Tag Archives: africa

Third World Travelling

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Actually, it’s better known as travelling in a developing country, but it’s not as catchy as a title. It doesn’t matter if it’s Africa, India, Indonesia or any other place in the world that isn’t as ‘flashy’ as yours.

Losing your passport in New York is one thing, but to do it on Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania is a whole other story. Here’s some key things I’ve learned over the past 20 years of global trotting.

 

1. Your Passport

You lose this and you’re in serious trouble. Before you leave home scan a copy and email it to yourself. Remember to take at least 2 recent headshots of yourself.

Carry your passport with you, but not in your back pocket. Forget the bag, and scrub off your list a bum/fanny bag. Any decent thief can strip you of these in seconds.

 

2. DFAT

If you’re an Australian, register your travel plans with DFAT just in case anything happens to you. If you are from another country, register with your agency. If you can’t find anywhere, at least email the high commission in the country you will be visiting.

 

3. Make a Conversion List

This is really handy as it’s sometimes difficult to remember how much an item is in your national currency. Make a list in Excel, starting at 50c (for example), the next line $1 and then up to $100. In the next column put the conversion in the country you are travelling to. A good conversion rate can be found at xe.com. If you are travelling to multiple countries then put in multiple columns. Print it off, cut it out and put it in an A5 book or on your phone for easy reference.

 

4. Mobile Phone

Global roaming is a killer on the wallet. You are much better off paying $20 for a mobile in the country you’re visiting and putting up the number on your social network site. At least if you lose your phone or it’s stolen, you’re not losing an iPhone or Blackberry worth much more. Don’t forget to put autolock on your phone.

 

5. Safe Transport

Safe transport is a bit of an oxymoron in lots of countries in Africa. Ferries are always overloaded, you don’t always need a helmet on a motorbike and minivans made for 14 may have 30 people packed into them. On buses from one part of the country to another you may end up sitting on a bag of maize or share your seat with a chicken.

However, there are some things you do have control over.

– Always negotiate the price of a taxi ride before the car takes off.

– If at all possible don’t travel a long distance after dark.

– Travel in pairs.

– Ask for a receipt.

– Keep your bag with you, attached to your front not your bag.

– Wear minimal jewellery.

– Don’t hitchhike.

 

6. Who is your Toilet Buddy

We had an ex-SAS officer train our team before their first visit to East Africa. His opening line was ‘Don’t worry if you get kidnapped, they only want your money’. However, he did give some good pointers:

– Don’t wear pj’s to bed, if you get kidnapped, that’s what you’ll be wearing for a while.

– Nominate a toilet buddy. This is the person who has to come with you if you have to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. It’s also the person who goes with you if you need to go to the shops or for a walk up the road. Even now our grown kids still say ‘whose my toilet buddy?’

– Don’t act like a tourist. Take off the camera, expensive jewellery and anything else that says ‘Come steal from me’.

– Don’t be the hero. In a conflict situation forget wrestling the man with the gun. Your life is more important than your belongings. Many people have been killed trying to protect their stuff. Stuff can be replaced, you can’t.

 

7. Food & Water

Never, ever get ice in your drink, specifically ask for none. Get the waiter to open your bottle of drink in front of you. Only drink bottled water. There are very few who travel to a developing nation who don’t get an upset stomach, but you can minimise the risk.

We tend to shy away from salads as they’re great disease carriers from not being washed properly, even in good hotels. If you end up out in some far flung village, you’re going to be pretty sure that your meat is overcooked. Nothing like barbequed meat that’s like charcoal!

 

8. Baby Wipes

These are my best friend when travelling. It doesn’t take much to pick up a bug, but you can reduce it with baby wipes and hand sanitizer. You need to get into the habit of sanitizing your hands after every handshake, greeting, before meals and afterwards. Great hosts offer hand washing facilities, but there’s nothing quite like the assurance of hand sanitizers and baby wipes. Just remember to take a clip lock bag to take away your rubbish.

 

You can have an absolute bast if your trip is well planned and you are flexible when things change. Life in Africa is complex and basic at the same time. There aren’t all the conveniences of the West, but there sure are some wonderfully unique things that you’ll only find in the developing world.

Feel free to ad your suggestions in the comment box.

The Curse of Poverty

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At the moment I’m reading two books. One is for prepping to go to Kenya, the other one is just for pleasure.
‘When Helping Hurts’ (Steve Corbett) is about how not to do missions. It’s aimed at the American Church, as if they’re the only ones doing something. It’s taken me about half way through the book before I didn’t want to throw it away.

If you’ve seen The Blindside then you should read ‘I beat the Odds’ (Michael Oher). The Blindside is on my top 10 movies to watch but the book gets inside the life of Michael which isn’t portrayed in the movie.

The thing about both of these books is that they look into poverty and how we think we should ‘fix it’. I’m not going to discuss that as much as what the curse of poverty does.
While we all go through times of not generating enough money, abstract poverty is way more than that.

Here’s some of my thoughts on it, and I look forward to your comments.

1. Poverty gives you no options.

Probably one of the few options it does give you is which child will go to school. Beyond that there isn’t much else to tell. Even though you know that fruit is better for your children, you can’t afford it so you buy something full of sugar. Coke is cheaper than water in Kenya. The quality of what you can buy is low, which actually means you spend more on replacing them. You are forced to work two jobs, leave your children unattended, and can’t ensure they’re actually going to school or doing their homework. If there is one meal a day, regardless of how hungry you are, there will be no more food.

2. Poverty does not allow you to create a future.

When you are stuck in the cycle of poverty, you cannot foresee a future because all you are worried about is surviving today. The thought of going to university or some form of training that will increase your chances of earning more are not even thought of. Your next meal or the next rent payment is all that can consume you.

3. Poverty is a cycle that goes around and around.

Just when you think you might get a break, something else happens to steal away an opportunity. When you’re in this cycle there is no option for saving for a rainy day, the present consumes all resources. For those whose income is derived from agriculture all it takes is for the rains not to come or be delayed for months. This may go on for years. A sick child may take all the money you have, and because in places like East Africa you must pay all before they are discharged, you have to borrow the money from other family members.

4. Poverty steals your dreams.

While you may want to follow a certain profession, the reality is you will never get there. Not an if, but or maybe, just a never. That’s because the education system culls students who don’t make the grade, or your parents have to pay a bribe to the teach to let you through. Even if you get qualified there aren’t enough positions. There are many taxi drivers across Africa who are qualified engineers. Unemployment rate in such countries is often 50% or more.

5. Poverty is a curse.

There is nothing good to come from poverty, there’s no upside to it. It keeps children from attending school, is a cause of death for unborn babies, creates an environment that encourages corruption and makes people desperate enough to do things that are morally wrong. There are desperate parents who watch their family members die off because they don’t have a way to get to the hospital nor the money for medication.

I am so looking forward to getting my hands into training young people to help them get themselves out of poverty. As Michael Oher states in his book, the odds even though they may be stacked against you, can be beaten.

High School Musical Was Right

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When our girls were in their mid teens it was the same time as the hype of the High School Musical trilogy. Hannah still would love to marry Zac Efron, that I am sure of.

The song they used throughout all their movies was the one that had the line ‘we’re all in this together’. Besides the fact that it’s the type of song that annoyingly stays in your head, the lyrics are cheesily good:

Here and now its time for celebration
I finally figured it out
That all our dreams have no limitations
That’s what its all about

Everyone is special in their own way
We make each other strong (we make each other strong)
Were not the same
Were different in a good way
Together’s where we belong

We’re all in this together
Once we know
That we are
We’re all stars
And we see that
We’re all in this together
And it shows
When we stand
Hand in hand
Make our dreams come true

As believers, we follow the God who gives us dreams, but we also need to be knitted into a community of faith, and we find our strength in that community. Like it or not, no man is an island, and the Church is here to stay.

For us moving to Kenya has not been something we can do on our own. We’re working extra long hours to make money for the extra costs of shipping gear and paying huge amounts on insurance. We’re having endless coffees and meals with friends to tell them what a worthy cause this is to invest into. Then there’s the visiting of friends churches, friends of friends and incidental meetings with strangers. We literally don’t make a move without consulting the communal calendar to fit everything in.

Some times it all gets a bit much and even though there’s eleven weeks to go there is no breathing space.

That’s why it’s good just to have a laugh with friends, watch a mindless movie (or the Olympics at this stage), drive out of town to catch up with people we haven’t seen for years, and eat chocolate!

While our whole family is all in this together, our larger family are too. That family extends across several parts of the world and we are thankful for their encouragement. All I can say is KEEP IT COMING!

It’s all good

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We have a friend, Dave Edwards, who, no matter what is going down, will say ‘it’s all good’. It’s become an ingrained part of our travel conversations, especially when you’re faced with a challenging situation, like when you’re on a 7 hour bus ride which is like being in a milkshake container.

Dave looks like he’s leftover from the hippie days and is so casual about life that it’s hilarious, nothing seems to throw him off his game. His ever gorgeous wife, Kay is the total opposite – organised down to the wire, tells you how things really are without things always having to be ‘great’ and keeps her hair immaculate!

While they’re total opposites in many ways the very thing they do the same is laugh loudly. No matter what happens, they laugh and laugh and laugh. I love it.

The Bible says that a merry heart does good like a medicine (Proverbs 17:22). There’s so much negative stuff happening in the world, sometimes all you need to do is laugh.

We had one week with Hannah being sick and then the next week it was Lizzies turn. Got to love the bugs flying around in winter. While they were feeling crappy as anything, laying on the couch with a box of tissues next to them, the only thing that lifted them up (besides a cuddle from Mum) was a funny movie.

Laughing is not overrated, in fact we should do more of it. Don’t let a day go by without a good belly laugh.

I’m making it one of my goals for the rest of the month to not be overwhelmed by everything we have to organise for our trip to Africa. Instead, I’m going to believe that God will provide, find as many moments in life to laugh and enjoy the journey.

Confession Time

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This morning I woke up in sheer panic when I realised that in 16 weeks we would be jumping on a plane and heading off to start our new ventures in Kenya. And when I say panic, it was just that. This is one of the few times in my life I’ve been overwhelmed by worry. So I did what I do most mornings and headed up the beach to pray (thanks Ps Phil for setting the standard in this).

I got to thinking about what on earth was happening and realised some important things.

I’m not scared of:

  • Living in a strange land where everything is different, especially the food
  • Being without my dishwasher or waterbed
  • Saying goodbye to Hannah (Skype is the best invention)
  • The possibility of picking up malaria, dysentery or a myriad of other diseases
  • Being the minority just because my Swahili sucks (well, not fluent anyway)
  • The very remote but real possibility of a bomb/suicide attack happening

What it came down to is that I don’t want to be poor and not able to go out and earn money. We’re on a missionary visa and we aren’t allowed to work.

We decided in April last year that we would move to Kenya, but give it a couple of years. That way we could get more financially secure, pay off some debt and be in a strong position. When we got to Africa in September it became very obvious that they wanted us a lot earlier, like immediately. We chose to move in October 2012 because that meant we could take another team to Mt Kilimanjaro and pretty much everything we own is in desperate need of replacing, especially the car, which is in survival mode. If we stayed another year it meant buying a lot of stuff and really be no better off financially because of it.

In our minds it was all going to pan out because we could come back and work our butts off for a year. That was before Pete broke his leg and couldn’t work for a couple of months, and then the 3 months of travelling through several states of Australia for BeyondWater. Remember, Pete is self employed so no work = no pay. So, in essence the 8 months we’ve been back, he’s only worked for about 4 of these. Not the best way to start, but in a way it is.

We are really blessed because a generous business covers our rent in recognition of the role I play in BeyondWater. But beyond that there were no drop offs of groceries or even phone calls to see how we were doing. The insurance money was months in coming and that went to paying back some good friends who had lent us the money to get home. While Pete was stuck to a couch he learned, probably for the first time to really relax in knowing he could do nothing but trust God. Was it easy? No way. We got down to $30 in the bank account and Hannah was heading back to serve at YWAM in Hawaii and we didn’t even have the money to take her to the airport. I kindly suggested to her that her friends (Han, Chan & Mo) might like to do it.

But I will never forget Bevvy. She just happened to be in Sydney for the day, walked in the door and promptly handed both Hannah and myself $500 each. We lived on that for the next month and Hannah paid for her living and school costs.

One person, that’s all it takes to make a difference.

For me this morning, it was that one Person of the Holy Spirit that took me from a burdened, scared kid to one who had that assurance that if God was big enough to create the universe He certainly was big enough to look after 3 little Creans in Kenya.

Yes, we need people to believe in us and our work. Yes, we need people to give us money or we can’t go, but overall our reliance is on God, whose pretty good at providing.

Thanks for standing with us, we appreciate you all – and actually mean it.

The Journey

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Some people are shocked that we’re moving to Kenya, but for most they’re not surprised. It all started back (for me anyway) when I was in Standard 4 in New Zealand, when I was about 10 and we did a study on the Manyatta (settlement) of Kenya. It just stuck with me forever, along with a love for hippos (weird I know), which happens to be Africa’s most dangerous animal.

We always hosted at our house missionaries who were working in developing countries, and yes we even managed to get to India once but we never had the budget to travel extensively to other countries, for about another 14 years. Instead, we had kids, did youth work and looked after others who were doing what we wanted to do in far away countries.

It wasn’t until 2007 that I had the opportunity to travel to Kenya and Ghana over a couple of months for work. I always wanted to go to Ghana, in the West, because that’s where my childhood penpal, Hector Ofuri, was. Out of the two countries, I loved Kenya way more (sorry Ghana but you’re not my thing).  It’s also the year we started BeyondWater, to build water projects in East Africa.

In 2009 we took our first team to East Africa, did the same again in 2011 and in 2012 will take another team to climb Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Africa was always been a dream, something I’d hoped for but was always in the distance. For the past 4 years we have sacrificed everything to take people there. That meant no new car, dental work, going to the movies, buying clothes or CD’s. I have the same couch we bought 10 years ago and the girls have never had a new bed since we’ve lived here (2002). Is the sacrifice worth it? Yep, but it’s getting harder as the needs at home get bigger. The kids have journeyed with us, we’ve all had to sacrifice, a lot.

So from small town Tokoroa to Christchurch then Sydney. Now it’s mere months before we head off to Nairobi. Yes, we do need your support and encouragement. Check out the ‘Donate Page’ and partner with us to change the lives of hundreds of young people forever.

What a Blast!

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We’ve just spent 11 days in chilly New Zealand. For those who don’t know much about the country, it’s only a 3 hour flight from Sydney, and our homeland. We left there 10 years ago, tired of being broke youth pastors, started our lives all over again and now we’re off to Kenya for the next 20 years, how crazy is that!

Our time in NZ was primarily to say goodbye to Pete’s parents (mine have passed on) so we thought we might as well fit in as many people as possible. We quite literally ate our way through the week, with everyone saying ‘Let’s have a cup of tea and a meal’. I think we rolled off the plane last night!

The coolest thing was that we met up with lots of people who had a significant impact on our lives while we lived there. The downside was that there were also lots of people who we missed out on visiting simply because of a lack of time.

It was great to be able to be prayed for, sent off by our old church and blessed by so many people. It certainly wasn’t a holiday though, one day we had 5 back to back meetings. We could’ve been there for 20 days, but I still think we wouldn’t have seen everyone. We traveled 1600km’s just in the central North Island.

It makes you realise that you don’t do life by ourselves, that was never God’s intention. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, so it takes a whole community to raise an adult. Our destiny is wrapped up in the lives of people we actually do life with.

So while we consider ourselves honorary Aussies, we thank all the Kiwis who put up with us, loved us, disciplined us, and helped us along the way.

To us people matter the most and we’ve had the privilege of spending some time with just a few of our Kiwi family. See you all in about 3 years.