Namibia – Walvis Bay

Well I have spent the last few days in Walvis Bay, Namibia. I arrived on Sunday the 13^th April 2007 and I am now leaving on the 17^th. (Currently at the Walvis Bay International Airport)

It has been a truly remarkable past few days. Right from the moment I arrived in this rather quaint little place. As we landed at the airport I could not stop thinking how much the scenery around the area reminded me of a movie I had watched not that long again called “Flight of the Phoenix” In the movie you see a story of a plane of oil drillers whose plan crash in the desert. Unknown to me at the time the actual desert they filmed in was the “Namib Desert” I only found this out when I passed a comment to the car rental lady that the airport reminded me of something out of that movie. Her dad had worked on the movie when it was made here. In the movie we are led to believe that it is the Mongolian desert but as we now know it was in Namibia.

It is quite literally wall to wall sand here.

So what have I been doing in this picturesque country? Well I have been here for the past 4 days aiding in running a KABP (Knowledge, Attitude, Belief and Practice) survey to identify exactly where the hot spot of commercial sex workers and truckers operate in. A few “Hot Spots” had been identified to us but we needed to narrow this down to one ideal location. Not quite as easy as it sounds. One would think look and see where the sex workers hang out and see where the truckers hang out. Wish it was that easy.

The survey is a questionnaire that we gave out to a team of 10 volunteers to go and interview our target group ( Commercial Sex Workers and Truck Drivers and Assistance) Our questionnaire had 7 section in it.

Section 1 – Socio-demographic information and employment (Gender, age and type of work etc)

Section 2 – Drivers and assistance – nature of work (How long they work how often they frequent the area and stay etc. General info on heath care and services are also collected at this point. )

Section 3- Sex workers – nature of work (How many working in the area how often they are working etc)

Section 4 – Risk and risk reduction (How aware they are of STI and HIV/AIDS and its associated risk and risk of infection to them self and others. Also we can ascertain how promiscuous people are in the area)

Section 5 – HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudes (Questions on what they know about HIV/AIDS and how to seek information and there attitudes towards HIV/AIDS (have they been tested etc))

Section 6 – Condoms (do they know where to get them and how to use them?)

Section 7 – STIs (do they know how to identify an STI and where do they go to get treatment)

We did find out where the sex workers hang out and we were able to talk to them about what they were doing and get a good idea of there HIV awareness. We also found out that predominantly there cliental were more often than not seafarers than truckers. One of the reasons for this is they pay better. Truckers in the area don’t really park up for any great length of time. The reasons for this were not very clear. In most cases it was they have a quick turn around of off loading and loading. So it is going to be hard for us to justify a wellness centre to facilitate the truckers and the commercial sex workers in the area.

On the flip side I have been able to meet some really remarkable people during my stay here. The staff and volunteers at the “New Start” “Walvis Bay Multi Purpose Centre” have been incredibly hospitable to me. The volunteers who have helped collect the data from the survey have been incredible. All really eager to help out and get as much info that they could. They arraigned appointments with the girls so that they could sit down in a place they felt comfortable with to conduct the interviews. They asked additional questions of the drivers and the girls in order to try and shed some more light on where activities were happening. They were just so helpful. A great pleasure to work with. Every one we spoke to understood the importance of a wellness centre in the area and were willing to work with us to provide the data we required. Right down to the pub owner where the girls worked out of.

Some of the things that really struck me about Walvis Bay is the personal pride and sense of community in the area. I guess living in a harsh environment like a dessert you have to stick together at all times in order to survive. I think people here also realise that they live in such a harsh environment and they have risen about this to have a strong community and this is something to be proud of.

I have been really lucky to be given this opportunity to see Namibia from this perspective.

I have taken loads of photos of this remarkable place. And before any one comments I was here on work – honest! click here to see the photos from Namibia.

Some things I can recommend to anyone wanted to visit.

DO! Don’t just think about it just do it! You will not be disappointed.

I stayed in a fab place in Swakopmund, The Beach Lodge Hotel, some 35 – 40km away from the airport. The drive out there is well worth the distance. Walvis is very commercial so Swakop is where the holiday people tend to go. Loads of fab hotels and places to go. About half way between Swakop and Walvis there is a Dune Quad centre, Dare Devil Adventures. I had to pay a visit there as it was highly recommended. There are quite a few places that offer Dune Quad biking so just take your pick. The one just as you come into Swakop has had cliental of such likes of Brad Pit and Angelina Jolene.

I was lucky to get to go out as it was just myself and the guide. I think this made it extra special as the guide really went out of his way for me to show me some of the awesome wild life that resides in this barren hostile environment. Jackals, Chameleon and sand diving lizards to name a few of the inhabitants of the Namib Desert.

You will see from the photos I had an awesome time out there and yes I did do work out there too and important work at that. (Click on link to see photos from Namibia)

Low-cost Air travel – African style

I type this from Cape Town International Airport. Like Johannesburg International there is a lot of construction work going on here. So every thing is in a bit of disarray but every one is very happy and only too happy to help.

I flew down on a low cost airline called Kulula.com and wow what an airline. A there is a lot of low cost airlines that operate out of South Africa and this is my first experience with Kulula.com and I am glad to say it was a real fun experience. I mentioned in a recent blog that the glamour and the fun has been taken out of flying as a result of these low cost airlines making air travel as mundane as catching a bus or train. Its just an other form of public transport to some. Well I think Kulula may have turned that idea upside down and shook it all about.

Checking in was no different to any other airline I have been with. As long as your bags are within limit and you have all the correct paperwork with you this is a breeze at best.

But what really stuck me about this airline was its rather unorthodox way of dealing with health and safety issues and just trying to make air travel fun again.

There health and safety brief was not all that different from any other airline. They still show you how to fasten your seat belt around your “gorgeous” hips and that oxygen masks will be deployed if the price of SA fuel is to drop by ZAR2 or there is a sudden loss in cabin pressure. There is also no smoking on a Kulula flight and if you are caught you will be asked to leave the plane immediately! (Would love to see that at 35000 feet!)

The landing was just as funny – “Welcome to Cape Town International Airport – if you were expecting to be some where else I think you have a problem!” “Please if you do wish to leave any thing behind that it is something useful to us like an Ipod or Cell phone!”)

This sense of humour does work. People listen and the message does get across. I also think it aids the people who are nervous flyers and helps them relax . 10 out of 10 Kulula.com. It really brightened up my day that’s for sure.

My only regret on this flight was I did not have my camera with me as it was in my laptop bag in the bulk head and I could not take photos of the awesome views coming into Cape Town. I will make sure I have it with me on my short flight to Walvis Bay in Namibia. I will post them up as soon as I can.

Time to go – got to go and check in.

Survivor Zim

This has been in the local news papers here.

Just had to share it with every one.

Source - Madam And Eve ( Click on the link to get a week of Madam and Eve and the Zimbabwean elections - very funny but very true )


Click on the image for a bigger version

Where I live (Bedfordview Jo'burg SA)

Quite a few people have been asking where do I live in SA.

Well I live in a residential area called Bedfordview not far from the O.R Tambo Airport ( JNB International)

The apartment I live in is part of a MASSIVE house! There are 6 self contained apartments in this house ( well what use to be a house ) the house is called Lee Gardens.

I have uploaded some photos of my "apartment" for you all to see here.

Photos as well as the official booking site for Lee Gardens can be found here.

Lee Gardens so far has been really good - its really close to all the major motorways and some really fab shopping centres. So all in all home from home really.

I am enjoying it so far.

Only in South Africa - again

I was listening to the radio in traffic today and I could not believe what I was hearing. It was the news at 17:00 and it was a government minister addressing parliament today.

Here is what she had to say :- Source BBC news website

SA police 'should shoot to kill'

A government minister in South Africa has told police they should kill criminals if they threaten police or the community, reports say.

Deputy security minister Susan Shabangu said police "must kill the bastards [criminals] if they threaten you", the Star newspaper reported.

"I want no warning shots, you have one shot and it must be a kill shot," she told an anti-crime meeting in Pretoria.

"You have been given guns, now use them," she added.

"The constitution says criminals must be kept safe, but I say no," she added.

The minister was responding to questions from residents on what the police and government were doing to curb crime.

South Africa suffers some of the highest levels of violent crime in the world, with police figures showing an estimated 20,000 murders committed every year.

Now listening to this I was in stitches at first - in absolute disbelief that this could be said in public. Now public opinion on what was said is a bit mixed. People who have been victims of this seem to agree on this hole heartily ( or is it cold heartedly ) and the rest were rather mixed.

I can not only but applaud the Deputy security minister for what she said as I think like many people in SA she is just fed up with criminals getting away quite litraly with murder over here.

BUT

And it is a big but, she is sort of sending out the wrong message. Cops should not be judge, jury and exicutioner. The juditial system says your "Inocent till proven guilty" and for this to remain people will have to stand trial for there crimes. I think what the Deputy security minister was saying that if your threatening life of innocent people you, the criminal's, life will also be threatened as a consequence.

Well I hope that's the case.

But what a woman for using the world "Bastards" in parliament and it being broadcasted for every one to hear. I hope the shock factor hit home to many.

Beer Chicken

How can you be so glum with a beer can up your bum......

Yesterday I went round to an old school mates place for a Braai ( A BBQ to the rest of you ) Normally its a all beef affair but not this time. Jacques was going to introduce me to something new. Something that has taken South Africa by storm. Now I am not sure if its a typically South African dish or if it came from Zimbabwe or Australia as my search on the web could not clear this up for me. But not to worry about where it originates from all you have to know is it was dam tasty.

So what is beer chicken.

Basically its a whole chicken that is roasted with a can of beer up its do da ;-)

the basic recipe that I had at Jacques was as follows.

Ingredients.

1 chicken ( whole - no giblets etc )
1 can of beer ( Cobra in our case but you can use any thing - just a small can not the long)
some olive oil with salt - pepper and other spices to spice things up a bit.

Baste the chick with the olive oil mix.
OPEN the can of beer ( very very important! )
Sit the chicken on top of the can - See my photos.

We put the birds into a Webber BBQ oven with the coals on eather side of the bird but I am sure an ordinary oven would do the trick but I think you will miss the smoking process in a kitchen oven.

We served the chicks up with salad and garlic bread.

The chick was moist and tender and you could taste the beer in the meat. It was fab.

Here is a link to an official recipe.
And some more info on Beer Chicken/Beer Can Chicken
A link to buy some accessories for the professional beer chicken connoisseur.

Hope you enjoy.

Photos of our chickens not looking so glum with a beer can up its .......

T.I.A (This Is Africa)………….

………..Or should it read …… OIA (Only In Africa)

I think one can write a book on things that you can’t make up but do seem to only happen in Africa.

Thought I would share a few that I have had the joy to experience and just feel like I want to laugh or cry over.

There is an advert both on TV and radio. The advert is for a whistle blower phone number to report Telkom (Telecommunications provider like BT in the UK) cable theft. Theft of phone cables is costing industry here millions and it’s also costing life where people can not place a simple phone call to the emergency services. This has been going on for years so nothing new there. But the bit that does make me laugh about this advert is at the end of the advert it says “Call 0800 ….. from a landline” hang on a moment from a landline – the very landline that your reporting stolen ? HOW! Someone did not give that much thought I feel. I am sure it can also be phoned from a cell (mobile) phone but why emphasize the landline bit I really don’t know.

Mom told me a sweet story the other day about a labour at the complex they stay in. My dad answered a knock on the door the other day to find Simon with a parcel in his hands. The parcel was wrapped up in paper and masking tape. As Simon’s English is not too good my Dad could not work out what he was on about. Dad’s first thought was that Simon was trying to sell him something. This was far from the case. Simon had been given some ice-cream and he was looking for somewhere to keep it till he went home. Mom explained to him that they could not keep it long as they were going out. He was happy with that. When it came for Mom and Dad to go out they found Simon to give him his ice-cream. As they were going out the saw Simon knocking on doors looking for another place to store his ice-cream. The story just reminded me of a scene from “Ice-Age” where “Scrat” it trying to keep hold of his cherished wall nut.

Been walking around the shops and meeting people here and every one seems to be so happy. Yes there is a lot of bad things going on. Crime is off the scale inflation is at 10%. But people here seem to just get on with it and smile. I got to experience load shedding the other day. Load shedding is Eskom’s way of trying to save on fuel for power. Basically Eskom is in a bit of a power struggle at the moment with the country not having enough power. They were warned years ago that this would happen but did not react. The power went off from just after 11am till around 15:30. People who had laptops carried on working till there batteries died. Others made appointments to see people who had power or did not need power to do what ever it was that they wanted to. But I did not hear any one complaining about it. Its just a way of life. Actually someone said to me that this was a good way to show that South Africa was growing too fast that Eskom could not keep up with demand. One way of looking at it I guess. Always the African way – look to the positive.

As a result of all this development South Africa is having to import cement to aid in the building of stadiums and infrastructure for the 2012 football world cup. Southern Africa has a shortage of cement as a result.

I think you will find that as the rest of the world try and find ways of taxing people for the power they use and there CO2 footprint and the likes. It will be a power saving/ clean energy idea that will come out of southern Africa and it will save the economic crisis and solve all our ecological power issues in one go. Just you wait – after all – THIS IS AFRICA! Stranger things have happened. PowerGen Wind up radios are made here (or where) Ok it’s a UK invention but South Africa helped make it happen and I think they will make it happen again.

On the subject of making it happen – it’s a very African thing that – “Boer maak ‘n plan” (A farmer makes a plan)

To see some views of South Africa click here.

Photos taken from Ballito and en route back to Johannesburg just past Harrismith on the N3

Click here to see where Ballito is

Click here to see where Harrismith is.

Slight Change of plan.

This should have been uploaded last week ( 10/03/08)

Well there has been a bit of a change of plan to my assignment with North Star Foundation. I am pleased to say I am still going to SA on Saturday and the main goal is still the same. That is the goal to set up Wellness Centres to provide HIV/AIDS prevention and education still stands.

Originally the plan was to setup Wellness Centres at Bietbridge and Chirundu to target the long haul truck drivers at the boarder posts. Well this has changed slightly with the plan now being to setup 7 centres targeted at the courier industry in the major centres of South Africa. Already some of the major courier companies have joined forces in this initiative along with SAEPA (South African Express Parcel Association) to put together these centres at locations like airports or close to there depots. To me this makes a lot of sense. Although some of the big names in the courier industry have large long haul trucking divisions out side of South Africa there key business in SA is courier both domestic and international. This means that they are all playing a part in something that is mutually beneficial to themselves. They will be helping protect their investment in their own staff.

I am very excited by this new development as I come from a domestic (South African) courier back ground with Dawn Wing Couriers. So I now can play quite an active part in ensuring that staff in this industry that, has and still does play a big part in my life, can have the best possible care and education when it comes to HIV and AIDS.

I have been tasked with two objectives. Project manage the project, and looking at the IT infrastructure to ensure that we can get data back from the centres so we can monitor the performance of them and report back to the stakeholders. I also hope I can add more to this project with my knowledge of the domestic courier industry in South Africa.

I am now really getting excited about getting into SA and getting stuck in. Next week is going to be a week of meeting people and just getting as much info into my head as I can. It’s going to be tough yes but I know there is a team behind me all the way that I can count on. My meeting with Robin and Francesca yesterday has only enforced this support.

Support is important in any thing you do. With it you can do anything!

Swazi Wellness Centre (Chevron/NFS)

On Thursday 12th March I visited the Swazi Wellness Centre at Oshoek, near Mbabane, the border between Swaziland and South Africa.

The Swazi Wellness Centre at Oshoek was setup with a partnership between Chevron and North Star Foundation back in September 07. Chevron is the sponsor for this centre and has committed to its running costs and has even hosted it on its forecourt of the Caltex Service Station. The drivers, sex workers and local community benefit from this very well located centre.

I got to meet the staff of the centre and the first thing that struck me about them was how enthusiastic they were about there work. The staff consists of an Out-reach worker and a Nurse. The Out-reach worker does basic sex education and HIV/AIDS awareness and the nurse does basic heath care with the patients that come to see her. I got the sense that they were very proud to be doing there part in the combat of the spread of HIV/AIDS and STD’s in the community and with the long distance drivers. We, the North Star Foundation team, got to speak to the local’s that were around the area and it does seem that the centre is a very welcome addition to there community. They all knew what it was about even if they felt they did not need to visit it they were aware of the message it was sending out.

Swazi does seem to be very jacked up HIV/AIDS awareness program. On every lamp post and just about every sign post there is the red ribbon symbol for HIV/AIDS awareness. Posters and billboards all have some form of awareness message on them. It was great to see so much awareness and campaigning for the fight against HIV/ AIDS. But it’s not just the Kingdom of Swaziland but I have seen a fair bit of awareness going on in South Africa too.

I am fully aware that we will not eradicate the spread of HIV/AIDS but it is refreshing to see that people are trying to do there bit to stop the spread of this pandemic.

Photos of the Swaziland Wellness Centre can be found here.

Air Travel

I write this in the departure lounge of Frankfurt Airport (FRA) as I wait for my delayed departure to South Africa. – (Was meant to depart at 20:45 – now departing at 00:15 (Sunday morning))

Gone is time that air travel was for the selected few. When it was exciting just to get onto a plain to visit new destinations and go on exciting adventures. Now it just seems to be a mundane thing that people do. Security is now just a formality. Delays are just part of the norm. The only people you see excited about the prospects of getting on a plain to travel to far off places are young children. There parents are only worried about getting to there final destination with there children on the same plane as them. People bustling around, with a sense of purpose, but not really going any where. Just to the exit gate to find that there plain has been delayed do to unforeseen circumstances.

Maybe it’s the time of day, I don’t know. But I just seem to see tired people, stressed people.

Why is this?

Has low cost air lines made it as normal to fly to a new destination as driving to the shops? “Every one does is now.” So that if you have not been on a plane you’re the odd one out? It does seem that way I as sit here watching people running around with no where to go.

The Person,

Over the past few days it has become clear to me that it takes a certain type of person to volunteer to go on a WPF assignment.

 

On the training course there were people from all manor of backgrounds. Male, Female, young and old alike. Just about every bit of land mass was covered by these people in some shape or form. People that are currently residing in Australia, India, UK, Chilly, Argentina, Italy, France, The Netherlands. Other countries like South Africa, Malawi, Switzerland, and Germany have all had a part in these people's lives at some stage.  

 

One thing that became very clear during our time together was that we all shared the same ambitions in life. We all wanted to make a bit of a difference in the world. No matter how small and insignificant it might be as long as we made a small contribution it would make a big impact on us.

 

I really enjoyed my time with these people. New friendships have been made and bounded together though this common ground we now all have. Language, gender and cultural differences have been left back home. We are now all just one…..

 

Members of an elite group of people with a common goal. To make, what might appear to be small to some but massive to others, a difference in the world.

 

As I sit at Frankfurt airport typing this up, I can not but wonder what adventures lay ahead of them with the School Feeding Program and Me, with North Star Foundation. All our adventures will be different but one thing is for sure they will all be memorable.

 

I wish them all the best and I look forward to reading there stories and seeing there photos.

 

Blog's for the teams that are going, and have gone, on the WFP School Feeding program with TNT can be found on the "Moving the World" website.

 

The Partnership

For the past few days I have been at the World Food Program (WFP) Head Quarters (HQ) in Rome. The reason for my visit to the WFP is to do some training. This training is done by all TNT members of staff that go onto the “School Feeding Program” and “Emergency Response Stand By Teams”. It covers all manner of things from basic health and safety issues down to managing stress while on assignment. Even though I am not going on a School Feeding Project (Food for Education – FFE) I have found it very interesting. The one of the aspects of this training was about the partnership between TNT and WFP.

Back in December 2007 TNT and WFP celebrated its 5th anniversary. In doing so both TNT and WFP extended this partnership indefinitely so long as the partnership remained beneficial to both parties. Being part of this partnership makes me incredibly proud.

TNT is WPF largest corporate contributor. In 2007 TNT donated US$ 9 million ($2 million in cash the rest in services (trucks, planes, manpower etc)) As a result of this TNT has a department called “Moving the World” that facilitates fund raising exercises and awareness (Walk the World/ Colour the World), coordinating manpower for WFP projects. (School Feeding Project, etc)

In the past 5 years Moving the World has aided the following.
30 Emergency Situations (supplying resources)
10 Air Lifts (Food, manpower etc)

Why does this partnership work so well?

Both TNT and WFP have a common core business entity. We are both in the logistics business. TNT moves freight from point A to point B. WFP moves food and aid from point A to any where it is needed. It made sense to form this alliance.

This partnership is not exclusive. Anyone can play a part in it. Not just TNT Staff, family and friends in Moving the World projects. Any member of the public can help WFP raise the nearly US$3 billion (yes BILLION!) needed to feed people around the world.

Here are some very impressive stats for WFP

2006 WFP fed 88 million people in 82 countries.
They did this with:
12 000 staff (World Wide)
80 aircraft
40 ships
5000 trucks
and a bit of help from TNT !
WFP is the largest humanitarian agency in the world.

Why is it important to help?
800 Million people suffer from hunger in the world. Most of these are women and children.

1 child dies every 5 seconds from hunger.

Hunger claims more lives than AIDS, TB and Malaria combined.

So what can you as an individual do to help?

Well seeing as you’re on the internet reading this why not go to the following websites to see what you can do?

WFP – http://www.wfp.org
Or for a real practical and fun way of helping raise some money you can always play the “Free Rice Game” where you can earn rice by playing a word game. It’s FREE and addictive! – http://www.freerice.com

If you are a TNT staff member, or know of TNT staff, go and pay the Moving the World site a visit for more news on WFP fund raising projects. You can also find blog’s of staff members that are both currently on assignments or have been on assignments – http://www.movingtheworld.org

Every bit helps!

Food for Education (School Feeding Program) fed 20 million school children in 71 countries (55% of children in Africa) in 2006.

When in Rome ……

Yesterday (03/03/08) was my first official day in Rome. I have never been to Italy before so it was all very new and exiting to me.

The morning started off with me having some breakfast and a bit of an impromptu meeting with Robin Landis and Francesca Duffy from WFP (World Food Program). Both Robin and Francesca went into some detail about the partnership between WFP and North Star Foundation.

The partnership is quite simple really. WFP move tons of food and aid around the world. The main means of transporting this relief aid is by truck. HIV/AIDS like any other epidemic is spread by the movement of people from one area to another. What easer way of spreading a disease than by sex workers and truck drivers that utilize the services of these sex workers? This means that the backbone of the WFP is under attack from HIV/AIDS. WFP and TNT are aware of the impact that this can have in there own organisation and felt that more needed to be done to ensure the longevity of there own drivers but that of others in the same field. This has in turn lead up to the forming of North Star Foundation. More and more companies are seeing the benefit in what WFP and North Star Foundation are doing and are coming on board to help aid and fun this project. More info on this can be found on the North Star Foundation’s official website (http://www.northstarfoundation.org)

After the meeting I felt I had to see a bit of Rome. So when in Rome….

I did not venture to far in Rome as after all I am here on business and not on a sight seeing trip so I only really went to the Colosseum and some of the other ruins around it. One of the things that did strike me about Rome is the carefree attitude of people here. Very laid back I found. At the train station there was a lady that had climbed off the platform to carry her bag and children across to the other platform. (There was a subway she should have and could have used) but no one seem to get upset about it or even offered to help. Lucky for her the hi-speed train came though the station about 5 mins after she had got every thing across. But no one seemed to care.

Rome its self is a bit dirty, again no one seems to care. Graffiti! Now I have seen graffiti in the UK but not on this scale. It’s every were! But the monuments are left untouched. I guess they do have some respect. The people are very friendly and will talk to you no matter what, even if you can quite plainly show them that you don’t understand. My taxi driver rambled on for ages despite me telling him I did not understand what he was on about. On the subject of taxi’s, well driving, I can clearly see why some of the best race car/ motor bike racers in the world are Italian. Any one that can drive like these people and get away with it must be world classed! I am yet to see a smash. Every road seems to be a race track. Just glad I don’t have a nervous disposition.

The Colosseum was amazing. I did not go into it but just walked around it and up the road a bit to the other ruins. As I did not do history or geography at school I am bit ignorant to what is what. Also as I did not get a guide book I kind of felt I was missing out on a lot. As a result I think I will come back with someone a bit more knowledgeable on the subject of Rome. I have taken some photos of where I went to as well as some video. The photos can be found here. The videos will take a bit longer to upload to YouTube as I have restricted internet access at the moment.

So far I have enjoyed the start to my assignment with North Star Foundation. But there is still lots to learn and a fair bit of hard work ahead of me.

The start of things to come

oooh sounds bad don't it ? Well I hope its not all down hill from here on in ! I am sure it wont be.

Been a bit of a bumpy start that's for sure.

A few weeks of hell at work, dealing with emotions that just dint seem to fit and a hotel shuttle that did not arrive. Great so far!

Well I am now in Rome. First impressions are not good so far. But it is early days. So far every thing I have been told about this place is true. You do take your own life into your own hands here just stepping out onto the pavement - never mind the road just the pavement can be a bit dangerous. I now know why Italy makes such fine sports cars. The car is god here - it has right of way and its a law unto its own. In the hour that I sat out side the airport waiting for the bus that would not arrive I saw so many road violations it was unreal. Cars driving over the pavement to get into another road as it was the shortest route I guess. People just stopping where and when they like ( but never to let you cross the road at a pedestrians crossing! ) madness! The taxi drive to the hotel was almost as hell raising as the landing.(Any landing you walk away from is a good one !)

Tomorrow I hope to get to see a little of this fine country and I hope my views on this place changes from it being so laid back every one is horizontal with out any respect for any other road users ( pedestrian or vehicular alike )

On the whole I am happy to be here as it means I have started my journey.

All Roads Lead to Rome

Well I guess in my case its a flight to Rome - darn sight faster than driving!

I guess what they say about all roads leading to Rome is true, but no one told me it would be such an arduous road to travel. Last week I got told I could head off on my African Adventure and join the rest of the team on the World Food Program.

After much deliberations with the Boss he finally said I could join the rest of the World Food Program in Rome for training with the rest of the people who are going onto other WFP projects around the world. This all happened on Thursday afternoon and I am leaving for Rome on Sunday the 2nd of March.

Even as today draws to a close I still have loads to do. Panic has not really set in yet, nor have I had much time to think about what lies ahead for me. One thing I do know is what lies ahead of me will make me stronger and will change me for the good. It has already started to do so. I have already had to find a bit of inner strength in myself.

I used the word arduous just now to describe my metaphoric road that I have had to travel the past few weeks and I am still on this week. I don't kid myself that I will still be on it for the next 24 weeks as I have a lot to do and archive in them weeks. Dictionary.com has a great description of this word - Arduouse


ar·du·ous Spelled Pronunciation[ahr-joo-uhs or, especially Brit., ahr-dyoo-]
–adjective
1.Requiring great exertion; laborious; difficult: an arduous undertaking.
2.Requiring or using much energy and vigor; strenuous: making an arduous effort.
3.Hard to climb; steep: an arduous path up the hill.
4.Hard to endure; full of hardships; severe: an arduous winter.
[Origin: 1530–40]


My last few weeks have most defiantly been all of the above. I have been very lucky to have some very understanding friends and work colleagues who have helped me keep it together the past two weeks.

I have been aiming to have a project completed by the 29th but it has been plagued with problems. Just about every time I look at it I have found something amiss with it. It would seem that pressure has all manor of effects on people some more positive than others. But these pressures have also highlighted who the team players are and who is not. Its just a pity to find that the people you think you can count on are not always the ones you can. But its still nice to know I have some firm rocks I can lean against to help me when I have lost direction.

As for the project and it being completed on the 29th before I depart. I think it will be. If not it will just need a bit of smoothing off around the edges and someone else can take the glory of my hard work and roll it out for me.

I fly off to Rome on Sunday the 2nd of March then onward to South Africa the following Saturday arriving Sunday the 9th or March

I am still looking forward to getting out to South Africa and to help make a little bit of a change to many and a very big change to me.

Bloopers

Some of you may have seen my first Vblog ( Video Blog ) and some of you have commented on it. It was a lot harder to make than even I thought it would be.

A few of my friends have seen the attempts at making my first Vblog and have badgered me into posting them up on YouTube as they seem to think they are funny.

So with a bit of arm twisting I have decided to post them up.

You can find my cringe worthy attempts here. YouTube Bloopers

Update to blog - 09/02/08

Due to the nature of blogging all old posts end up at the bottom of the page and new postings at the top. Edited pages remain where they are unless you change the date on the original post so I have decided to just highlight some of the updates to my blog.

New Post - Where I live (Currently)
Posted two new video clips on YouTube ( links can be found in the "Where I live ( Currently ) "post)

Removal of my 1st Vblog video clip - it is however still on YouTube - it was only removed due to some visitors not being on hi-speed internet.

Moving the introduction post back to its original place at the bottom of the blog pages.

Where I live ( Currently )

I felt obliged to give you all a little bit of a view of where I currently live before I head off to South Africa. Then I can show you the contrast of the small village of Atherstone verse the buzzing metropolis of Johannesburg in South Africa.

I have been living in Atherstone now for just over 3 years. Its not a bad place and it has some rather interesting little quirks about it.

1st up is the Atherstone Ball game:

The Atherstone Ball game is an ancient Shrove Tuesday tradition in which people literally brawl over a large ball.

Shops are boarded up, local schools are closed and towns people of Atherstone gather in the main street at 3pm for the beginning of this 800 year old Shrove Tuesday tradition.

There is only one rule, and that rule is the ball can not be taken outside the town. Anything and everything else goes. The winner in this no holds barred contest is the person holding onto the ball at 5pm

2nd up is Dickens Night:
Dickens night is held on the last Saturday in November and is also the night that the Christmas lights are turned on in the town. Its just a nice festive fair with people dressing up in period costumes and people roasting wall nuts. Its a really nice night out with fireworks finale by one of the top piro display teams in the UK.

I have made a short film in two parts just showing you around Atherstone, TNT and the canals near where I live and work.
Part 1 can be found here
Part 2 can be found here

For more information on this quaint little town you can visit the "Atherstone Online" site and the "Atherstone Wikipedia" site for more info on the "Hat town"

Its all very real now.

Its all starting to hit home now that in around 4 weeks time I shall be embarking on what will probably be one of the biggest adventures I am ever likely to have.

Yesterday I got my "Welcome Pack" from Rose ( Moving the world ) and it out lined a whole load of legal and official bumph that I need to fill in fax back post back. That's when it really hit home that I am really am going to be part of something special. The excitement is starting to kick in but there is still a lot I have to do before I leave.

From a personal perspective I just really need to clean my flat and pack my bags. Oh and send off the forms etc for Rose.

From a work perspective I think that where the real challenge is going to be. I have loads to turn out before the end of Feb so I really do have my work cut out for me in that department. But I am sure I will get there in the end. Just hope I don't have too many sleepless nights over it all. I don't think I will - I will be too tied not to !

On a plus I did have a post on the blog from someone I did not know. That was quite a pleasant surprise. It was from Jaqui, a Researcher/ Coordinator, who works with Alan Whiteside. Alan is one of the co-authors of "Aids in the Twenty-First Century" a book that I got the other day. So that was quite a boost to me.

Links & Resources

Here is a list of links and resources that may be of interest.

Links

• TNT Express - The company I work for and one of the key partners in Moving the World & North Start Foundation
  

• Moving the World - The partnership between TNT and the UN

• TNT World Food Program Partnership
  

• North Star Foundation - The foundation I will be seconded to for 6 months in South Africa.

• My YouTube site - I will upload all sorts of vid clips but not all of them will get posted here so do check it out from time to time

• HEARD - Health Economics & HIV/AIDS Research Division. HEARD conducts research on the socio-economic aspect of public health, especially the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Resources

• "Aids in the Twenty-First Century" - a book by Tony Barnett and Alan Whiteside ( ISBN 978-1-4039-9768-5 ) This book was recommended to me, I have not yet started to read though it as I only got it in the post today. I ordered my book from here
  

I will be updating this from time to time as I get more resources and links to add.

Why ?

I have been asked this question a few times over the past few weeks.

"Why do you want to do this assignment ?"

Its not an easy one for me to sum up really. There are loads of reasons for it but I guess the big reasons are as follows.

I grew up in South Africa and a bit in Zimbabwe so Africa on the whole has a very special place in my heart. Its where I call home. HIV/AIDS has also started to play a bit in my life too recently. With friends and there partners and family members being affected by this virus. Whilst in South Africa I had a part in the transport industry too, so it just sort of made sense. This assignment with the North Star Foundation will give me the opportunity to give something back, to a place that I hold so dear to my heart and also to an industry that has given me this opportunity to do this.

I think Africa will always have a bit of a hold on me.

Site info

I am still getting to grips with this blogging but here is a few cool things you may like to know.

When I mention places in my blog I will where ever I can post a link to the place from Google Earth. All links are highlighted in blue like the Google Earth link I have just posted.

The same will go for links to external websites and photos etc.

I hope this will ensure that there is loads of interesting content to see.

You can also subscribe to my blog by clicking on the RSS feed icon located on your address bar.
it looks like this :


This will ensure your always up to date with what is going on.

Introduction - 1st Vblog

This is my first Vblog - even though I had typed up a script of sorts it still took my 6 attempts to get this one out ! Not use to talking to my self! Makes you all a bit self concious about your self.
I guess I better get use to it !

You can see my first Vblog on YouTube here.

I have removed it from my blog page so that people on a slow connection can if they want to view it click on the link.

Introduction

Welcome to the start of my blog site -
Hi,
I am Peter Black

Here is where I will tell you all about my African Adventure as am heading off to South Africa very soon (End of Feb/ early March) on an assignment with TNT and UN WFP (the logistics arm of the United Nations) to set up Wellness Centres to help the transport communities in southern Africa reduce the transmission of HIV. These Wellness Centres will be set up along major trucking corridors as well as border posts.

For more info on this Humanitarian project visit the " North Star Foundation" Website

This is quite an opportunity for me so I feel its quite important to let family, friends, collegues and, any one that wants to know really, what this mission is all about from my perspective. Never really been a fan of blogging but I do feel that this is quite important so I am going to blog
my African Adventure as I like to call it at the moment.

I shall be based in Johannesburg, South Africa, for 6 months from around the end of Feb/ beginning of March 08. I will be working with "North Star Foundation" to set up HIV/AIDS Wellness clinics at Beitbridge ( the boarder between South Africa and Zimbabwe) and Chirundu ( the boarder between Zimbabwe and Zambia )

I will be posting more info about my self and my preparations for me heading out to South Africa in the up coming days. I also plan to upload Vblogs to Youtube and pix to my Flickr site

So keep coming back to see the updates and please feel free to post comments.