Rwanda and Uganda here I come!

I haven't told very many people that I'm going to Africa so hey I'm going to Africa !  I am traveling with an organization called These Numbers Have Faces (http://www.thesenumbers.org/) founded by Justin Zoradi.  I met Justin when I worked for a year in Belfast, Northern Ireland (2004-2005).  We used to be a couple of Protestants who went down to the local Catholic community center to tutor.  I remember the first day when a 7 year old girl named Clarice (missing a few teeth) greeted me by cursing me out, calling me a c***, and threatening me that her family was in the IRA (which it probably was).  In all that, Justin was very bold with the kids and reaching across divides.  He earned their trust.  He asked what they would do to Prods and they said they would throw rocks at them.  He led them down a progression to revealing that he was a Prod and it left them in a state of shock that their trusted friend could be part of the enemy.

As part of that Internship, Justin traveled to South Africa with Northern Irish students working in the townships.  During a trip there, he was challenged to do something to help so naturally Justin started a non-profit (Wouldn't you?).  So yeah, Justin is a pretty inspiring individual who sometimes makes you wonder what are you doing with your life while he changes the World :).  I've been familiar with TNHF pretty much since the beginning and lived vicariously through Justin while he travels to Africa, expands his non-profit, wins awards, and gets featured in all kinds of magazines.

Justin is also a suffering Timbers fan who I like to talk trash with about the Sounders / Timbers rivalry.  Probably in one of those text exchanges, I think I dropped that I would be interested in going on a trip with them and that I wanted to go with Justin.  He said he was going in the Spring so I was thinking about that.  Of course, about 2 months ago, I get a call from Justin that he was actually going in October and that he was personally inviting me to go.  I also realized that Uganda is next to Rwanda and that I sponsor two students through Compassion International there and that I might be able to make a stop there.  So fast forward two months and it turns out I'm leaving on Wednesday for Rwanda and Uganda.  What?!

TNHF is about empowering African leaders from poverty stricken leaders by funding them through University (a lot of hard sciences) and a pretty cool program that ensures they give back to the community and the program.  Visit their site.  They are doing some really cool things.  I am apparently going to be teaching a class on resumes and interviewing.  Here is a picture of my time hanging out with TNHF kids in South Africa

I am also excited and pretty nervous to meet two Compassion International students I sponsor in Uganda to end my trip; I have absolutely no idea how that will go.

I'm not sure how much I will update this on my trip, but perhaps I'll get a few posts and photos up.  There are also posts on this site from my incredible World Cup, South African, and Malawi trip four years ago so feel free to check those posts out as well.

Final Thoughts

There is something appealing about just driving down a highway and not having to be anywhere.  I've been doing a lot of that in the past several weeks. Why did I take this trip?  For fun?  For ministry?  To just get away?  The allure was the first World Cup in Africa; what more can you say, that's just awesome!  However, I didn't want to travel to Africa only on some grand adventure.  Africa is a place with such a checkered past.  It has abundant disease and poverty, but also has such rich people and culture.  I wanted to experience what God was doing in a few small places.  And finally, I think I wanted to experience some magnificent insight into the future of my life.

And the trip was all that I could have hoped for -- except for maybe that magnificent insight part, but we'll get to that later.  The games and stadiums were spectacular; the people were warm, generous, and hospitable; the ministries were doing immeasurable good.  I saw the beauty and grandeur of South Africa and the diversity of its people.  I learned much about the history and engraved the memory of memorials

And what am I doing with my life?  Who knows...I certainly don't.  I don't mean that in a melancholy sort of way; I mean that in a World at my fingertips sort of way.  I've got ideas.  Do I wish I had a clearer picture?  Sure, but it's nothing to get upset about.  There are so many things that I can pour myself in today that tomorrow should sort itself out in time.  I know God will be there.  "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' " Hebrews: 13:5

 

And what does that leave me with?  I keep on coming back to the SA tourism interview I completed in the airport as I was leaving.  Did my trip change my perception of South Africa?  "Yes".  Will I come back to South Africa?  "Probably".

Hambani kahle! 

A tale of two valleys

South Africa is a place of contrasts.  One place this can be seen is in the Drakensberg mountains, where two valleys tell different stories.  I was staying in a wonderful backpacker's hostel in the Champagne valley surrounded by such things as golf courses, hiking trails, and resort lodges.  Only a few miles away is another valley full of tiny huts, starving cows, and abundant poverty.

UPC (University Presbyterian Church) Betsy Meyers works in this second valley.  Only a couple years older than me, she has been here for six years and runs a home care organization.  She carries a young baby boy named Moses with her that was left by the river; she is adopting him.

Betsy allowed me to join her on home visits in a population that is 40% HIV Positive.  I learned from her how Tuberculosis (TB) is just as big of a problem and how AIDS and TB work together to destroy lives.

In this valley, Zulu politics collides with municipal politics.  Tribal traditions often take precedence over local laws.  Everything is run by a Chief.  If the Chief is a drunkard or otherwise absent judge, problems ensue. 

Education is crucial here.  The first lady we visit has several times stopped taking her ARV's (anti viral medications for AIDS and TB).  Young girls sleep around and have children by several fathers.  AIDS orphans 1.2 million children in SA.  We visit a home where a 19 year old girl cares for four brothers and sisters -- while still going to school.  We visit another house where there are 14 people under the age of 27 (without the parents) in the house.

Watching Betsy, her warm personality connects with these girls.  They laugh about boys and she warns about AIDS.  The organization she founded, Thembalethu Care Organization (http://hopeforaids.blogspot.com/), trains women to be caregivers in the area.  They visit houses and check up on the patients.  If need be, they refer them to the American nurse on staff or to a clinic or to a hospital.  They urge the patients to get tested for AIDS and multi-drug resistant TB and provide taxi fare for getting there.

Their heart is big and their resources limited.  They have carried out God's command to love the poor and the sick; they love unconditionally.  They make due with what they have, but somehow are still managing to build a center that will provide such services as support groups and a children's soup kitchen.  Surely we should all be serving the poor, the outcast, the alien, the helpless, the sick, and the lonely.  Surely this is what the Kingdom of God must look like.

My worst day

Leaving Port Elizabeth, I embarked on what was anticipated to be a long drive to rejoin Cindy and Trevor Francis on the South Coast.  The first thing you should know about the South African highways is they frequently pass through towns forcing your speed to come to a screeching halt.  The second thing that you should know is that sometimes you have to inexplicably take turns to stay on the highway itself.  On my drive from PE, I of course stayed straight on the highway which, of course, means I actually left the highway (because I should have turned off).  After a good while, I realized that I was headed in the wrong direction; but no worries, there was a road that I could cut across to save time! (There are not many roads in South Africa) 

This road, of course, turned out to be a dirt road, at which point I realized I was running dangerously low on gas.  The third thing you should know is that gas stations (full serve and rarely accepting credit cards) are pretty rare on the highways.  But no worries, there was a small town randomly in the middle of this dirt highway.  Rolling into town on fumes, very much relieved, I looked for a gas station that I was not finding.   I finally pulled into a country store where the Domestic informed me that there was no gas station in town!  After a call to the owner in the shop, I ended up hiking a mile or two up the road with the son of the Domestic in search of some gas at an auto shop.  I found out that he had come from Cape Town and was doing odd jobs and some art (that was sold at the shop) to get by on.  I bought the last 4 liters of gas from the auto shop, had some tea with the Domestic, and was able to get to the next city to fill up.

The fourth thing you should know about the highways is that the mountain roads are clogged with very slow semis and are often only two lanes.  SA drivers are very impatient and often attempt suicidal passes.  After leaving the city that I got the gas, a huge caravan of cars ended up getting backed up behind a semi.  They slowly started making suicidal passes to where I ended up behind the truck.  The guy behind me wasn't waiting for me to take my pass so he passed us both.  I went to follow him, but so did the guy behind him.  My side mirror clipped his side and both our cars had some minor damage.  This would lead us to have to file a police report at the police station where he didn't speak English, I didn't speak Zulu, and the police didn't speak very good English.

Moving on from there, I continued on towards the South Coast.  Being without a GPS, I once again failed to turn onto the highway and started going up some mountain highway.  The sixth thing you should know about South African highways is that there is sometimes random speed bumps in the middle of them.  I hit one twice that has to be the biggest speed bump to ever grace asphalt!

After something like 13 - 14 hours of driving, two wrong turns, nearly running out of gas, a traffic accident, and random speed bumps, a very tire heavily caffeinated Irvin rolled into the Francis house around 12:30 am.  Trevor was very gracious to me and even eased my hunger pains with some local fried chicken.  The next morning I was able to recoup and enjoy the wonderful hospitality of Cindy and Trevor before heading out to my final stop in the Drakensberg mountains.

Port Elizabeth, 3rd Place game, and sweet game park

After a couple of gorgous days in Cape Town, I finally experiences a more typical winter day on my way out of town. It was pouring down rain as I headed East along the Coast. As I was leaving, I passed Khalyisha, the largest Township in Cape Town, and was dumbstruck by the sea of poverty and the enormity of the wealth gap.

I decided to take a little detour through Stellenbosch and Franschhoek which are famous for their wine country (nothing like a little alchohol before a cross-country drive). I stopped by two wineries for some fantastic samples -- the second had a well adorned and polished wine room that felt like it was somewhere out of the South of France; I soaked up my wine at my table in front of the fireplace!

The drive from cape Town to Port Elizabeth is quite beautiful as much of it winds along the coast. The highway actually passes through quite a few towns and can get annoying slowing down to 40 Kilometers an hour.

I arrived to meet my host Ashley right around the start of the 3rd and 4th place game in PE (Germany vs. Uruguay). We arrived maybe 15 minutes late amid a freezing rain and a bitter wind.  I'll have to say that this may have been my favorite of several really impressive stadiums.  It was smaller and more intimate.  It was a little bit like Husky Stadium where there was a roof that covered most of the fans, but left the field exposed to the elements; the roof was also really effective at trapping in the noise of the fans and vuvvzelas.  The game was probably the best and most entertaining of all the ones I went to. There were five goals and I was continually impressed by Diego Forlan of Uruguay. Who cares if the game was mostly meaningless?

The following day I went to Church with Ashley and Gharde Gellan -- who did gymnastics at the University of Washington. I had lunch with Gharde, Gharde's mom, and another friend at a restaurant with a sweet view overlooking the water. Afterwards, we drove through a really fun game park. There were rhinos! warthogs!! Cheetahs!!! So cool and we were able to get so close to the animals in our car; at one point the Rhinos started jogging down the road towards our car.

After the game park, we bundled up for what would be a most unpleasant night weatherwise. We went out to the fan park to watch the Final with Netherlands and Spain. After the match, I couldn't feel my toes, but it was fun to hang out with a crowd for the final! It was sad that there would be no World Cup from here on out -- sad for South Africa as well as the country prepared for the post World Cup depression.  Alas, these things must come to an end.

These Numbers Have Faces (TNHF)

The organization that gave me the whole crazy idea of going to South Africa was These Numbers Have Faces (TNHF).  When I was Belfast, I knew an American guy Justin Zoradi who had been down to South Africa several times.  He started an organization based in one of the Cape Town townships (Gugulethu) for helping poor youth getting a University education.  They help sponsor a young men's soccer team and a young women's dance team.  Several of these youth are part of a sponsorship program where a donor can help sponsor their education.  After completing the program, each individual must contribute back a portion of their income.

When I was in Cape Town, one of the TNHF staff setup the chance to meet with two of the male students and soccer players.  They play on a competitive team called the JL Zwane Football Club.  I met Anda, Khanyisa, and Erin (wife of the staff member) at a Cape Town coffee shop.  We chatted and laughed with the guys.  After coffee, we found a spot near the Stadium and filmed some videos for TNHF.  I asked questions to the guys about having the World Cup in South Africa while Erin shot the video.  After shooting the video, we went up to the top of Signal Hill and saw the Noon Gun.  There is a great view of the city below and an incredible aerial of the Stadium.  The cannon fires very loudly every day at noon.

After the gun, we decided that we would head to the Township to eat at Mzoli's.  Mzoli's is a very famous Township meat restaurant in Gugulethu.  Despite the poverty of the Township, they love meat and will typically have a little meat with every meal.  At Mzoli's, you pick out the raw meat that you want from things like lamb, sausage, and beef.  They cook it up in a smokey room and bring the cooked meat out to you.  You typically buy a loaf of bread and wrap up pieces of the meat in the slices of bread.

After eating at Mzoli's, they wanted to show me some of the area.  They took me by the field and gym that they train at for the team.  They then took me to the home of the Captain of their team.  Most of the people in the townships live in tiny shacks that are constructed mainly of tin and he was no exception.  We hung out in the road as chickens wandered around.  The group of us just stood around and shot the breeze.  We spent a couple of hours not particularly doing anything.  Standing there, I got a feel for life of the township.  It was funny talking with the guys and them talking about how they didn't have time to do things like going to Church.  Most of the people don't have a car or a whole lot to do with their free time.  That is why something like TNHF is so important, because it gives the youth something to do with their time and a way out of poverty.  TNHF is also turning its focus more towards women as they are finding that oftentimes women are more responsible with their money than the men.

Being in the townships, you understand the enormity of the problem.  As I was leaving Cape Town, I drove by Khayelitsha -- the largest township in Cape Town.  From the main highway, I could see tin room shacks as far as the eye can see.  It's like gazing as the stars in the sky and feeling overwhelmed by the need that is out there.  I know that the small part that organizations like TNHF are doing is making a big difference in individual lives, but I felt for the all people that fall through the ginormous cracks.  http://www.thesenumbers.org/

My best day

The best day on my trip was my day of sightseeing around Cape Town.  I got up early and started out in Muizenberg.  I took some pictures of the city against the mountains and the coast -- beautiful.  I headed South to Boulders Beach to see the penguins!  That's right, penguins!  African penguins!  One of the coolest things I have ever done!  They have wooden boardwalks that you can walk out and get within a few feet of the penguins.  You come out to Foxy Beach and there are globs of them just chillin' on the beach.  Boulders Beach is next to Foxy Beach and is the beach that you can actually swim with the penguins.  Granted most of them hang at Foxy, but one brave soul wandered over to Boulders when I was there.

Driving further South, you head towards Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope.  Contrary to popular belief, neither one of these capes are where the two oceans meet; that is actually Cape Aquinas -- a few hours west of Cape Town.  Cape Point has an old elevated lighthouse that you can hike up to.  When I was there, it was a beautiful sunny day and I had breathtaking views all around -- of the oceans, of the peninsula I had driven up, and of the lighthouse.  I just took and took pictures.  The Cape of Good Hope is actually only a couple of miles down the beach and is the Southwestern most point of Africa.  I went there, took my picture with the sign, and had a few Ostrich crossings.

Outside of the park, there is another market.  You feel kind of sleazy at the markets although you can get way better prices than the shops.  99% of all shopping experiences go so something like this:

Vendor:  "Hello my friend"
You: "Hi"
Vendor: "Your Welcome"
(Your eyes look at an item for three seconds and vendor sweeps in like a vulture)
Vendor "You like?  I give you good price"
You: "How much?"
Vendor: "Normally 150 Rand, but for you 120"
(You decide you aren't interested and try to walk away"
Vendor: "This isn't a store, How much you want to pay?  You tell me how much you want to pay"

Moving on from the market, I drove along the Coast.  The sun was beginning to go down, so I stopped every five minutes to take an even better photo of the coastline.  I eventually reached the world famous Chapman Peak Drive.  It costs about five U.S. dollars to go on and it's worth every penny!  This drive is built on the side of a cliff face (it is periodically shut down to falling rocks);  I was halfway expecting 007 to come racing around the corner while I was there.  I took some incredible photos here of Houk's Bay that could have been postcards -- wow!  I drove further and caught some people having wine as the sun was going down.  I continued on past kids playing soccer and eventually made my way to Cape Town.  I took some pictures of the Stadium and then my found my way to the beach.  I took some stunning sunset pictures as a sailboat sailed on by.

I then finished my day by heading to the top of a famous neighborhood of painted houses -- called Bo Kaap.  At the top of the hill, I ate dinner at a Malay restaurant called "The High Noon Tea Room".  Malay is a traditional fare that does not serve alcohol.  There was only one other couple in the restaurant so I grabbed a seat outside with the most incredible view of Table Mountain (the mountain overlooking Cape Town).  I ate a meal of traditional fish with some sort of Rose milk drink that was similar to a milkshake -- outstanding!  An absolutely wonderful way to finish a most stunning day.