Entries Tagged 'Jac's Daily Africa Diary' ↓

(Paragon joined the C&IT CSR Challenge in South Africa team to KwaZulu-Natal, SA, 3 - 9 Sept - on a two-day build of two houses at the Mziki Argi Village project and visited some amazing destination properties -read all about it here).

Wow..lot’s to organise!  I’ve just taken my first malaria tablet today….

Managed to elbow my way through a bunch of builders yesterday to buy steel cap boots - only to find they don’t do them in girlie sizes (funny that!), so I’ve bought a pair 2 sizes too big.  I’ve also got a hard hat, pair of safety goggles and 4 sets of building gloves.  We’ve been told it’s best to put talc into the gloves as we’re going to get very sweaty.  And on I can’t tell you the trouble I’ve had trying to find a bandana (also on the list of ‘must bring’).  When was the last time you saw anyone in a bandana?  Still - best to be prepared.

Anyhow, I’m very excited and a little apprehensive, but my motto is always to try and do one thing each day that scares me.  However, we’re all in very safe hands with South African Tourism and Habitat for Humanity.

The final Itinerary looks truly amazing.  Here’s just a very brief run down:

• Monday - fly out to Durban
• Tuesday - arrive and travel to ‘Kings Grant Country Retreat’ where we’ll be staying during the build.  Country and safety briefing followed by a ‘braai’ - traditional SA BBQ
• Wednesday - off to the building area at the Mziki Agri Village Project for a day of building and community interaction (we’ve included their profiles in the diary).  Really looking forward to meeting them
• Thursday - more building with the promise of a sundowner and snack at the ‘brickfield dam’ at the end of the day
• Friday - fly to Phinda to stay at the Phinda Mountain Lodge (lots happening here - including a snake presentation?…!)
• Saturday - whale shark tagging, tracking them via GPS and maybe going up in a plane or on a boat to spot them
• Sunday - travel to the Zimbali Coastal Resort…

The Challenge team are home.

Read Jac’s Daily Africa Diary - her personal record of this amazingly rewarding, educational and exciting Challenge and CSR incentive programme:

Building for two families at the Mziki Agri Village, KwaZulu-Natal and visit to a local school.
Kings Grant retreat, Phinda Private Game Reserve, Safari, Zulu Warriors, whale shark tagging, snakes and more…

Didn’t sleep much as excited, so got up at 5am to do some last minute washing and re-packing of bag.  No matter which way I tried I couldn’t get the builders boots in, so had to resort to 2 bags.  Thought I’d donate the them and the hat to the Project after the build. 

Dashed to the office to finish a couple of things and now I’m ready to go.  The cab comes at 2pm to take me to Heathrow to tie up with the rest of the Challenge Team.  Then it’s off we go…

It’ll be late Tuesday before I can post another installment…when we arrive at Kings Grant, Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal.

Sanibonnani!  (Good afternoon).

We’re here!  Arrived at Kings Grant, Ixopo, today just around lunchtime after nearly 18 hours of travelling, to a welcome buffet lunch and, so we gathered, a very rare treat.  All of the staff came out and sang two traditional Zulu songs especially to greet us.  Dressed in their work gear, cleaners, cooks….all with the most wonderful voices.  Absolutely fantastic.

We’ve just come out of an informative briefing,  covering safety on site during the build, cultural considerations and what to expect during the week.  We also had a briefing from Sue from Habitat for Humanity.  The Charity has thousands of building projects throughout the world.  

The project we’re helping with is the Mizki Agri Village, about 30km from Ixopo, where HFH have bought some land adjacent to a village and by completely integrating and involving the local community, are building solid homes to replace their mud and wattle houses (that disintegrate in wet weather), working with the families to provide the means to farm, have clean water, a school, Church and establishing a sustainable environment.

We will be helping to build a house for each of two families.  The build is only part of what we’ll be doing over the next two days.  We’ll be working alongside the families, talking to them, getting to know them, so we can understand their lives more, as well as providing them with extra hands.  The community drives the project - it’s very much theirs and we’re all really looking forward to meeting them.

I’m lucky to be sharing this experience with a great bunch of people, all of whom have been chosen for their commitment to CSR.

They are:

Lucy Collins from Black Tomato, Julia Jawnyj from Euro Skybridge, Izania Downie- Eventia, Aileen Reuter-Maritz, John Strachan-Maximillion, Fional Pelham-Organise This, Bernadette Moss-Universal CIT, Victoria Pratt-World Events and John Kelly-Zibrant. 

Our Hosts:

Rufus Bullough from Charity Challenge, Yasmin Razak-Conference & Incentive Travel Magazine, Patricia D’Arcy-South African Tourism and Brad Glen and Taryn Paola from DMC, Inside Edge.

We’ve settled into our comfortable rooms and I’m about to go down for dinner.  After that, it’s definitely to bed!  We’re up at 6am tomorrow for breakfast and then to travel to the Village.

MORE ABOUT THE MZIKI AGRI VILLAGE & KINGS GRANT:

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We all met for a great cooked breakfast at 6am at Kings Grant.

Then, running a little late, as we all had such a good night’s sleep after our flights, we boarded the bus with our rucksacks, hard hats and building paraphernalia and set off for Mziki village.

Alf our driver, is great and full of stories and a few dirty jokes! He, Sue from Habitat for Humanity and Gavin from Africa Exposure are all staying at Kings Grant with us.  40 mins later after rattling through the bush dirt tracks past the wonderful countryside, peppered with small round Kraals, we arrived at Mziki village.

We peered through the now steamed windows to see two plots side by side where foundations had already be laid and and one course of bricks (yes….just the one!).

Sue called all the villagers who are working on the two houses to join us. We stood in a circle whilst a lovely lady called Eunice said a Zulu prayer.

We were given our work cry of dagga dagga dagga, oy oy oy. The villagers find this very amusing as dagga is Zulu for cement!

We were split into two groups and worked with the two women who will be benefiting from the new houses, Lalisile Dlamini and Tholakelle Ngubane, and the local Mziki village site supervisors. (See more about Lalisile and Tholakelle here.)

Each team nominated a member as a ‘water fairy’ to make sure we are all drinking lots of fluids throughout the day.

There was a cool breeze coming up from the valley so the 25 degrees did feel cooler which was great for us to work in.

Bongiwi is the supervisor for our house. She’s 24 and her family live in the huts in the kraal next to where we are building. She is one of 13 children and her family will be having a house built in phase two of this programme. She is currently living with one of her elder sisters in one of the houses up the hill from our build site.

So we got stuck in.  Moving breeze blocks, off of lorries and placing them in piles around the outside of the house.

All the while mixing dagga dagga….lots and lots of dagga dagga!

Enjoying lunch and chat with Bongiwi

Having arrived at 9am with a tea break at 11, we were hungry and very ready for lunch at 1.30.

At lunch we had an opportunity to ask the two families questions about themselves and their lives.

Tholakele said that the new house will change her life. At the moment she and her family live in basically a run-down hut. They have to cook on open fires in the centre of the room and the smoke from the fires cause respiratory problems. Also white ants get into the mud and wattle and the walls just start to crumble.

The weather has closed in and it’s now quite chilly, misty, wet and damp (can you believe it!) and we’re all wearing jumpers.

We set off again to the site by bus for day 2 of the build, but this time we detoured through a small shanty village and arrived at a guarded gate to a local school.

We were greeted by the Principle, a lady who’s been with the school since 1985, who was to show us round.

We meet the Principle of the school

As we parked and got out of the bus we could see at every window, happy little faces looking back at us and waving.  Then one of the windows swung open and the we could hear the children excitedly calling out and clapping.  The children at the back were all straining to see us, so little heads were bobbing up and down as they jumped up to catch a glimpse of us.

It was overwhelming.  There are 230 children at the school, taught within 6 blocks of 2 classrooms each.  In 1985 the school was just a hut and as the number of children grew the villagers built one school block themselves, making the cement blocks by hand.  Over the years they have built 3 more blocks and the government paid for the building of two more.

A lot of these children are orphans whose parents have died from HIV.  Families are poor and many of these children would starve if were not for the school feeding them.

We asked if we could see the kitchens as we could smell food cooking.  The Principle lead us to a hut, little more than a shed.  6′ x 6′.  In the centre of the floor was a fire and on top, a large cauldron.  The pot is left on all day cooking a stew of meat, maize and vegetables. 

Smoke was bellowing out from the hut and as I walked in it choked me and my eyes were watering so much I had to leave.  How the women cooked in here each day I don’t know.  But they provided one hot meal a day for each of the children.  There is a school garden where they try and grow vegetables but there’s not much at moment as they’re just coming out of Winter.

For most children this was the only meal they would have in a day.  Many of the children walked to school from local villages, some up to 6km each way, even the little 5 year olds.  No breakfast before they leave, and no dinner waiting for them after their long journey home.

By the time many of them arrive they are exhausted and we saw some of the younger ones having a nap in their classroom with their heads resting on their hands at their desk.

One of the women we met was a care worker.  She visits the school once a week to check the health of each and every child here.  At the school they don’t test the children for HIV but the care worker explained that they can always tell first by the child’s eyes and then if they have sores.  She also looks after the children with general illnesses.

As we visited each class we had a chance to chat to the children.  We asked some of them what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most said policeman, teacher, nurse or care worker….as these are the people they normally come across in their daily life.  A couple of the children said they wanted to be white, but didn’t know why and one wanted to be Chinese but didn’t know why! 

We asked them what games they liked to play and football was very popular, although they had no sports gear or equipment whatsoever…and they had never heard of David Beckham…hardly suprising really!

At the end of our visit Habitat for Humanity and the various agencies in the project donated some games and equipment to the school and we were treated to a Tribal dance as we left and the children gave us an overwhelming farewell.

The visit left us extremely emotional and the bus was very quiet on the way to the building site.

The fundamental thing, what hit me the most, was that out of all of this was that the children were so pleased to see us and so open and loving and so willing to learn and better themselves.  A stark contrast to the UK where our children have everything - and take it forgranted.  These children have nothing, not even electricity, yet they have such incredible enthusasm for learning.  But they do achieve some great successes.  One child went on to university, another works at a supermarket.

One of the School blocks

Arrived at the site for another day of hard, but enjoyable graft.

We were told that we worked well and that we been there for the full 5 days (the usual volunteer build period) we would definitely have completed the houses.

For the last two days we’ve been working with a lady called Bongiwi and her mother.  The mother is a great character and although she can’t speak a work of English, I suspected that she could understand more than she was letting on.  She had spent most of the morning on site with us, singing and dancing and saying how wonderful the house was going to be.  She was a great encourager and helped us to speed up and put in that extra effort.

So, the final day of our build came to an end.  We tidied up the site and we all gathered for a final Zulu prayer.

We were then invited into Bongiwi’s Kraal (the enclosure within which a series of huts are built as and when the family grows) to meet the rest of her family.  It was amazing and a privilege to be invited in.  Each of the huts were very clean and had a small amount of electricity, just enough for a light and perhaps one cooker ring, but most families still use fires.

Then we said our goodbyes with lots of hugs and a few tears. It was very hard to leave and a very emotional experience.

We all felt so humbled by the stamina, the resilience and the overwhelming sense of determination the villagers have to help themselves, to push for change within their close community. I felt honoured to have had the opportunity to work alongside them and empowered by their determination and enthusiasm to make their world a better place to live in.

Back in the bus, we were driven to two huge two-storey shells of buildings, just steel girder frames, which will eventually be a training centre for the villagers to be taught constructions skills. Here we were offered a welcome cold drink and snacks whilst we watched a video showing how the Mziki Project was first started by Peter Cornelius as an ‘idea’ in 1997.

It took another 14yrs to get the infrastructure to support over 200 houses before he met with Habitat for Humanity and shared his dream of creating a model that is so very unique and now quite established that other communities can use the Project as a template.

Then it was back to ‘Kings Grant’ for a lovely hot meal and a good night’s sleep.

Tomorrow….it’s a flight to Phinda to stay at Phinda Private Game Reserve’s beautiful Mountain Lodge and ….SAFARI!

Just to prove I did do some building…
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Meet Lalisile Dlamini one of the two beneficiaries for the houses the Challenge team are helping to build.

Lalisile is 38 years old and has three children, one son and two daughters (17, 11 and 7 years). All the children attend local schools.

Lalisile is married to Sutha Njwara and they currently live in a Kraal on the Highflats farm where the Mziki Agri village Project is based. The family currently live in a mud and wattle structure and their monthly income is very low. Conditions within the home are very difficult for the family, especially the children. Bad weather causes problems as the roof leaks and the children become sick very easily.

Lalisile was very excited when volunteers came previously to help families build their homes and she has been looking forward to meeting the volunteers and building with them.

Interview by: Ben TshiteyaVoluneer Co-ordinator Habitat for Humanity SA (KZN Region)

NOW READ ABOUT THOLAKELE….

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We woke this morning to a chilly day of more mist and rain.  After breakfast it was time to say our goodbye’s to ‘Kings Grant’ and Sue and Gavin. 

We set out for Virginia Airport travelling through beautiful lush countryside and as we travelled the mist cleared and the weather perked up.

At the airport we loaded our luggage (now greatly reduced as we gave Gavin to donate to the community our building boots, hats and gloves, plus football kits for the children and stationery for the schools) into the 12 seater aircraft.

This was not your standard charter plane.  As I lowered my head to get in I could smell new leather…plush pale leather seats each with a beautifully packed lunch box placed waiting for us.

I sat, very comfortably at the back, next to the ice box full of water and soft drinks. 

The pilot (a Yorkshireman!) jumped on board, we all strapped up, the engine jumped into life and the front propeller spun.

We headed North, hugging the coastline.  Flying at only 1500 feet, the view was spectacular.  Forests, tree farms, water estuaries, wonderful houses right on the golden beaches.  After a while we headed inland and the bush and forests gave way to a dryer landscape. 

With a steep bank, we started our decent.  We glided onto the runway, little more than a dirt track and bumped our way to a stop.  The door was opened by the pilot and we all jumped out.  Just one hour from Durban and it was hot and dry.  

There was a Phinda welcome committee standing under a tree in front of a long table with crisp white cloths flapping in the breeze.  Surely the stuff of movies!

Some small children came to us singing and handing each of us brightly coloured beaded necklaces.

We had ice cold face towels and drank chilled water and munched on pineapple and mango kebabs before jumping into the 4×4’s and heading off to Phinda Mountain Lodge.

What a fabulous place!

Phinda is a Private Game Reserve in Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal around 3 hours drive from Durban or 1 hour charter flight.  Mountain Lodge is one of Phinda’s 6 diverse and luxurious Lodges on the Reserve.

 

“Phinda, which means ‘the return’, is an apt name for a project with various resonances: not only is the bush being retuned to its pristine state, but it is also seeing the return of the value of the land to its people.
“Nikki Moore - Mail & Guardian - Aug 2001 (reproduced from CCAfrica)

See our separate report on Phinda Private Game Reserve & Rock Lodge 

We pulled up at reception and escorted up small paths to a conference room with a wonderful balcony and the most spectacular views.

After an iced tea, we were shown to our rooms to unpack. My room is fab with great views of the hills and bush.

Then a short walk to the pool area for a briefing ahead of our first, and my first ever, Safari, into the 4×4’s and we rumbled out into the bush with our Ranger and Tracker.

What an experience. As we drove , we saw elephants, hippos and giraffes, impala and buffalo.

As dusk was falling we pulled into a clearing where the staff had a bar and were cooking BBQ snacks.

We were teated to a fascinating ’snake experience’ and as night fell, flame torches were lit and we drank cocktails under the stars.

Then we continued our safari by night when we saw a Genet (or Janet as we called it!) . Its looks like a young cat with fab markings.

We were seaching for lion and the elusive cheetah. After an hour driving, I heard noises. The vehicles pulled up and we saw flaming torches lining a route into the bush.  Zulu Warriors danced and sang as we walked down the path into a clearing lit with 50 or more torches and where a large campfire was burning in the centre.

The Zulu Warriors’ dance was spectacular.  It’s traditionally performed to celebrate victory, or to prepare for battle. The movements depict modes of attack and boast of male prowess - simulating the dodging and attacking associated with facing an enemy. Their dress was impressive as were the high kicks and stamping down in a display of their manhood.

We all sat on long table for dinner. The food was just incredible - BBQ beef and guinea fowl. Afterwards, we drank and talked round the fire till the wee small hours.

 Tomorrow we’re off to Sodwana Bay and whale shark tagging……

Saturday started early with a breakfast by the pool on a veranda platform with amazing views. Then off on a bus to the Sodwana Bay National Park.

It was a hot and lovely day. As the bus arrived, two 4×4’s were waiting for us.  We jumped in and the driver raced us up the dune and down on the other side we saw an amazing stretch of sandy beach and bay.

The vehicle zoomed onto the sand and down towards the water and turned South where I saw some tents in the distance.

As we arrive there was another welcoming committee from Phinda, a bar and savoury snacks served in 6 thick leather small carry cases.

At 1030 we all decided to have a G&T as a marine expert went through what was to happen that day.  

I decided to have massage under one of the canopies. It was bliss, relaxing and all the more wonderful for hearing the sea and feeling the breeze.

By the time I had finished the boat was ready to take me and two others out looking for whale sharks.

The breeze had turned into a high wind and although the sun was still out the sea was getting very choppy. We were in a semi ridged inflatable with 2 enormous outboard engines.  

(example photo, not of actual group)

We struggled to push the boat out but managed to catch a wave and jumped on board, then bumped and crashed our way through the surf. 

Meanwhile a 3 seater plane was loading up with 3 passengers to take off and go whale shark hunting. 

We started to make our way, following the coastline of beautiful sandy beaches. The skipper shouted out against the noise of the engines that he had seen a humpback whale with her baby near the shore just a little way South of where we were. 

I couldn’t believe it, we were 10ft away from the mother whale. The water was only 8m deep and the baby was playing, diving down vertically and then when it’s tail was sticking out in the air it  flapped it down hard onto the surface of the water with an almighty splash.

We watched quietly so we didn’t disturb them. 

What a sight!  Luckily the marine expert had a waterproof camera and as the mother’s head shot up and out from the water he managed to get some pictures.  

By now, the plane was overhead.  The weather was changing. The waves were getting higher and the wind had increased but just as we were about to turn back, when the radio com went and the pilot shouted out.

”We’ve spotted a whale shark”. 

I looked up and the plane was banking heavily, turning a circle. It seemed much further out to sea than we were, then our skipper pushed the throttle flat forward and the engines roared as we took off towards the plane.  

The pilot was shouting “It’s on the tip of my wing, the tip of my wing!!”  

We were weaving our way towards the plane… then I saw it. A huge shadow under the water a little to the right of me.

The engines were cut, the plane dipped it’s wing as a goodbye as it headed back….and suddenly everything was silent. 

“He’s there, 7ft from us!” cried the skipper.

Wow….the huge fish was right in front of me. I wanted to get my mask and flippers on ready to jump in and tag but the ‘marine man’ said it was too dangerous for us in the high waves.  

He jumped in instead as did another brave member of our team, John, and they managed to take a photo. They then used the swell of a wave to carry themselves almost onto the boat then leapt back in. 

We rolled around on what were now large waves and the wind was turning to a Force 7, so it was time to head back. We had drifted a very long way South. The skipper threw the throttle down hard again, the engines roared, the front of the boat lifted and we were off.  

I had to move from sitting on the side of the boat with my feet strapped and holding onto ropes, back to the centre engine hatch where I strapped my feet in and clung onto the ropes from the kit rack. It was like riding a bucking bronco. 

The waves were getting bigger and bigger and cresting in the high winds. As we came around the head land each wave towered above us, suddenly there 6 dolphins swimming around us jumping in and out of the surf.

The skipper who incidentally was a professional surfer, weaved the boat though the waves with expertise speeding up and slowing down when a particularly high wave approached. Eventually, exhausted we launched on a high wave which surfed us onto the beach…..what a fantastic ride!!

The 4×4 took us back to the beach camp and a BBQ lunch. My face stinging from the wind and the salt, we made our way back to the coach for the return to Phinda.

I just had time to take a hot bath and change ready for our CSR Forum.

During the next 3 hours we all discussed our personal highlights of the week and how the industry and our own companies are tackling CSR issues internally and externally.

The CC Africa area manager stood up and told us about their work.

Although there seemed to be a huge contrast between the build at Mziki Agri Village then Phinda, it’s important to recognise that the tourist industry in SA is very important for the local inhabitants as well as the economy.

In Phinda for example, CC Africa have 14,000 hectors of land which was originally farm land for cotton employing just 13 people. Now 360 people are employed at Phinda.  CC Africa have also  built schools and employed teachers, helping to create better, more sustainable lives and business.

Yes, in undertaking this challenge we have produced carbon emissions, however, the benefits of our trip, and our efforts in helping to produce a positive, sustainable impact on the environment we visited, I believe, goes a long way in balancing the negative impact our journeys will have created.

The forum continued for an extremely useful and interesting 3 hours.

Later, we followed the rangers by torchlight for a Boma Dinner within a reed enclosure lit by torches and a campfire in the middle. We were entertained by a local choir and then thoroughly enjoyed a sumptuous BBQ of fresh fish and wonderful beef.

It was a wonderful farewell to Phinda and we enjoyed the wine and the conversation into the night.

It was up at 6 for a last Safari before heading back to Durban airport for our connecting flight to Johannesburg.

The sun was just rising over the hills as we set off with blankets on our knees to keep us warm.  It wasn’t long before we saw the one animal we had been searching for.

The cheetah. The most wonderful sight. We managed to get really close and just sat and watched him stalking impala.

The time just flew and all too soon it was time to make our way back to the lodge ready for the off. 

I just didn’t want our time to end in this wonderful Country.

But, once packed and after a final breakfast we left by coach.

Before our flight we had time to stop off at the Zimbali Lodge for lunch.

This 5* Lodge lies in a protected nature reserve a short 30 minute drive from Durban and nestles in untouched green forest with fabulous sea views.  Birds and small antelope roam the surrounding forest. 

Sadly, our stop was short but we managed to have a look around and enjoy a delicious Indian fusion lunch before setting off for Durban and the flight home.

FINALLY…

It was the most fabulous, life enhancing, emotional, humbling, exciting, amazing week.

This was just one of the incentive trips possible. I can’t stress enough how wonderful it was to spend time in helping to make a real difference to peoples lives. How much more satisfying to actually be involved rather than simply throw money at the problem. The feeling of self achievement, of being part of a team, the insight into other’s lives is a truly priceless experience and having undertaken the journey myself I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Thank you for reading my Diary….and I hope you have a chance one day to write your own account.