Meandering home

February 1. Rolling on to Maputo.

We take a comfortable bus to Maputo. The roads on the South African side are what you would expect in the European Union and as the road cuts through the large cultivated fields we realize that South Africa is a rich country with a poverty problem - not a poor country with a rich upperclass ...

16 March, 2010 7 November, 2018

Maputo, Mocambique

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January 31. I challenge you to write a more boring blogpost!

We work together in the Café de la Crème in Randburg, which has a working wireless connection. At 10pm, after loads of emails and blogposts, we decide it's late enough and return home.

16 March, 2010 7 November, 2018

boring, Randburg

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January 30. You are untrained.

We visit a Charity Shop in the morning and have a bad experience with the owner. We introduce ourselves and Charity Travel, the rough style. Let me reconstruct the words of the prissy decadent shopkeeper.
"We're looking to do somethin' good. Maybe you could link us to some small-scale ngo around here?"
-"You guys are ...

16 March, 2010 7 November, 2018

Travel, Uncategorized

January 29. Whiskey cocktail?

Now we walk along the highway to Kempton park, take a minibus to downtown and swoosh up the 50 floor Carlton center tower to oversee the city. Square blocks, highrises. Only the distant African landscape reminds us we are still in Africa. We see buses meandering around Ghandi square, and being fans of Ghandi we ...

16 March, 2010 7 November, 2018

Johannesburg, Randburg, Vietnamese

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January 28.Amazing Seat Neighbour Coincidence.

We take an early morning matatu to the Donholm junction and change bus to the airport. Some writing in the departure hall, an expensive breakfast larded with a guilty feeling, an abundant intake of cappuccino and avocado sandwich, a safe flight to Johannesburg with a random encounter of sorts.

Wycliffe, my seat neighbour, is ...

16 March, 2010 7 November, 2018

Donholm, Johannesburg, seat neighbour, Zambia

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Eph’phatha Orphan home

Eph'Phatha Orphan HomeThiruvannaimalai, India. March 10th - 17th. 2010A wonderful orphans home in Tamil Nadu, India, run by the most hospitable people you can imagine.

Charity Travel works with Eph'Phatha about a week to help starting income generation projects.

NameEph'phatha Orphan homeAimSupporting orphaned children in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaSince1996Staff2: Nehru and RubyPeople ...

10 March, 2010 7 November, 2018

children, EphPhatha, India, orphans, Tiruvannamalai

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CORP Mumbai

CORP MumbaiMumbai, India. March 8th, 2010CORP (Community Outreach Programme) provides vocational training, workshops and shelter to underprivileged youth in the Dharavi slum, Mumbai.

We visit the slum with director Nirmal and support a tailoring vocational training program with a sewing machine.

NameCORP Community Outreach Programme, MumbaiAimSupporting needy children, women and slum communities ...

5 March, 2010 7 November, 2018

community outreach, CORP, Dharavi, India, Mumbai, vocational training

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Ikageng

Ikageng Centre JohannesburgJo-burg, South Africa. February 26th, 2010"Ikageng aims to improve the quality of life for orphaned and other vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS on a sustainable basis, and to ensure that they achive and live a fair life like every other child [and] to help develop [them] into educated, employable adults who could be ...

1 March, 2010 7 November, 2018

children, handprints, healthcare, HIV, Ikageng, Joburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

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Holy Cross Hospice

Holy Cross Hospice Gaborone, BotswanaGabarone, Botswana. February 22th, 2010
The Holy Cross Hospice in Gaborone provides care and support to the terminally ill and patients with life limiting illnesses, orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), and their families and caregivers in Gaborone.

NameHoly Cross Hospice, Gaborone, BotswanaAimProviding care and support to the terminally ...

25 February, 2010 7 November, 2018

Africa, Botswana, Gaborone, healthcare

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Kagisano Women’s shelter project / jewelry workshop

Kagisano Women's shelter projectGabarone, Botswana. February 21th, 2010
Kagisano provides shelter for abused women and supports them with vocational training. One of their projects is a paper maché jewelry workshop in Gaborone.

We visit the workshop and make a donation to provide some supplies for the handicraftproject.

NameKagisano Women's shelter project / ...

25 February, 2010 7 November, 2018

Africa, arts, Botswana, Gaborone, Kagisano, women, women's shelter project

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Oasis

Oasis Harare, ZimbabweHarare, Zimbabwe. February 15th, 2010
Oasis works with street children in Harare, Zimbabwe giving them a brighter future and keeping them on the right track.

We support Oasis with a donation and assist in a hip hop workshop for the kids.

NameOasis, Harare, ZimbabweAimTo assist the street children of Harare: ...

22 February, 2010 7 November, 2018

Africa, children, Harare, Oasis, street children, Zimbabwe

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Streets Ahead

Streets Ahead, Harare, ZimbabweHarare, Zimbabwe. February 15th, 2010Streets Ahead supports at risk street children in Harare by offering them emergency shelter, workshops like Capoeira, and vocational training like basket weaving and candle making.

We visit streets ahead and exchange ideas with its friendly director; we support this cause with a donation.

NameStreets ...

21 February, 2010 7 November, 2018

Africa, children, Harare, street children, Zimbabwe

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Terra Nova

Terra Nova, Beira, MocambiqueBeira, Mozambique. February 7th - 9th, 2010Terra Nova is a unique social business, set up by a young French woman, producing compost by recycling urban market waste in Beira, Mocambique.

We help building a shelter for the local workers at the project site, and translating for their website.

...

20 February, 2010 7 November, 2018

Africa, Beira, environmental, flore, Mozambique, Τerra Nova

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January 25-27. Goodbye Nairobi.

Our old Kayole rhythm drags us into a slow speed goodbye to Kenya. We do visit some more corporates to poll if they would be interested in sponsoring Vision Alive and the Rainbow Center.

14 February, 2010 7 November, 2018

Travel

January 23-24. Mombasa.

A very fortunate series of hitches takes us to Nairobi and from there to Mombasa, where we arrive very early in the morning, sit on a bench and gaze at the merely male, mostly Indian swimmers. We have a good time in Mombasa, eating out in a phenomenal restaurant and sleeping in a very affordable ...

14 February, 2010 7 November, 2018

Haiti, Kenya, Mombasa

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January 17-22. Finishing the Rainbow.

Those are the days in which we finish the painting of the orphanage and travel back to Nairobi to talk to corporates interested in sponsoring our initiative.

We feel very welcome and are glad to see Philip again. The walls have been plastered but they need some time to dry, so the painting can't ...

14 February, 2010 7 November, 2018

CEC, Kenya, Kisumu, Obama, rainbow, Rainbow Center

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January 17-27. Finishing up our orphanage and hitching back to Nairobi.

11 February, 2010 7 November, 2018

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Cultural Center Muodjo

Maputo, Mozambique. February 2nd - 4th, 2010Muodjo's mission it o assist vulnerable children and develop their cultural abilities, with special focus on streets children and orphans.

We supply materials for an exhibition they organize with pictures the children drew.

NameMuodjo Cultural Center, Maputo rural area, MozambiqueAimTo assist vulnerable children and develop their ...

3 February, 2010 7 November, 2018

Africa, arts, Cultural Center, Maputo, Mozambique

Travel

January 16. Obama’s grandmother.

Later than planned, well, the whole concept of planning erodes like the barren soil of deforestated plains, we leave for Kogelo, the village where Obama's grandmother and aunt live. I must tell you straight away it's a publicity thing. Visiting this village, saying hello to the grandmother of the officially most powerful man - i ...

31 January, 2010 7 November, 2018

grandmother, Kogelo, Obama

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January 13-15. To the village.

An Irish priest is not necessarily a Samaritan.
We wake up in Talek and get a ride to Narok. But it is too late to hitch further to Kisumu and we are stuck for the night. A friendly guy, county clerk by profession, brings us to the house of an Irish priest. He is not ...

31 January, 2010 7 November, 2018

hitchhiking, Irish priest, Kenya, Kisumu, village

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January 12. Birthday.

It's my birthday today. We get up at five am but of course Mr. Maasai Chief is not there. We ring him and he is still far away. We decide to go with another car and it seems we are going to have a friendly relation with the driver. But he has smelled money. He ...

31 January, 2010 7 November, 2018

birthday, Elephant, Hartebeest, Hippo, Kenya, Lion, ostrich, Rhino, safari, Talek, vulture, Water Buffalo, Wildebeest

Travel

Januari 1-11. Kayole. Joy Valley. Safari walk. Cheetah. Narok.

1
We get up early enough to make it to Kisumu town on time.
We have an interview with Mr. Masese for The Standard.
Then we take the bus back to Nairobi.
We arrive in the darkness, we meet some other couchsurfers who are enthousiastic about CT.
We have a chicken meal at Alanya's place, ...

31 January, 2010 7 November, 2018

cheetah, joy valley, Kayole, Kenya, maasai, Narok, safari

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January 1. What exactly is a Community Excellence Center?

The idea is simple. In our information age we can share knowledge and expertise with a relatively low cost of resources. So we should support needy communities to do so. A CEC is a center in a small, mostly rural, community of say 1,000 people that functions as a link to the outside ...

31 January, 2010 7 November, 2018

CEC, Cente, Community Ecellence Center, Kenya, Vision Alive

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December 31. Happy.

Churchill is one of the community elders. We have our first press conference today. Unfortunately, the M.P. and the deputy mayor don't show up. We have put a tent in front of our orphanage and sit there on the couches we have taken from the house to answer questions.

A pastor has come ...

31 January, 2010 7 November, 2018

Churchill, happy, Kenya, Kisian, Kisumu, New Year, press conference

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