Chapter 2: A month in Africa

Eye Of The Tiger

One month trip to Africa. Primarily to visit (and undertake a bit of work on) an African orphanage. Ive always felt strongly the injustice of the World economy that enables a few to have so much and many to have so little.

I am trying to find the thing that will really fulfil me for the rest of my life and I have always felt it may have something to do with this injustice and me playing my small part in helping change it….

So I thought I would go and find out.

I arranged a stay at the Iris Orphanage in Maputo, Mozambique. At the same time as a friend, Rupert, a currently ex-vicar. We then planned to travel for a few weeks following that.

My top twenty-four experiences in Africa!
1 Going to a drum and bass club in Bulawayo
2 Getting soaked at Victoria Falls
3 The serenity of the Maputo Orphanage
4 Watching West Ham on satellite, in the middle of nowhere
5 Being checked out by a speeding Rhino in Krueger Park
6 Visiting locals at home in Soweto, before a local big soccer match
7 Being in a packed Maputo mini bus at midnight as a fight breaks out
8 On top of the municipal dump of Maputo, talking to locals
9 Investigating my beliefs on a road trip with an ex-vicar
10 Having a T-bone (I’m a veggie) with a hunter/killer of animals…and poachers!
11 A violent ‘sea sick trip’ across the sea to Zanibar
12 Walking along a white sand, clear sea beach in Zanibar
13 Swimming in the pitch black in the Krueger Park
14 Staying the night in an old railway carriage – that doubled as a hotel
15 Concluding I’m not currently a Christian after years of ‘investigating’
16 Reading the Continuum Concept and it making total sense
17 Staying in the 5-star tented ‘honeymoon suite’ of a huge gaming reserve
18 Teaching English to a class of 18-25’s in Maputo
19 Being in a S. African bar as they are awarded the 2010 World Cup
20 The 1st class!! Overnight train to Victoria Falls
21 Having high tea at the 5 star Victoria Falls hotel
22 The amazingly joyful church service at the Maputo Orphanage
23 The full eclipse of the moon in a star filled clear night sky
23 Helen and Rose waiting for me at Heathrow airport


The orphanage
The orphanage was an amazing place. You are able to participate as much as you want to. My top ten orphanage experiences are: (lists, copyright Nick Hornby!)

1 Climbing on top of the municipal dump in Maputo to pray with the locals scavenging to earn a living from it.
2 Taking some of the kids to the local swimming pool.
3 Spending lots of time in the babyhouse (a dorm for 28, 1-4 year olds (a quarter with HIV/aids) and seeing how well the kids get on with each other
4 Going to the local police station to pray with the men on remand in the cells
5 Taking the 6-mile trip into town in massively overcrowded orphanage vehicles, on the worst roads I’ve ever travelled on.
6 Seeing young teenage orphans acting far more mature than their years.
7 The serenity of the orphanage with its almost complete lack of western consumer and entertainment influences
8 Putting names to the faces of the anonymous kids that you see on TV wearing old western promo T-shirts, looking malnourished and covered in flies.
9 Being in awe of the dignity of a 10 year old when he answered to what he wanted to be when he grew up ‘I want to be a person’.


Uncomfortable

There is no doubt the people running the orphanage are doing an unbelievable job. Every day they provide food, shelter and education to over 500 people, whilst providing space for ‘dreamers’ like me to experience this.

I just felt uncomfortable about a few things..
1 Observing many white preachers prompting manifestations of the Holy Spirit in young black audiences.
2 Seeing so many locals being encouraged that prayer will answer all their problems
3 Having so many middle aged white westerners hanging around – cuddling, carrying and holding hands with small black orphans - who could have received as much (if not more) love from elder orphans
&
4 The intense heat that makes you feel like doing nothing all day


It was a great trip with amazing once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I went looking to see if this would influence (or provide an answer to) my search to find a fulfilling role for myself going forward and I wasn’t disappointed. I put names to faces of these anonymous kids and it humanised the whole situation to me.

I think most of the World can find enough food (mainly through the selfless actions of charity workers) – except in emergency conditions when the west are slow to react in helping. The World is certainly economically fucked up. As much within the poor countries themselves, where 5 star hotels sit yards from orphanages. The orphans have nothing bar 3 meals a day but in a way they have much more – they have community and a love for each other that hasn’t been destroyed by consumerism. They only know that each other are important and haven’t exchanged that for making possessions more important to themselves than other people (community).

I don’t think the ‘front line’ is where is it for me going forward. I don’t know why – but a strong feeling. But my kids need to experience this to see how unjust the World is, as should everyone. My background is working with large companies and being paid by them. If I can set up a company that does good and still manages to extract the same amount of money, that I have in the past, from these large multinationals then I should be able to help in some small way.

My thought is that education has to be the answer. The orphans are fed, clothed and sheltered but even if they were given money they have no education to enable themselves to do anything constructive with that money, to turn it into a regular income. Also to educate the kids here in the West that this state of the World exists and cannot be tolerated – and perhaps by the time they have grown up we may have new priorities in the World.

Reading the Continuum Concept (see separate note) and buying totally into it and at the same time travelling in a small car around Africa with an ex-vicar who I bombarded with questions about Christianity (sorry Rupert!) is really the overriding thing I have taken away from Africa.

As the Continuum Concept says, I believe we are all searching for a love that we missed receiving in the first few years of our lives because our western civilisation has taken us so far away from the way humans naturally evolved. Si I have to accept that at the moment I don’t believe in God. I have prayed for years, I have tried to establish a connection with God but there has been nothing there for me (except the ceiling every time).

The 3 points that confirmed that are:
1 Rupert suggested a Christian is someone who has a daily, living relationship with God. Despite years of trying I have had nothing
2. Reading the Continuum Concept that has made more sense to me than any Christian books I have read.
3. It was put to me that the orphanage and almost every other piece of good community work is done solely by Christians – people that have given over their lives to 'the Lord'. I disagree and perhaps Ive set myself up to prove them wrong. But I have a belief in human nature – that there are enough good people out there (who are not necessarily Christians) who would be prepared to lay down their lives for other humans and be able to create place full of love and contentment around them.

I am ready to stand on my own two feet. To be totally responsible for my own actions. I realise that I will not find a long-term feeling of contentment through being a serial entrepreneur or chasing love through any other artificial stimuli. I have to accept the way I am and play my full part in my and my family’s life on going.

Now what might that be……..

PS – a few final thoughts on returning from my month away

I had a great time
It was a long time away from my family and my wife expected more from me on my return than I have been able to provide
Don’t expect to be fit and healthy when you come back – am I unfit or what!?
Prepare to struggle mentally when you come back, through uncertainty of your priorities and what you want to do…..

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