and I with the 2Ls. They would have been 11 months in this photo.
This is Msasa, one of the 3Ms. She was 3 1/2 months old in this. Msasa and her brother Masai like to sleep with their heads in the water bowl. They now have a new big square water bowl, which they still use as a head prop.

This is Lina, one of the 5Ls. Looks like butter wouldn't melt, but she's clever and has a bit of a temper. Most of my scratches and bruises were from Lina and her siblings. Its not so bad when a 2 or 3 month old nips you I suppose.
This was a python we found out on a lion walk last week. It was about 3 1/2 meters long. As you can see, I wasn't massively keen on getting up close and personal.


These are the 2Ls, brothers. Ltalo is on the left and Landela on the right, and its just before their first birthday.

This is Amandla, one of the camps resident teddy bears. He's a fantastic character, really cuddly and affectionate. He's one of the 3ACs - my favourite group of cubs, same as Chando, and also in my top 3. He's just over 7 months in this photo.

The 3Ms were just over 3 months old in this photo, which is one of my favourites out of the hundreds that I took. L to R is Msasa, Mana and Masai. One of the highlights of my time at AP has been seeing these cubs go from being very skittish and hissy to being quite playful and affectionate, and looking like they might be good walkers. Masai, the only boy in the litter, is the best looking cub in the park, and by far my most photographed lion. He's a little sweetie, and sometimes falls asleep with his head on my lap. Masia is the other contender in my top 3 - partly on looks, partly personality. Other times he will be quite cheeky, and sneak up behind you and give you a nip. He liked my hair and on a few occasions I had to pull a chunk of hair out of his mouth before I got an unplanned haircut. One of the best ways of playing with these guys is to take a garden rake or shovel and drag it along the grass. They go nuts and jump on the rake and you are then dragging them along too. They also had a thing about the hose pipes and sprinkler heads so we had great fun turning the water on and off while the poor cubs tried to figure out what was going on.

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13.05.07 (Family and) Friends Reunited

I'm so excited. I am in Maputo, found a hotel no problem, and for something under US$61 in total, I get a bed, taken to and from the airport, and free, yes FREEEEEEE, internet access. All day, and all night! My flight landed at noon, after an hour's delay for visa and customs I got here at 1:34, and at 1:44 I am logged on. How exciting is this! Its good really, as I can't change any money as its Sunday, so I can't really do anything or go anywhere, but at least I can keep myself entertained. I was so keen to get to the computer that I forgot to take my boots off when I got to my room, so they are now tucked underneath my desk. I hope no-one else comes in here.

Anyway, here's my plan. Rather than do a long blog entry, which would no doubt attract the usual "epic" comments, I'm going to divide things up a little with (hopefully) indicative titles to each entry. And yes, there will be lion pics coming, and lots of lion chat.

I'll also try to answer the enormous backlog of emails but it will no doubt take a while, so forgive me if I take a few hours off to sleep this evening.

Before I go and grab my camera (also forgotten in my haste and excitement) I'll just add that I'm fine, have no current injuries or ailments apart from the blisters on my fingers from forcing my suitcase zip shut, and am excited (Dinah, who does this remind you of??) to be on the next leg of my journey.

Back shortly.