Bruno's walkabouts

Snapshots

2011-12-07T18:04:00.003+01:00

Remember when I went to take some pictures of the UNV project in Morocco? See what I got today...

Introducing a Snapshot of our Volunteering World. Thank you for lighting up our world with more than 1,300 photos over the past six weeks. Your photos showcased the power of volunteer action in 130 countries. This snapshot features 170 of your images. On 5 December the snapshot was revealed at a special session with civil society at the UN in New York. See the session here: http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2011/12/volunteering-matters-building-a-sustainable-future-for-all.html.
To see all the photos that came in for each country please visit: http://volunteeringmatters.unv.org/

Look at the upper right corner...

5 years....

2011-11-25T22:53:00.001+01:00

Yep, 25th of November, 5 years of BnT...

Some numbers to go along with those 5 years, or 1825 days or 43800 hours2.628.000 seconds...

We have lived in 4 houses we called home
We have visited 24 countries, with a total of 272 stamps in our passports
We have had over 38 keys in those past 5 years
Gone through 4 iPods, 6 cameras (me taking over 33.000 pictures) and 8 vehicles
Accumulated 3,5TB of movies and series
Played an estimated 120 nights of werewolf
Did a combined 23 parachute jumps
We spoke 13 languages during those five years
Drank 5475 coffees
And I posted 313 blog posts since then and received 661 emails from T
And we have had 5 children appearing close to us, though not always close enough... ;)

On picture mission with UN Volunteers

2011-11-21T17:33:00.000+01:00

ElMouddaa's fields: notice the difference of the irrigated hills and the ones surrounding.

Through the Volunteer agency of the United Nations, I went with Thomas and another France Volontaires to take pictures and document the work done by a Peace Corps and local and volunteers, supported by UNV in deep rural Morocco. After 4h of train and 4h in 4x4, in the snowy mountains close to the highest mountain of Morocco, the Toubkal, we visited ElMoudaa. This tiny village of 300 people has organized itself in a CBO, AMSING, supported by a Peace Corps Volunteer and UNV. They have greatly improved the infractruture of the village, building a water tower, two reservoirs and several kilometers of irrigation canals, many underground. Previously, they had to mobilize everybody, women and children included, for two weeks every year to dig out the canal.

Proudly opening the valve to the water reservoir.

This was a meeting they 'staged' for us, so we could get a group picture.

They hardly get any visitors, being so remote, let alone foreigners, so we were treated as royalty. The local Sheikh, or Amgar in the local berber language, welcomed us into his house and offered us tea. While Thomas did interviews with Claire, three guys took me around, and with lots of sign language and broken French and darija, would explain the projects to me. They were so proud, it was heartwarming.

I wanted to get the guy to wash his own UNV T-shirt, since it is usually only done by women. In the end, he just posed with the wet T-shirt...

They managed to build 11 gabions, or dams, to protect them from spring floods, which previously had destroyed several houses and crops.

They of course offered us a tajine, and killed a goat especially for us. Honestly, after Aïd, I felt I had seen (and eaten) enough goat, but hey, how can you refuse greasy skewed goat liver when it's been killed especially in your honour?

Ouarzazate: les décors des films

2011-11-19T09:49:00.002+01:00

Le weekend passé, on était à Ouarzazate, dans le sud du Maroc. On a pris le temps après une petite mission de filmage et prise de photos de volontaires, de visiter le studio où on filmé plusieures scènes, dont celle de Astérix: Mission Cléopatre, film cult et préféré de Thomas.

Une des scènes d'ouverture du film...

Et là, on construitait une grande allée avec pleines de statues,
qu'on appellera "la grande Léna avec pleines de statues".

Dans le bain de lait, attention, c'est très très tiède...

Ourzazate: Mission Volontaires...

For Aïd: Third stop: Chefchouan

2011-11-10T20:49:00.000+01:00

And beautiful Chefchouan, the blue village, to finish off our weekend and the trip.

For Aïd: Second stop: Fès

2011-11-10T20:46:00.000+01:00

We spent the two next nights at Fès, in a beautiful riad in the median (Dar El Hana - la maison de la paix).

Le dimanche on a visité un peu, jolie ville, médina très animé et vivante.

Ainsi, on a vu le tout premier université du monde, et pleins d'examples de l'architecture typique.

Ensuite, le lundi, c'était l'Aïd, quand chaque famille qui en a les moyens sacrifie un mouton. Durant les jours qui précèdent, on voit des moutons partout, dans les voitures, tirés par des gens, attachés sur un vélo ou motto, avec la tête qui sort du coffre. Quand on estime que par dix marocains, on tue un mouton, cela veut dire que près de 3 millions de moutons ont péri ce lundi.

L'ambiance est très particulier: tout est fermé, une odeur de viande grillé, des petits feus où les enfants grilles les têtes (souvent utilisés pour bouillir les cerveux ou les préparer pour être utilisé comme carburant dans les hammams). Les bouchers courent les rues, avec d'énormes couteaux à la mains et les vêtements tâchés de sang.

For Aïd: First stop: Moulay Idriss and Volubilis with Hanna and Kai

2011-11-10T20:38:00.000+01:00

Last weekend was a long weekend, since Monday and Tuesday we had the day off because of Aid el-Kebir: la 'Grande Fête' or the sheep holiday. We had Hannah, our German friend from Zimbabwe coming with her boyfriend, Kai, for the long weekend. So nice to see each other again after over a year, and catch up on the many changes. They spend one day visiting Rabat and Saturday morning we went on a road trip through the north of Morocco.

First stop was Moulay Idriss, a beautiful pilgrimage city nestled in the rocks, and the nearby Volubilis, roman ruins. It's close to Meknes, and really pretty, with a rich history, both spiritually and culturally.

Une formation de France Volontaires

2011-10-04T18:20:00.004+02:00

La semaine passée, j'étais à Melun, pour suivre une formation destinée aux personnes qui partent comme Volontaires de Solidarité Internationale (VSI dans le jargon) avec France Volontaires. Comme je voulais travailler pour SFCG avec ce statut, j'étais obligé de m'y soumettre. Notons en passant que, bien que je suis plus que d'accord avec la philosophie et les approches du volontariat, je voulais surtout bénéficier des aspects de couverture de sécurité sociale (eh oui, Search comme boîte américaine ne m'inspire pas trop de confiance de ce point de vue là).

Bref, je me suis retrouvé avec 34 jeunes (eh oui, j'étais comme le doyen), certains avec quelques expériences internationales, mais pas trop de missions de longues durées. Comme c'était la formation de base, je dois admettre que du point de vue du contenu, j'ai pas trop appris, par contre, du point de vue humain, c'était super. Un grand groupe, beaucoup de diversité, d'ouverture, de joie et de l'énergie positive.

Le groupe de France Célibataires - avant l'envol

Toute l'expérience me renvoyait un peu dans mon passé, la formation que j'ai suivi il y a dix ans (déjà, aarrrggghh!) avec ITECO, avant de partir pour ma première fois en Haiti. C'est comme se retrouver à l'école primaire et remarquer que tout a l'air tellement petit. D'un côté, c'est chouette car on sent qu'on a grandit, qu'on a évolué, mais d'un autre il y a une espèce de nostalgie de cette époque, quand les choses étaient plus simples...

Notre petit groupe - envolé

Job hunting

2011-07-04T17:16:00.003+02:00

This post for my last months and this specific part of life which is never great fun: looking for a job. Already before my Zim contract was over, we started looking, remembering that paradoxical piece of advice: it's easier to find a job when you already have one. With my defined life project of changing parts of the world every four years, it also meant being limited to the Arab world, and I had initially set my mind to the Middle East, Lebanon or Syria. This meant at least the search was better defined but our options more limited as well. Though I pride myself in not being a complete catastrophe at drafting CV and motivation letters, it's still never the best of times, especially if you're as picky as I am. Browsing the regular list of development jobs to see if anything new came out, sending out applications left and right, following up leads, getting in touch with people that might know someone that might know someone, and hardly ever getting replies, let alone positive ones, it's all not very good for your state of mind. I must admit, somewhere around April, it was all getting too much for me.

I tried to do it as is recommended, keeping an active life, planning my day with Arab classes, playing my capoeira, social events, not putting too much pressure on myself and all, but I must admit I was dreading that recurring question you dread when you see friends and family:"And, found anything yet?". They mean well, but somehow you don't want to dwell on it too much, raising your hopes and expectations while they might not materialize. I am not one to stay at home and just watch series to pass time. And while volunteering is always an option, it's usually with a role and inside structures that won't let them really capitalize on your experiences

or plan for longer term projects. Despite my growing experience, it was still hard and once Thomas had his posting in Rabat, Morocco, the range became even more limited and not very encouraging.

Once you have a job, people tend to forget how hard it was being without a job, having all the idle time, playing at occupational therapy and keeping yourself busy, without feeling as if your lazy or a parasite to society (especially if you're still on unemployment benefits). Most conversations with new people start with:"So, what are you doing?" and there are only so many original replies you can come up with, while not sounding desperate or plain undesirable, but still communicating your wish to be active. I even noticed I started avoiding meeting new people, just cause I didn't want to get into it. You also don't want to show your friends too much that it's hard, cause honestly, there's not much they can do. If you went through a bad break up or traumatic experience, it might help to talk about it, but in this case, all the good advice just seemed to make me want to shout out with frustration or sit down and cry.

Now I can write this post and explain the prolonged radio silence on this blog, since I have found a job and am very happy with it, but before entering into details about all that, I did want to have one post to explain and to help me remember how it felt...

Zoélie and the girls in Cyprus

2011-01-23T09:22:00.000+01:00

The girls, Annick, Ingrid and Zoélie invited us for a week to Cyprus, so that we could both spend some time with Zoélie, Thomas' daughter. Ingrid is currently working for three years with the European Commission in the northern part of Cyprus, and based in north Nicosia.

So, flying with low air fare company Ryan Bus (oops, sorry, that's Ryan Air, it's just that the plane feels more like a bus), we were off for Cyprus, country n°60 on my list.
To be honest, I had very few expectations. I always thought of Cyprus more as a mass-tourist destination, with images of filled up beaches and all in resorts. True, there is that side, but since we stayed with the girls in Nicosia (capital) and in the low season, it gave us an opportunity to quietly discover, and also to appreciate the tourist 'must sees' without having the feeling of being part of a herd of sheep.

And Cyprus does have a lot to offer, such as history:

Ruins from the Antiquity

The statues were beheaded by the Christians, cause perceived as paganry

Of course, the beaches. Though it was Janaury and the temperature was hoovering around the 15-20°, we still persisted in spending an afternoon at the beach, though none of us worked up the courage to swim (or even to try out the temperature of the water).

But surprisingly, there was also snow, and even a place where one can ski. Unfortunately it was closed the day we went, so we hiked through the snow instead but it was amazing to spend one day at the beach, and the next one contemplating skiing.

Certain places are literally littered with architecture and churches/mosques:

One of the most interesting aspects of Cyprus to me was definitely to witness the separation. The 1/3 of the north of the island is dominated by the Turkish Cypriots, backed up (also military) by Turkey (no surprise), the 2/3 south by the Greek Cypriots. Separating them is a Green Line, a buffer between the two parts which, even if they are not officially at war, still have a lot of tension between them. Of course, the situation is so complex I can't even begin to summarize it here, but it was fascinating to see certain aspects of this division and the consequences it had on daily life (especially considering our own little Belgium sometimes talks about separating)...

Then some other things that took up much of our time:

Coffee and restaurants. This one at Gloria Jean.

Playing with Annick's iPhone.

And of course, for me, this holiday was the perfect opportunity to explore my latest toy: my picture camera Panasonix G10. What better moment to play around with settings, try and decipher the manual and just keep snapping away. I must admit, the first day and first couple of pictures I was a bit sceptical, but now I'm completely won over. Am sure I still have discovered and used only 20% of the settings, applications and possibilities, but it's a start.

And yes, at least I had some willing subjects to photograph.

But of course, our main attraction was Zoélie! Now just turned two, she's really a toddler, understands almost everything though still doesn't talk much (which makes the occasional 'maman' and yes, 'papa' even more endearing). In the morning she would attend kindergarten, while Annick and ourselves would hang out at the house - me often hunting or applying for jobs. Then she would come with us on afternoon excursions and set the pace. So we got a lot of time to interact with her, playing, singing songs (the wheels on the bus go round), squeezing her, watching Bumba (thanks Loïc, for the tip), feeding her, and yes, Thomas even changed her diapers (once).

Zoélie at the beach. See you soon again!

All in all, a great and relaxing holiday. Thanks so much for the girls to invite us and show us around! We also made sure to always leave certain things not seen, so we would have an excuse to go back...

Saint Petersburg

2011-01-04T15:02:00.000+01:00

For two nights and three days, we went about exploring that city of city, Saint Petersburg.
We flew from Moscow to Saint Petersburg (2h, 40Euro) and stayed with a CouchSurfing host allowing us to stay 30 minutes by metro from the centre. Saint Petersburg is definitely very beautiful, with churches and historical buildings at every street corner.

The statue of Peter the Great, made by Catherine II, in front of St Isaac church

Our host had hours that didn't always coincide with ours though, and since we depended on him to get into the apartment, it meant waiting till he was awake before leaving (one morning only at 12), and till he was back before being able to get out of the Russian cold (10pm one night and 11pm the next). Not that ideal, especially since it also meant we didn't get to interact that much.


St Isaac across the frozen Neva river.

Though light was only there from 10am till 4pm, it was some good light and beautiful clouds. Saint Petersburg in winter makes me wish I had a better camera.

Back of the Winter Palace, with Hermitage.

The walking around in the cold combined with the not always great nights were starting to get to us though. We had to regularly duck into cafes or shops to warm up and it does affect your motivation to discover a city to feel like you have to struggle through it.

St Peter-and-Paul fortress.

St Pete seems to be all about the gold and the churches, with domes and crosses everywhere.

The Hermitage with a sound and light show on the evening of our arrival

Train ride back from Saint Petersburg to Moscow. Can you make out Thomas inside the wagon?

Another thing on my to-do-list-before-I-die: taking the sleeper train in Russia. Okay, it isn't the Transsiberian, but it was already a nice experience to travel the 10h back from St Pete to Moscow by train, sharing the carriage with about 50 other Russians (we took platzkart, the 3rd and cheapest section). Still pretty decent beds, and I'm sure I would have slept fine, if the hours hadn't been a bit shitty (leaving at 7pm, getting into Moscow at 3h42 - and yes, despite our hopes, it was punctual).

From Russia with love - Moscow 1

2010-12-31T16:53:00.000+01:00

Me, Silvija and Thomas, the first morning out afterr our arrival and admiring the snow.

Beautiful churches and buildings all over Moscoz. Here in front of Christ the Savior.

Jumping on the Red Square.

And being holy in front of St Basils.

Zim-zooming out

2010-12-22T14:26:00.000+01:00

So, after almost four years, my time in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa has come to an end. End of contract, and time to move on, to other adventures and new horizons. But that doesn’t make the goodbyes any easier. The past few days and even weeks have been pretty hectic though, with visits and reporting, trying to round it all off. And it seems that even my goodbyes have been a bit rushed, as I was each time on a tight schedule. Maybe not a bad thing, as it allows me not to dwell too much or to get too emotional, but on the other hand, I am a firm believer of giving oneself time to properly take your leave and mourn.

Looking back on my time here, a list of things that I am proud of, or glad that we did, and then a list of some regrets:

Discovering the region: we traveled over almost all of the Southern African countries, 13 countries in total, excepting Angola and Mauritius. One country that was stuck out particularly was Namibia, one of our last discoveries and splendid.

Professional achievements: I do feel we did exceptionally well. Numbers only say so much, but in 2 years and a half, we trained over a thousand participants, created 17 training modules and 14 new methodologies using creative arts.

During our evaluation, our partners estimated that a total of 65.000 children already benefited from in one way or another from this improved or more diversified psychosocial support. But aside from the numbers, I was really glad at how we worked and interacted as a team. It had its rough spots in the beginning, and I learned a lot about facilitating rather than coordinating, but I am proud of all we did, and of how we did it.

Taking capoeira to the next level: this is true for the physical aspect (staying in shape, coordination, acrobatics, work out level), but also for the friendships it created and even the club in itself (that I finished chairing by the way). It was definitely something that shaped and influenced our stay.

Continuing with video and multimedia: I counted I orchestrated or was involved in around 50 short movies, ranging from fun snip bits from weekends away to have a group of teenagers direct their own short movie. Multimedia is definitely an area I want to continue in. I would love to use it as a tool to evaluate project by beneficiaries themselves. Instead of all these reports nobody really reads, wouldn’t it have a lot more impact to show them how to use camera equipment and send them out with a tool to evaluate whatever change a project brought to them. It teaches them certain skills, will be a lot more lively and interactive than questionnaires and hardly any feedback, and the organisation could use it as documentaries or lobbying tools. A vague dream so far, but these experiences in Zim were small steps bringing me closer…

Exploring photography and portraits: lucky enough to have some handsome people around which were more than willing to show off, it made for a fun hobby. Some of them just wanted to experiment and have some good pictures, others had ambitions of using it for album covers or as artists, and some even were linked up with casting and modeling agents.

Skydiving: though we only started in August 2010, with no desire to get really into it, it was a thrilling experience. Jumping out at 4000 feet, and gradually getting more at ease and confident, landing softer and closer to where you want, it is challenging at first (every time we would go up with the plane, I would be asking myself: why am I doing this again??), but by the end we were looking forward to it.

Can’t say it is completely harmless though: Thomas injured his wrists, which took forever to heal, and during one of my last jumps, a rope shook my helmet so hard it cut my ear and I was bleeding all over the place.
We however did end on a high note: our very first free fall! The first ten jumps were all done with a static line which opens your parachute immediately after jumping out of the plane (so even if you do panic, it’ll still open). Gradually we had to use a Dummy Rip Chord, a fake opening cord which allowed us to practice the move. And our last jump, just after I had cut my ear, we got to do it without the static line, which everybody told us was their best jump ever. And I must agree, it was so much gentler, not being pulled in every direction by the wind, the static line and then the chute opening. Just a shame we couldn’t repeat the experience a couple of more times and higher, so we would have had a longer time free falling.

Couchsurfing: our link to travelers and backpackers, we hosted a total of over 200 backpackers in our house. And when the house started feeling too full, we would just give it a short rest. Some were okay, some were great and left us with memories to treasure, and some with useful contacts and possibilities for the future, but none of them we regret.

Our series and movies: in the course of our stay here, we gathered about 2TerraBytes of movies and series. It not only made our evenings more exciting and pleasant (yes, we got hooked quite often, there are some really good series out there), but we also shared, which meant our house was sometimes a bit of a library with people copying, but that allowed for more private jokes and bonding (‘Computer says no!’, all conversations starting with: ‘did you watch that item, it was hectic!’).

Though I am generally very happy about our stay and what we accomplished, of course it wasn’t perfect, and there are always things we could have improved. So, some of these challenges:

Language: not learning Shona, one of the two main local languages of Zimbabwe, and spoken in Harare and by most of our partners. With almost everyone being able to express themselves in English (often better than we could), learning how to speak Shona proved to be quite complicated and time consuming. I must say, we gave it a fair shot, with classes twice a week for a year and at the end even some private lessons on a more intense level. But I must admit, we hardly got past the greetings and standard question-answers. It was the first time I stayed in a country and had hardly any idea of what people could be discussing amongst themselves.
Less networking: compared to my work in Haiti, I feel I could have networked, both for Volens, our network and our partners individually a lot more. Through our activities and developed tools, we had a lot to offer in terms of expertise, capacity building activities and trainings. But for some reason it never really happened. Oh, we had some meetings with like UNICEF or USAID donors, but not systematic and I never felt a real interest of involvement from their part. In a way I would like to say ‘their loss’ but clearly we also lose out on opportunities…
Smoking: definitely one of my main regrets. Yep, I picked up the nasty habit once again in 2010. Though I had quit for several months if not over a year, somehow I lighted up one at a party, and then another one and another. And I was hooked. A lot worse than previously. But I am also using the end of Zimbabwe and the good years resolution to solemnly declare I’m quitting RIGHT NOW! The freezing-your-ass-of-in-the-snow currently as well as the 5Euro package in Belgium should help ;-)

So, I just finished typing this blog post in the airplane seeing Africa glide away below and leaving it behind, with every km taking me further away, without knowing towards what. We have been so focused on our departure and getting everything sorted out (which I think we managed quite well), our mid term future has a lot of question marks. On the short term, though, the upcoming month is looking good:

21-27 Dec: Christmas under the snow in Belgium, mostly family, some friends.
27 Dec. – 8 Jan: Russia, to visit a friend of ours, Silvija, in Moscow, and travel up by train to St Petersburg and Murmansk (one of the most northern points of Russia, same latitude as north of Alaska, more to the north than the Arctic Circle) to see the Northern Lights.
8-15 Jan.: back in Belgium, sorting everything administrative out and applying as much as we can for new jobs.
15-22 Jan.: Cyprus, to see the girls and Zoélie.
22 Jan.: back to Belgium till…?

1 year, 365 places to reminisce or discover

2010-12-22T10:05:00.000+01:00

My dad had given me for last year’s new year, a calender with for every day (well almost, Saturday and Sunday were combined) a wonderful place to discover in the world (and then he complains I travel too much ;-). We have been keeping track of them, dividing them into 4 categories:

Neither Thomas nor me visited the place: unfortunately still over half: 203 places (though with our upcoming trip to Russia, another 5 would shift categories ;-).
Both Thomas and me visited: total of 47 places (yes, we need to work on this). Some highlights: Bahia (Brasil), Etosha (Namibia), Madagascar, Bruges (yep, we’re in there), Marrakech (Morocco), Kenya. Strangely enough, of the collection, only 1 in Asia (and it’s even the Middle East), 3 are in South America, 6 in Canada, 15 in Africa and a whooping 22 in Europe.
Only myself visited: 42 places. Some that stuck out: Evora (Portugal), Antartica (of course), Great Barrier Reef (Australia), Rio and 4 other spots (Brasil), Andalucia (Spain) and the Carribean (5 spots).
Only Thomas has been: 23 places (not that we are in any way competiting of course ;-)

It’s sort of nice during one of our last evenings in Zimbabwe, to look back on where we have been, and also dream of all the places we can still discover.

Leaving and selling

2010-12-13T10:08:00.001+01:00

As we are leaving soon and selling some, please forward if you know anyone who might be interested:
ITEMS FOR SALE
- Honda CR-V (RD1 model, blue, 1995, 138000 km, petrol, automatic, full time 4x4, documented maintenance, cylinder head needs replacement)    $7,000.00
- Coffee grinder    $30.00
- Blender Black & Decker, + 2 mills    $75.00
- Water filter    $15.00
- 2x 20l water bottles with pump    $30.00
- Electrical Stove (2 "plates")    $30.00
- Laundry basket    $10.00
- Two-bar heater (only 1 bar working)    $10.00
- Hot air heater    $10.00
- 5 batique/african cloths and 4 orange sofa covers (material of +/-15m²)$130.00
- 1 big yellow brown blanket    $15.00
- 1 small grey orange blanket    $10.00
- Hot water bottle    $5.00
- Chicha or water pipe + accessories (tobacco, charcoal)    $15.00
- 2 Harare map books    $20.00
- Snorkelling material: 2 pairs of flippers (size 42) and 3 masks    $40.00
- iPod speakers    $60.00
Contact:
Bruno 0773026198 brunodeceuk@gmail.com
Thomas 0772592715 thomas.pouppez@gmail.com
At 3, Silverhaze flat, crnr Chester and Clare Road, Avondale West 04336135
Collecting: on Sunday 19 December 2010 (if possible)

Mad about Madagascar

2010-11-12T09:02:00.000+01:00

As our last and absolutely final country in southern Africa we would visit, Thomas and me spend two weeks in Madagascar.

We arrived in Antananarivo, the capital (in short Tana), where we went partying with some French Couchsurfers volunteering here. As it was the 31st of October, Halloween was the theme…

The next day, bit hung over but with no regrets, we went to explore the city, bit polluted but still pleasant, with small alleys, lots of stairs, and hills offering beautiful views over the city.

Next we headed up north, making our way with taxi-brousses for a total of about 24h. The taxi brousses are minibuses , filled beyond capacity (our record was 37 people in the minibus made for 20). Thankfully, the countryside was pretty enough to take away some of the pain. First stop was the Park Andronafasika, where the Lemurs (a type of monkey indigenous only to Madagascar) roamed. Then we went to the tiny island Nosy Be, the first tourist destination of Madagascar. Beautiful beaches and wonderful snorkelling, the best I have seen so far. We even saw a tortoise and an octopus that changed colours much quicker than a chameleon. And, touristy as it is, a local ‘park’ also allowed us to interact closer with some of the indigenous species.

Last stop was Diego-Suarez, less touristy, where we stayed in a small fishing village. The nearby sea, called Mer d’Emeraude was magnificent, turquoise…

With the weather being so hot and us spending a lot of time in the sea, I also had the reckless idea of getting a haircut to facilitate my life. So, I walked into what seemed to be a rather respectable barber place, where the woman seemed dumb founded I desired a haircut. Three neighbours were called in for second and third opinions, and explanations on how to operate the shaving machine. She trimmed here, then applied the scissors there, next tried to balance it out but clearly had no idea what she was doing, and it showed… Once she cut my ear I decided the fun was over and bailed. Now, I usually don’t care that much about my haircut, but this time it really was ludicrous. So, later on, in Diego, I called in another barber, this time with the goal to simply shave it all off and start afresh. The young dude showed up with one pair of scissors (meat ones) and one comb, but also with funky tribal designs shaved into his own hair. Considering I didn’t have much to lose, I requested for something similar….

But, all good things come to an end, and so did our short holiday there. To close off, a classic, as one of the things I appreciated most about Madagascar, was the sea, and the spectacular sunsets.

Namibia: 3. Lüderitz

2010-10-19T10:44:00.001+02:00

Suddenly, a taste of Germany. Lüderitz is a quaint little town, with Lutheran churches, bars from Bayern, and Nachtigallestrasse, Kirchstrasse and menus in German. Traditionally a fishing village, it is becoming increasingly a tourist destination, but still keeps that quiet, sleepy coast town feeling.

A few kilometres inland, lays a ghost town, Kolmanskop. There was a big diamond rush (legend has it you could just pick them off the ground) in the 1908 and this village was build all around that. We didn’t feel it was too impressive though (I mean, most of our houses also date back to the early 1900s), and also because our guide wasn’t very communicative. Maybe the fact that she seemed to sweep any segregation and question whether there were harsh working conditions for the local blacks under the carpet…

Highlight of our trip in Lüderitz (the only place in Namibia where we spend two consecutive nights) was the boat trip. You can go see the penguins, seals and birds on the islands just off shore.

Namibia: 2. Sesriem and Sossusvlei

2010-09-19T14:16:00.000+02:00

After a two day drive through Botswana (sleepover in Maún) and one night to stock up and recover in Windhoek, our first real sight to be seen was Sossusvlei, a picture of which actually covers the Lonely planet guidebook. Yep, we took exactly the same picture on the same spot (though the lighting wasn’t a 100% the same).

It’s one of those place with the image of the Namibian desert which we all have, sand dunes and… well, more sand dunes… and more sand dunes.

Here, amidst sandy dunes (some up to 300m high) and beautiful sunsets, lies a small vlei, which when it rains (i.e. very rarely) becomes a salt lake. Now, the soil is all dried out and the trees are like rocks. It’s a bit spooky at times, but very impressive. We camped at the entrance, and had to rush, because of the rules that you can only enter and leave the park between sunrise and sunset, while of course these are the most impressive moments, light wise.

Off to Namibia

2010-09-17T12:15:00.000+02:00

This Saturday 18th of September, we're going on a two week road trip, and when I say road, it really is road (planned 6.000km to drive). As Namibia is one of the only countries we haven't explored properly yet in Southern Africa, we're going for two weeks there, together with Thomas, Pieter and Hanne, my cousin who is currently visiting us. We'll be away from 18 to 4th of October, and (of course) pictures will follow afterwards but meanwhile, there might be a bit of radio silence.

Namibia! – 1. The planning of the trip

2010-09-15T21:28:00.000+02:00

Namibia… Of all the countries in Southern Africa, the one we knew least (excepting Angola, but not really motivated to get to know that one). So, before we leave, this was our next destination. My cousin, Hanne, was coming for a visit, and brought her boyfriend Pieter along.

They first spent two weeks in Harare, visiting some of our projects and partners, doing workshops on puppet making and M&E. But then it was time for the holiday, and they seemed quite enthusiastic about Namibia. And I must say, of all the countries, Namibia is actually my favourite. A lot of diversity, desert, mountains, beach, animals. Great infrastructure, and pretty decent roads. And those roads had better be good, because we were all doing it by car. Thomas’ Honda CRV (though already 14 years old) had over a lot of distance to cover. When we had our initial meeting with Hanne and Pieter, and Thomas explained the project, we all sort of felt over 6.000km was going to be too much. We’d be driving almost every day, with at least two days going there (over Botswana), and two days back (over the Caprivi Strip).

Though we’d initially scratched some of the km, while we were in Namibia, we actually did all of the original plan… and more. In total, we reached 8.300km, roughly two third of the distance Harare-Brussels. And though Thomas’ car had to go back straight to the garage, it was definitely a trip to remember!

Skydiving

2010-08-21T00:07:00.003+02:00

After a brief but intense training, over a month of waiting for weather, plane availability and our schedules to match, we finally went skydiving here in Charles Prince airport, just out of Harare. For 150USD, we got the full training, and two static line jumps (which means the chute opens automatically after you drop out off the plane, so you only have a couple of seconds of free fall).

It was my third jump (did two at uni, so ages ago) and Thomas had only done paragliding so adrenaline levels were high. It was quite the thrill, though short (around 3 minutes of flying) and all following the instructions given from the ground by a big arrow. Thomas sprained his wrist landing though, but besides that, no injuries, just excitement. Might do it again soon, as from now on, jumps would only be 35USD each time, quite the bargain compared to western prices.

Our weekend in Vic Falls

2010-08-09T00:10:00.001+02:00

This weekend was along weekend for us in Southern Africa, with Monday and Tuesday off for respectively Heroes Day and Defence Forces Day. Thomas and me decided to go back to Vic Falls where in two and a half years’ time, we had gone only once, and get some adrenaline rushes. We bussed (for 13h!) there but got very quickly absorbed into the backpacking-touristy vibe of things, which was a big change from how we usually live (or survive) in Zimbawbe. Two French friends (Cecile and Helene) travelled with us and we met up there with two more friends who had also come for the weekend (Charles and Kudzi). The Sunday we went on the gorge slide,where (and I quote the adventure agent) we were “traveling at a speed of 106 km’s, hurtling 425m across the gorge, while suspended 120m above the breathtaking beauty of the Zambezi River below”. Quite the adventure, and I was trying to film it ;-).

The Monday we went on our real reason for being in Vic falls: the white water rafting. A must-do as we were told. And it was impressive, though by far not as scary as we’d thought. Seems currently the water level is still too high, because rain season lasted late, and the Zambezi is still pretty full (it’s supposed to be another 30m less end of September). Currently we could only do from 11 to n°23 of the rapids, with delicious names like ‘The Terminator’, the ‘Washing Machine’, or the ‘Three Ugly Sisters followed by the Mother’. Less water means more rapids and more fun. So we might do it again end of September, to get the full experience of the rapids.

What does the future hold for us?

2010-08-02T12:24:00.003+02:00

Well, the month of July is gone, and we have entered the last five months of our stay here in Zimbabwe. First visit to Harare in October 2007, selected and hired in January 2008, finally arrived in April 2008, and now been here for over two years.

End of December our contract ends and so does our stay in Zim. We liked it here, but time to move on, as there are other exciting places in the world. So, we're often getting the question what our plans are, so I thought I would share some of our (vague) ideas and dreams here.

Well, my eyes are drawn to the Arab world. I've done 4 years in South America (2003-2006: Haiti and Brazil), now four years in sub-Saharan Africa (2007-2010:South Africa and Zimbabwe) and next region in the world that I would love to explore is the Middle East or the Maghreb countries.

And of those countries, Lebanon stands n# 1 for us, followed by Syria. This is partly because I really liked Lebanon when I was there (and regret not having been able to visit Syria), but also because the girls and Zoélie are now living in Cyprus, where Ingrid is working for the EU. And Beirut is only a short boat ride away. And talking about boats, that would be part of my dream: living on a boat and being able to just sail away whenever we feel like it, spending holidays sailing round the Mediterranean. Dreams and ideas, but we'll see where the winds blows us. Especially since the beginning of the end has started today: applying for jobs! We had said we would only start looking and applying for jobs starting August, since we want to properly round off our current projects in Zim. So, it will be hard to find something for both Thomas and me, so we made a deal that whoever finds something first (which provides enough for the both of us) takes it, and the other will follow. Then we'll swap in two or three years time...

But though I hope to quickly find something, I would also like to spend some time in Belgium, as it's been a long time since I've been back and babies grow up so quickly...

But we'll keep you posted!

Capoeira solos in and round Harare

2010-07-21T12:08:00.008+02:00

For our Ubuntu performance, we also started making a little video that we could show during the break. It started out quite modest, just doing some moves, but then we started heading out to more special locations, looking for landmarks for Harare, and soon we winded up getting up at 5.30 in the morning to shoot some moves on these busy roads.

Anyway, this little video was the result, and Morena, dear pen for the Capoeira Folha Seca newsletter, even wrote an article about it:

Capoeira April Filming Sessions

Bruno the self employed and appointed video footage person and editor/chief in charge/ head producer held a series of Capoeira photo and video shoots at various locations in Harare. The footage served to create a Capoeira Folha Seca portfolio comprised of snapshots and videos of EVERY single member of the group. It was a tiring exercise but he prevailed with his meticulous methodology and eagerness to complete this task.

A couple of us went to the ‘Kopje’ one afternoon. ‘The Kopje’ is a small hill that overlooks the city of Harare and has one of those ‘panoramic’ views from the top. Half way to the summit of the Kopje, expert photographer, Bruno decided to stop to get some air, ask for directions or just look for trouble. The minute Bruno stepped out of the car, a soldier jumped out of the bushes carrying a gun- an old AK47 with a rusted end part. The guy looked like he had not blinked in a couple of weeks and the veins in his eyes were visible from the car. We remained intact. To cut the long story short, Bruno played dumb and innocent but with underlying tones of sarcasm whilst the soldier was very agitated having not blinked for so long and was keen to deport Bruno after pushing him around a bit. The rest of us were silent not eager to witness a sudden shooting by the unblinking one; although Bruno was more likely to contract tetanus with that gun. Bruno sensing danger like a true capoeirista, snapped out of his play acting role, apologised quickly, made a small bow and macaco-ed back into the car. Before the soldier could register that he had let us go we had driven of.

Another group of capoeiristas was summoned by Bruno at 5am in the morning to do capoeira in ‘Leopard Takawira’ which is a picturesque road bordered by Jacaranda trees. (One of those roads that is worthy to be put on the front of a postcard). Bruno closed of part of the road with a red triangle and the crew began the photo shoot. The only near accident that eventuated was when a car (refusing to believe a bunch of guys and a girl in white pants resembled anything similar to a broken down truck) went through the red triangle sign in an attempt to run over Bruno. Luckily Bruno did a back flip over the car just in time and is alive to continue filming. (Okay the back flip was not really a back flip rather simple move to the side)

The National Heroes Acre is a sacred burial ground for declared war heroes that were involved in Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle and some others. The tombstones made of black granite and other exciting structures designed by artists from North Korea and some Zimbabweans made this site suitable for some capoeira footage; bringing capoeira together with Zimbabwe’s rich history. However, Ed ‘Formiga’ still managed to evade Bruno’s filming escapades. But Bruno had another idea.

On Independence Day, 18 April, a picnic was organised at Paradise Pools in honour of the 30 years of consistent rule by th.....oh, sorry I mean to commemorate 30 years of Independence. Incentives offered to Formiga included lots of food and transport. Formiga who thoroughly believes that water is for drinking and washing only, was not overly joyful about

the prospect of frolicking in the rock pools but capoeira in the wild, coupled with food and a music session was enough to make him sacrifice his computer on this particular Sunday. And that is how Bruno managed to get Formiga and the remaining video evaders on video. So a big applause to Bruno!

The ZAVSAP Fair

2010-07-14T15:32:00.002+02:00

Wednesday 14 July was THE big day of 2010 for the other Volens network, the Zimbabwe Added Value on Sustainable Agriculture Produce programme. They were organizing a fair on processed food, where they would display all the products they had learned to make, have them taste, exchange recipes, link up with donors and retailers etc. Caroline and Thomas had rented the nelson Mandela Hall in the Harare Showgrounds, a huge hall, and all 9 members set up a stand.

I was there to film and document this entire event, as well as lending a hand and generally just seeing how this went. It was the first fair for that network, representing the highlight, almost one sixth of their total budget and for Thomas a step back into the organizing of salons and fairs. You can also read about it in the Herald, the official newspaper of Zimbabwe here.

It meant getting ten farmers from each member of the network (often from very rural and far away places) to Harare, put them up somewhere and arrange everything logistical for them. They all set up stands and would promote their products, as well as visit the other stands and see what other farmers made. In total, over 700 visitors came, from general public, over NGO and donor representatives as business men. I was happily filming away and doing interviews.

One thing that came back regularly was that visitors appreciated that some products were actually traditional, things their grand parents made before commercial and imported crops took over.

No other similar fair exists, other fairs focus mainly on raw crops that are sold, or livelihood. In rural areas, one hardly finds these products, it is often the same, unprocessed things that are everywhere: tomatoes, rape, spinach and onions. While in other parts of Africa, markets are flourishing everywhere and the informal economy is vital to the survival of many families, maybe even the backbone to the entire economy, in Southern Africa, the British seemed to have left a legacy of regulated markets and formal business, often leading to supermarkets (an interesting blog on this, from two of our couchsurfers).

how to make hand puppets

2010-07-08T15:57:00.004+02:00

One of the tools we have developed in Zimbabwe to allow for counselling of children, is puppetry. Many of our partners are very enthusiastic about this, and keep requesting for it to take place at their organisation, which is fine, but it means we have to lend them our home made puppet box as well as the puppets.

Since our programme is closing at the end of the year, we thought it would be more sustainable to equip each organisation with not only hand made puppets, but also the knowledge as to how to make them. So, for two days, 3 counsellors from each organisation came to learn how to make puppets at Oasis, the organisation who had taken the lead to organize this. They sewed, stitched, braided, let their imagination run loose to create the most divers but lovely puppets. Even the only man amongst them (counselling is generally more done by women) made 14 puppets all by himself! It also meant they had two days to chat, share stories and compare how they worked while sewing, which created a very particular and special atmosphere.

Nice atmosphere, but they still made arrangements that everyone had their own personal needle, which wouldn't be shared. When working with so many AIDS orphans, HIV/AIDS is always in people's minds...

The curious accident with the combi

2010-06-18T12:17:00.001+02:00

This Tuesday morning, I took out my bike, my faithful Yamaha 200Cc, to go to the office, a 10 minute drive. I was listening to my iPod, and moving along at a moderate speed of 50km/h, when I reached Greencroft shops. Now, this is where all the commuter minibuses (also called combis or ET’s) drop off their last passengers, turn around to head back towards city center and start picking up new passengers. Needles to say, it is a bit of a traffic hazard. Three weeks ago, we saw the results of a horrible accident there, with about 4 ambulances and a combi that had turned over three times, without having collided with any other vehicle). Knowing that these combis are quite often packed with 18 people, I wondered if even the 4 ambulances were enough.

Anyway, I was going to cross at the green traffic lights, while a truck was standing in the middle of the intersection, waiting to turn (left or right, I don’t know). Behind it, coming from my opposite direction, was a combi, wanting to turn right. Since they didn’t want to wait for the truck, they decided on a quick manoeuvre overtaking the truck on the right, which is, you have guessed it, the lane I was travelling in. I don’t know if they simply hadn’t seen me, or thought that a motorbike was not worth worrying about. Since they came out so fast, I didn’t have time to brake anymore. Instead of braking completely and risk sliding under their wheels, I tried to avoid them, and headed for the gap behind them, but they slowed too much for me to pass. Up to here I still remember everything, also the conscious decision of not slamming down completely and aiming for their rear. Next thing I know, I was on the ground, holding my mouth and a buzzing sound around me. As my eyes came into focus, I realized the buzzing came from about 200 people standing around me, all talking and commenting on what had happened. I seemed to be bleeding from about every lower part of my face, my nose, my lips, my neck. Every body seemed to be giving me advice:
- Stay there, don’t move, you’re in shock!
- Let’s wait for the police, they have to come first.
- Do you want an ambulance, where do you want to go?
- You should go to the Trauma Center!
- Where do you want to put your bike? You can leave it here, in my store…

With my mind clouded, I was just tried to collect my thoughts. First coherent thought I had, was to check for my belongings. My back pack was still on me, with my (work) computer. Would have to check if it was still okay later. My iPod. The woman standing over me was holding it. I mumbled: ‘Could I have it back.’ She was looking at me with a grave concern: ‘You are in shock, don’t move.’ I raised my voice a bit:' ‘Please give it back, I want to call.’ Oh, now she understood. She gave it back. I now had the difficult task of putting it discretely in my pocket and bring out my real phone at the same time. Don’t know if she noticed but didn’t really care anyway.
I called Thomas, who I had put on number 1 of my phone list thank god. I remember blood spatters falling on the phone and me wondering if it wouldn’t damage the keyboard. Thomas picked up. I said:’I had an accident, at Greencroft, can you come?’. He said': ‘Will be there straight away.’ I hung up, and just moved myself (despite the protestations of the crowd, to the side of the road. Some more people offered to call or drive me to the hospital. I knew though that I would need cash to get service, so I preferred to wait for Thomas. Nothing seemed broken anyway, just my nose. I played with the idea of trying to quickly push it back into place myself but let go of the idea. Seems my mind focuses on practical issues when shocked or drunk, like checking my things or planning ahead. 5 minutes later, Thomas rushed to me, and I felt a pang of guilt that I hadn’t said that I was okay, that it was nothing serious. I asked him to just take me away, to the hospital. While we got up, again advice and questions came for several people. I wanted Thomas to take charge of everything, and not have to deal with anyone, so I gave him some of my business cards and left it at that. They were asking where we were going, and just to give an answer, we said ‘the Trauma Center’. Initially, Thomas wanted to drive me to the Avenues, one of the better reputed hospitals down town, where we had an agreement that our staff can be serviced even without immediate cash (agreement dating from the Zim$ and not necessarily very binding on their behalf). So when we were driving past the sign that indicated the Trauma Center, I suggested we should just go there. So we did. At the entrance, nobody seemed particularly impressed by my bleeding face. The nurse at reception did however lift up the phone and said: ‘we have an emergency’ but that didn’t seem to prompt any quick ER-like reactions. She ten asked Thomas what kind of coverage we had and how we would pay. An agreement on each item seemed to be very necessary before it could be administered.
My doctor seemed okay, relaxed. Nothing went too quickly but I supposed I wasn’t bleeding to death either. Without washing my face, he started cleaning it with betadine and said I would need stitches. It’s funny how vain you are, I immediately started worrying about ugly scars and asked if he could try and make them as neat as possible. The doctor and the nurse just laughed and started sewing away. Most of the stitches were on my neck, but also one behind my right ear. I wondered how I had managed to cut myself there.
All the while, I was worried about my nose: it was all swollen up, and very numb. I was wondering if the stitches really were the priority or if somebody shouldn’t be putting my nose straight. But for that, the doctor said I would need X-rays, also to determine if I had any skull problems. When I wanted to get up, I had real difficulties, my inner thighs seemed completely stiff and aching. The only explanation I can find is that during the impact, I must have tried and squeezed them together to cling to the bike. So they brought a wheelchair and I was wheeled next door, for the X-rays.
Now there was no more urgency and so everybody started taking their time. The police came by and they took my statement, as well as the owner of the minibus, who was very sorry, and asked where we wanted to have the motorbike dropped off. We indicated a garage we often use and she promised she would leave it there. Our insurance guy also came by, but merely to drop off some forms we would have to fill in, not like he was going to take care of any of the bills straight away. The Xrays were done, and nothing seemed broken, not even the nose (though that was less conclusive). The only thing was that two vertebra (C5 and C6) had slipped by about 2mm.
Back with my initial doctor, they said this was usually not too serious but they still recommended to buy a soft collar (10USD, sign here please) and referred me to a neurosurgeon. A certificate that I was unfit for work for the next ten days, a bill of 200USD and we were outside.

After all that, Thomas drove me home, where we quickly had something to eat and then I went to bed, though, unable to sleep, I spend my time watching some movies. Nothing too violent though, because I was still concerned about a possible concussion and thought too many flickering images could be bad for it. Since then, life was pretty quiet and boring. I stayed home for three days, enough time to watch 11 movies (most of them pretty bad) Whenever I make a public appearance, there’s of course lots of questions and stares. With all the bandages and the bruises, I feel like a cross between an Easter Egg and the elephant man. I don’t think I’ll be going to see the neurosurgeon, cause nothing indicates a serious head injury, but I made an appointment with an osteopath next week, to check on those vertebra.

Now, I am back to work, though taking it easy. The swelling in my nose has gone down, though the bruises around my eyes change every day, into an astonishing array of purple, green and blue.

I will have to sort things out with our insurance and get my bike repaired, which will probably be a lot of hassle again. Wish it had been completely ruined so I could have gotten a new one, but no, it seems it can be repaired. So, I should be back on the road soon again. Seems like I escaped with a couple of scrapes, a broken iPod and a lot of luck.

The Brazil-Zim (friendly) match

2010-06-02T16:21:00.001+02:00

For those blissfully unaware, the World Cup is taking place in South Africa this year. This means that increasingly, conversations turn to this player, that team or some other unfamiliar topic for me.

The neighbouring countries are hoping to get some of the ripple effects of tourists and economic opportunities. For Zimbabwe though, that seems pretty unrealistic. The Zim government had tried to get in teams to play, and initially, the North Korean team was supposed to come, but this was cancelled due to pressure of human rights groups (or so they claimed). It is true that it might have been delicate, particularly in Bulawayo where President Robert Mugabe’s North-Korean trained 5th Brigade is accused of committing gross human rights abuses and murder of up to 20 000 civilians during disturbances in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces in the early 1980s. So it seemed most people were condemned to armchair witnesses of the World Cup, especially since Zimbabwe in February seems to have bought a paltry 34 tickets to the entire World Cup taking place in SA. No surprise with the economic crisis…

Big was the surprise when out of the blue came the rumour last week that the Brazil team might be coming! Imagine, the most famous (arguably, and believe me, I have witnessed a lot of these arguments lately) team coming to Harare! Even if it is just a friendly match and a sort of acclimatizing to the playing at this altitude, when would the Zim national team, the Warriors(ranking 110, behind Rwanda), ever have the opportunity of playing five time world champion Brazil in Harare?! The was also the first time since independance (1980) that a non-African team was playing in Zimbabwe. According to the press, the cost of getting Brazil to come amounted to 1.3MillionUSD, and though 70% of that was covered by 3 Zim companies, the remaining 30% came from the government.

As the news become more and more reliable, excitement rose. Tickets were only available the afternoon before, going at 10USD for the cheap seats, and 40 to 60USD for VIP (though apparently, there wasn’t much VIP about them). The government gave half the day off, the UN followed the lead, and many organisations and business as well. The stadium can hold about 60.000 people, and reporters claim there were 50.000 present. I must say, it was not very chaotic or threatening. Before coming, we had worries about huge crowds, endless queues, pickpockets everywhere and not in the least, that the stadium would just collapse. But no, it was vibrant but secure, the stadium felt very safe and clean, security was there (probably more to watch the game than us but anyway). And at the opening, both President Mugabe and Prime Minister Tsvangirai were present, our first time to actually see them live! There was a bit of a peculiar moment, when the live feed on the big screen turned it into a bit of a competition for the biggest cheers from the audience, between the two politicians and Kaka, Brazilian’s most famous (and handsome) player. Another article here.

Football fans get into the samba mood before watching Zimbabwe take on the Brazil side. Photograph: Antonio Scorza/AFP/Getty Images

Now, in a last minute scramble, our capoeira academy also wanted to take advantage of the Brazilian presence to include a little demonstration in the match, maybe (we could always dream) during half-time break? So, first call to Brazilian Embassy. They referred us to Ministry of Tourism, who referred me to 2010 Department, who referred me to Events, who referred me to Entertainment, and a cell phone number for the big lady in charge, by the name of Kudzi. Nothing really clearly set beforehand, but we decided to give it a go anyway. So, some convincing at the entrance, talking our way into the stadium, and a chance run-in with the big lady, and yes, we were expected to perform during half time! In front of a 50,000 people crowd, with broadcasts to 9 other locations in town and who knows where else. Jibbers… So when half time came, we climbed down with trembling knees, half expecting there would be entertainment everywhere, but no, except for a marching band, nobody else… So we discretely positioned ourselves by the side of the field and started playing. In comes the MC, who tells us':’Why don’t you go to the middle of the field?’. And so we were off, and suddenly it all seemed unreal. It didn’t seem to be people on the benches, just moving colours, lots of yellow and green (the colours for both Zimbabwe and Brazil). We only played for a couple of minutes, but it will be something I will remember for the rest of my life. When the players come on, we hurried off, as if we hadn’t really had a right to be there, intruders. Now I wish I had had the courage to linger a bit, see what kind of reaction the players would have had. But alas, we didn’t and now we’ll never know whether they would have joined us in a friendly game of our nature…

PS for those interested in that kind of thing, Brazil won 3 to 0, surprise surprise… More details here. If you wanna see some of the goals:

Chimanimani festival - the movie

2010-05-28T16:02:00.003+02:00

Last weekend we went with a group of 8 (Tendai, Shaun, Vivien, Jennifer and myself as capoeiristas, Thomas, Tendai's sister Wadzi and finally Dani, our last Couchsurfer) to Chimanimani. It was a long weekend (Tuesday is Africa Day, so holiday) and we stayed 5 days.

First two days we went hiking and sleeping in the mountains of the Chimanimani National Park, and the last three days we hung out at the annual Chimanimani arts festival. Compiled it all in a little video (in 3 parts), enjoy for the ones with broadband connection ;-).

Photo workshop with kids from Youth Zone during HIFA

2010-04-28T19:25:00.001+02:00

I was asked to facilitate a workshop on photography for kids in the Youth Zone of HIFA this year. At first I didn’t feel particularly qualified for the job, but since it was only a one hour workshop (of which at least 30 minutes the kids would be sent out to take pictures), I thought I’d give it a go.

Instead of the planned 16 kids (since I had 8 still cameras so they’d have to share by two), 33 children of all ages showed up, and then the projector failed to work so things were a bit hectic at first. It was still fun though, teaching some basic concepts and techniques and seeing what the kids made of it. The 3min clip below is a compilation made of selected pictures.

Easter trip: to MozamBeaches

2010-04-08T11:31:00.011+02:00

For Easter, the four of us, Thomas, Hannah, Vivien and me, decided to hit the beach in Mozambique. Since we only had ten days, we decided to limit ourselves to two places: Vilanculos and Tofo, two of the most famous (and touristy) beaches in Mozambique. From Harare, it's quite a trip: 1.200km and the roads are not in perfect condition (though less bad than I expected).

We went with our car and Thomas did most of the driving (occasionally getting caught in the Mozambican police speed traps). We'd made it such that an inflatable mattress was in the back, mostly for Vivien, who was suffering from horrible back aches but nothing could hold her back (no pun intended).Vilanculos is nice, quiet and dusty. It was fun to be again in a more latin feel, with people in the streets in the evenings and music playing everywhere. And of course, something especially my three co-travellers had been looking forward to, sea food!

It was such a relief to see the sea again, be at the ocean. Landlocked Harare and Zimbabwe have great things to offer, but after having lived so often by the sea, I do miss the openness and space by the seaside.

It was mostly a lazy holiday, nothing too active or exhausting. We spend time on the beach, working on our tan.

The challenge of building a sand castle,

an entire civilization to be swept away afterwards by the waves.

And lots of reading (5 books in ten days and not even trying)...

But what is especially an attraction for Vilanculos, is the nearby Bazaruto archipelago. It is a group of six islands of the coast, some very touristy developed, with resorts and airstrips. It offers great clean and sandy beaches and snorkeling opportunities. Lots of little fish, fluorescent colors and so relaxing.

We however went there to also sleep.

Though not a 100% legal, the four of us with two guides spend the night under stars on a tiny island with nobody else (unless you count the scores of crabs around). Not that comfortable we had a perfect night's rest, but the view and the atmosphere made up for the crawling crabs over our legs and the sand getting everywhere.

Sea to the left, and sea to the right, so small was the island...

'Knibbel knabbel knuiland, wie knabbelt er aan ons eiland?'

In Tofo, the main attraction was the whale shark diving. We got into a boat with about twenty people and whenever the skipper would spot a shado under the surface, he yelled 'ready - GO!' and then we'd all jump in. Needless to say, we were among the first diving in, which gave us twice a great opportunity to see these massive beasts up close.

A whale shark is the biggest fish, up to 12 or 15 meters long. This spot is famous for a large population, 83% male though and juvenile. Seems like it is the hang out place for them, like a bar in a small town. Hugely impressive, and we were so close we could have touched them (which you can't since bacterias from our hand could cause infections). Then we'd snorkel alongside or above them, until the animal would get fed up with us (though we must have seemed like just small but possibly irritating insects to it). We were lucky to spot two, though unlucky to not see any manta rays, which are also very common there. Maybe next time...

Most of the time we were in bed by 9 or 10pm. Once the sun goes down at 6pm, and with us camping, or sleeping in dorms, we would get up quite early to avoid most of the heat so by 9pm we'd all be yawning. One night however we'd agreed we would go out. So here in Tofo, the happening place was supposed to be Dino's, a beach bar with cocktails and music. Only a 5 minute walk by the beach so after a couple of beers at our place, we headed down there. Not a bad place, and the cocktail list looked promising. I picked a strawberry daquiri (can't go wrong with that I thought) but others had the same idea and we wanted to be able to swap, so I ended up picking the Dino's orgasm. When we finally got them though, had a big toast ('knibbel knabbel knuisje...) and sipped, all our faces went like this:

The most foul and disgusting cocktail I ever had I think....

Of course, we might be on holiday, but with three capoeiristas travelling, it was also the opportunity to play around on the beach and have some photo moments. Capoeira on the beach is always great fun, and one evening we had the moon rising behind. That is, until Hannah inadvertently aued me and almost dislocated my jaw. A couple of days of avoiding too much hard food and chewing on one side and it all went back to normal again.

All in all, a very relaxing and beautiful holiday. After this one and the last Kenya coast trip, I'm ready for something a bit more active and exciting for our next holiday though. But how could I possibly complain?

A cloud of my words...

2010-03-17T10:50:00.003+01:00

Okay, liked this tool and since I haven't posted anything for a while, thought I'd copycat from Liam.

These are the words I most often use in my blog, through http://www.wordle.net/. Pity though that you can leave out common words used (like articles and such) but only in one language (hence the huge 'de') while I sometimes write in several. 'Hosted' comes out quite a lot, of course 'Zimbabwe', and (no surprise there) 'Thomas'. 'Weekend' is nice, 'counting' and 'chiffres' made me smile.

Wasting food...

2010-02-15T09:21:00.003+01:00

Le chiffre de 40% de la nourriture présente dans les supermarchés étatsuniens qui ne sera jamais consommé fait froid dans le dos et illustre à lui seul à quel point nos économies du nord sont mal organisées et loin d'être un modèle de développement. En Angleterre le gaspillage alimentaire a fait l'objet en 2009 d'une attention toute particulière, le Food Ethics Council un organisme indépendant y a consacré son dernier magazine auquel a participé Tristram Stuart, l'auteur de Waste : Uncovering the Global Food Scandal chez Penguin 2009. Les chiffres sont effrayant :

1 milliard de personnes souffrent de malnutrition dans le monde, avec le quart des aliments gaspillés en Europe et Amérique du Nord, ils pourraient tous manger à leur faim.
avec l'eau d'irrigation nécessaire pour cultiver les aliments gaspillés on pourrait couvrir les besoins en eau de 9 milliards de personnes.
de plus la surconsommation au Nord fait "artificiellement" monter les prix des céréales et denrées alimentaires au détriment de ceux qui ont du mal à les acheter.
La production et la distribution des 6,7 millions de tonnes de produits comestibles non consommés et jetés à la poubelle au Royaume-Uni représentent par ailleurs l'émission de 18 millions de tonnes de CO2.

Merci à Damien, par qui ces chiffres me sont parvenus lors de son quiz annuel.

Valentine weekend at Vumba

2010-02-14T13:06:00.000+01:00

Last weekend we decided to go and spent Valentine weekend in Vumba, which is a mountainous area in the east of Zimbabwe, resembling the south of France.

Thomas decided to let his hair down, or should I say, his beard. After two weeks of ignoring the itching, this is what he looked like. Most also add that this was the last picture of him as Bluebeard, since he shaved it all off.

And Aymeline who had come along to see as much of Zimbabwe during her stay here, picked these lovely flowers...

Hope your St Valentine was as good as ours!

Happy St Valentine!

Mirroring 3.14

2010-02-09T11:14:00.002+01:00

I thought this was kinda cute:

We all know pi, π is defined as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. It's a irrational and transcendental number, the unending and never repeating 3.14 series... But pi, pronounced 'pie' in English, also approaches a palindrome: look at the mirror image of 3.14 and it spells pie.

Maybe not a proof God exists, but amusing anyway...

Couchsurfing 2009: the numbers

2010-01-26T09:37:00.002+01:00

Out of curiosity, I checked how many people we hosted in 2009 through Couchsurfing, a website that allows you to be hosted or host travellers, mostly backpackers, and tell them about your life and work in a place.

Last year I received 135 emails through CouchSurfing, of which 56 were requests to be hosted. In total, I hosted 35 people (not counting Thomas' hosted people), for I would estimate an average of three days (some stayed only one night, others a LOT longer). All this is not counting friends or families staying over, or the volunteers that often crashed at our place as well... We're thinking of putting up a sign: BnT Hostels, what do you think?

Being a clown can be beneficial...

2010-01-26T08:45:00.004+01:00

Aymeline de Cartier is here for three months, since beginning of December 2009. She's a psychologist and specializes in using care for animals (horses and dogs) as well as bodily expression to work with children.

The Wild Wild Zim

2010-01-24T08:26:00.001+01:00

This Sunday we went out to Caro and Andy's house for a lazy afternoon, some Xbox shooting... and some real shooting as well. Andy owns a couple of guns and, regardless of the whole pro- or contra-gun debate, I suppose it is always safer to have some notions of how to use one.

Ah, who am I kidding, I just wanted to fire a gun once in my life and this was the opportunity!

So I took the Star .22 kaliber, a Spanish gun, very carefully (and with a lot of precautions) learned how to load it, aimed at the poor, defenseless Hunter's can whose only crime was to be empty, squeezed and utterly destroyed it (well, at the second try).

Well, at least it was better than Thomas who not only missed, but even hurt himself in the process (only a scratch from the recoil though, no worries ;-)...

Kenya - the south coast

2010-01-21T10:28:00.004+01:00

Thomas and me decided to spend a week after Belgium on the south coast of Kenya, close to Mombassa. We'd used our spared up miles through the Ethiopian frequent flyer programme to get there and swap the cold and busy Belgium with the hot and lazy beach time in Kenya.

And honestly, we hardly did anything. First stayed two nights in a Eco-camp, in Mida creek with many mangroves and other backpackers (read blog entry from British Dave and Dutch Marit here).

The Gede ruins we visited

Little dow trip in the creek

Flamingos (Thx Leslie ;-)

Then we moved to the more beach resort area of Watamu, for some quality beaches and sun bathing. Here we also went diving, a first for Thomas (did a scuba fun package, with basics on scuba diving) and a pleasant reminder for myself. Can't say we saw anything hugely spectacular, but it is always fun to go back to that other world, with its own rules and ways of communicating.

And lastly, we went to Little Italy, where locals address us with Ciao, and

there are more pizzas than mais porridge. Here we spent more time by the pool than anything else, and thought the plan was to go out and discover some Kenyan nightlife, we weren't very impressed and spend more time watching Damages S2 than anything else...

In short, not the most active or eye-opening trip we've had, but a perfect counterbalance between busy bussing Belgium and work waiting for us in Zim.

Short movie: Big Sistar - made at Chiedza

2010-01-14T09:24:00.003+01:00

This is what I spent most of October-November 2009 on: working with 15 children from one of our partners, Chiedza, on making short movie, while meanwhile discussing how to deal with constructive criticism. They came up with a script based on reality TV where one of the members is found dead.

Everybody accuses each other till a tape is found...

Shocked by Haiti...

2010-01-12T08:03:00.001+01:00

How sad... As my boss in the Dominican Republic said: 'Parece que Dios no es haitiano...'.

After information trickled in, most of my friends and colleagues seem to have survived, though many have lost houses... Frantically forwarding emails, phone calls from friends along time ago or far away, linking up with people here that also have or had family or friends there, all sharing the same sadness...

Holiday season in Belgium

2010-01-03T16:14:00.003+01:00

So, back in Belgium, for a 10 day stay during the traditional end of year celebrations with friends and family. Maybe I should emphasize family, cause everywhere I went, I seemed to encounter babies and toddlers. I suppose it’s normal, most people of my generation are now having kids, or trying to (which can be less fun). Still, it takes some getting used, with having your friends concentrating only partially on what you’re saying, cause 30% of their attention is on their kids. And much of their mind seems to be focused on it as well. Parents can go on in great length comparing diapers, sleeping time, who does the baby resemble most etc. All okay for a little while, but when you can’t contribute… Thank God I had Loïc, my god child, to be able to share a couple of experiences as well, and that seemed to reassure (or revive) some of the discussions as well.

Still, as usual, it’s nice to see everybody, and at least you see a lot of family in a short amount of time, but it was definitely not a holiday. We again didn’t sleep twice in the same spot consecutive, running around with loaded backpacks, hurrying to catch the train or the bus, as well as colds. Don’t know when we’ll be back in Belgium, probably not in 2010, since most of the year seems quite hectic (we used up the last of our NGO paid ticket, and we have to finalize all the activities by 1st of October 2010, to finalize our 3 year programme so it’ll be cramped).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Ethiopia, where our holidays began

2009-12-23T16:02:00.000+01:00

Our first halt was Ethiopia, an obligatory stop over in Addis Ababa, the capital through which all Ethiopian Airlines flights pass. For long we had talked about spending some time herer, especially since we have a friend, Jennifer, who is based here. Such a pity to just pass through it each time. So, when flights schedules were complicated, we didn’t hesitate and spend three nights in Addis Ababa. Unfortunately, our friend Jennifer was out, but with her big heart, she lend us her small apartment and we settled in nicely.

Now, three days ain’t long, but we still made the most of it. Some highlights include:
- Getting pampered: going to the Ethiopian version of Moroccan baths, and getting a thorough full body scrub and massage

- Food: trying out all the local specialties, and the less local, like the delightful coffee and chocolate croissants at this French café

- Christianity: since Ethiopia was Christian long before most of Europe was, it was fascinating to see the old religious traces, and such a contrast compared with other African countries where Christian religion are often recently imported (or should I say imposed) and often marketed in a modern aggressive way. In Addis, we went out to a church that had been hewn from the stone, and which was ancient (our guide said from the 3rd century, our guidebook more likely from the 14th AD).
- Getting to meet our great-great-great-great grandmother (or should I say small?): our famous ancestor, and yet so tiny. It is indeed in Ethiopia that the bones of the famous Lucy were discovered.

So, that was our short but intense city trip in Addis. Great fun and at least some days to unwind from the pressure of finalizing all the activities from 2009, the receipts, bookkeeping etc, so I could drag it along to hand over in Belgium. Glad it isn’t just an airport anymore, but now each time we pass through it, I’ll smile and look out over the city trying to recognize some of the places we went to.

Our capoeira group social outreach programme

2009-12-20T09:08:00.000+01:00

Here is a little video we made regarding the capoeira folha seca social outreach programme during 2009:

- at Emerald Hill and through Brazilian Embassy: an orphanage

- at Mavambo and through Volens: capoeira as a counselling tool on successful interaction

The festive season and festival

2009-12-02T11:34:00.002+01:00

So we're going to Belgium for the holidays. A bit of a surprise, for us and our family, because initially we had planned to go back in March, but turns out that we need to travel before end 2009 in order to benefit from our development worker's ticket back.

So back to the cold and snow for Christmas and New Year in Belgium, but we also added something before and after in order to see some more of East and West Africa.

Exploring Ethiopia: we're leaving Zimbabwe on the 17th of December and are going to spend till the 22nd in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. We also have a friend there we might visit. Always stopped over there before with our flight, but it'll be the first time we're going to explore it a bit.

Ca va faire mal au Mali: on our way back, from 1st of January till the 11th, we shall go to the Festival au desert, 7-8-9 January. This takes place in Essanaka, somewhere in the desert close to Timbouctou (doesn't that sound like the end of the world).

It's the 10th edition of this famous festival, with Salif Keita, Viviane N'Dour, Harper Simon, etc. and even a Belgian band (Maak Spirit). We wanted to volunteer during the festival (hosting groups, accompanying press, that sort of thing) and thus get our entry and accommodation for free, but we're on the waiting list. Planning on teaming up with Maika, another Volens cooperant working in Bamako and friend of Thomas.

Our weekend in Kariba: goodbye to Silvija

2009-11-18T17:21:00.001+01:00

Here is a little video, compiled from that weekend:

My name is Satã, Madame Satã - capoeira baptised and graded

2009-11-07T14:01:00.005+01:00

This Saturday I took part in the very first grading and batizado ever in Zimbabwe. Two Brazilian Mestres, Mestre Evaldo Bogado (who by the way is the only white belt, the highest in our worldwide capoeira assocation) and Mestre Carlinhos spent one week in Zimbabwe to run workshops and grade us. It meant the entire week was extremely busy, with practice every evening and us hosting the Mestres for several days. On Saturday this climaxed into the grading of all students and instructors, a total 16 people, with the presence of the Brazilian ambassador, Sr Taunay.

In the batizado, each one has to play the Mestre and be brought down (not a hard task in my case), in order to be tested but also to learn humility. I received the green belt with the blue tip (cordel verde ponta azul), which is the third level, and am very happy with that.

If a Mestre feels inspired, you can also receive a capoeira name, which I did, though there seems to be some confusion. It was Navalha da Carne, and supposed to refer to Madame Satã. This Mss Satan was actually this extravagant man, Joao Francisco dos Santos (1900-1976), who used to dress up in drag and kick people's asses in the capoeira rhoda if the made fun of him. With Brazilian tough laws, he spent like 27 years in prison and is considered an icon of urban marginalization, being poor, gay and black, also made into a movie (2002).

I kinda like it...

Zimbabwe, een bijzondere passie

2009-10-21T12:00:00.004+02:00

Een kennis van ons, Patrice Delchambre, had ons (nu al bijna een jaar geleden) gevraagd om een bijdrage te leveren voor haar boek, "Zimbabwe, een bijzondere passie". Daarin heeft ze bijdrages verzameld van meer dan twintig mensen, van heel verschillende achtergronden en visies.

Sommigen zijn Zimbabwanen, anderen al eeuwen hier, wij gaven een kijk van nieuwkomers, in de vorm van een dagboek. Interessante diversiteit, iedereen bekijkt de dingen anders, en hoewel ik het zeker niet eens ben met alle uitspraken of visies, de mozaïk geeft wel een goed beeld van wat we hier allemaal tegenkomen.

Dit boek is in september verschenen, en vanaf nu kan ik dus fier zeggen dat er ergens een boek met mij en Thomas als mede-schijver is gepubliceerd.

Het boek, in twee versies (ofwel grotendeels in het Nederlands maar ook met Engelse stukken ofwel volledig in het Engles, met titel: "Zimbabwe, a passion shared") is hier te bestellen voor 18Euro. Onze stukken zijn te lezen op onze blog.

Some pictures from our Zim-Bot-Namiba-Zam trip with Maninka

2009-09-26T23:26:00.002+02:00

Almost through our holiday, here are 30 pictures from our trip, going from Zimbabwe into Botswana where we slept in the Kalahari desert, then on to Namibia, in the Caprivi Strip, back through Botswana (Kasane) into Zimbabwean side of Vic Falls, spending the night in Zambia, before heading back into Zimbabwe to spend the last three nights in safari camp Hwange.

Matobos

2009-09-21T14:45:00.001+02:00

After one day in Harare, we started our Odyssee with Marina. First stop was Matobos, close to Bulawayo, where we spent a night at a lodge.

Next stop: Botswana

2009-09-19T11:37:00.003+02:00

September is the month for visits! After Guy and Camille, Ingrid, Annick and little Zoélie, now we have the honor to host Thomas mother, Marina! We won't be staying much in Zim though, as we're off for Botswana and, finally, Vic Falls and Hwange. Posts and pictures will follow after the 30th of September!

Zoélie zigzags through Zimbabwe

2009-09-08T11:27:00.000+02:00

For one short weekend, we had the pleasure of experiencing the presence of Zoélie in our house and lives, and for one weekend, she had the opportunity to discover African sunsets, elephants and lions.

Since the two mothers were in Africa for business & pleasure, they managed to get to Harare thanks to earned miles, and so surprise surprise, here they were! Short but wonderful experience!

And we even tried carrying her the African way....

Happy little family on safari!

More pictures on Zoélie's blog.

A cooperant's moto

2009-08-18T11:15:00.002+02:00

Go with the people

Live with them.

Learn from them.

Love them.

Start with what they know.

Build with what they have.

But, of the best leaders,

When the job is done,

The task accomplished,

The people will all say:

“We have done this ourselves.”

Lao Tsu, 2.700 years ago.

Wat nieuwsvoer

2009-08-18T10:40:00.003+02:00

Hier links naar twee interessante artikels van april en mei 2009 betreffende ontwikkelingssamenwerking van de MO, Mondiaal Nieuws.

- Gie Goris over kunst en creativiteit, iets wat heel nauw aansluit bij ons project om kunst te gebruiken met wezen en kwetsbare kinderen. Bjorn van Africalia werkt trouwens met ons samen op bepaalde projecten.

- Patrick Develtere en Bogdan Vanden Berghe over 'Ontwikkelingsorganisaties moeten zich onmisbaar maken'.

Lost Generation

2009-08-07T12:27:00.001+02:00

Liked this clever little video...

Some downloads for our long winter/summer evenings?

2009-07-20T16:30:00.004+02:00

Okay, time to throw my plea out there. Harare, though a nice place to live, isn't the liveliest place in the world. Culturally speaking, we get the occasional amator theater and the cinema that shows three movies every two months (or so it seems), but that is about it. So we survive and suffer in silence, but our hardship is greatly softened by a supply of movies and series on disk drives... Unfortunately, this supply is starting to run low, so here it is, my request to all of you out there reading this blog...

If you can find any of the following (obtained in a completely legal manner, of course;-)

any movies that are worthwhile, though we already have a lot, but mostly dating from before April 2008, specific requests are below;
The Wire (a series, haven't watched anything, but heard it was absolutely fabulous, so any episode as from season 1);
The 4400: season 1 only, as we have season 2;
Smallville: haven't got many, so any season is appreciated...
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: from season 2 onwards;
Babylon 5, everything;
Stargate Atlantis,
West Wing: everything
Grey's Anatomy: everything
The Sopranos: everything
Tarzan: the series (2003): everything
Coupling
Black books
the it crowd
the green wing
spooks
15 stories
True blood
Mad men
OZ (Australian)
Help (British comedy)
Mitchell and Webb look/situation
Peep Show
Specific movies: Cabaret (with Liza Minelli), the 3 Matrix, Star Trek (excepting n°6 - Nemesis and the latest one), Terminator 1 and 2, the Alien movies, 'Leeches!', SAW V, and of course, Brüno.
Belgian movies: Manneken Pis, de Zaak Alzheimer, Aanrijding in Moskou, Ad fundum, Any way the wind blows.

I know, it is a lot. Just see what you or friends already have and can get to us. Just know that we prefer to have all of one series, rather than a couple of episodes of each,...

How to get it to us:

We have occasional visitors, so just drop us a line (I promise I will keep this blog updated and erase any that we have received)
For the really motivated amongst you, by snail mail:

Bruno Deceukelier - Volens Africa - Room G.01 and G.02, the Agriculture House- 1, Adylinn Road - Marlborough - PO Box WGT 390 - Harare, Zimbabwe

Chiedza Child Care Centre

2009-07-15T12:41:00.002+02:00

One of our partners, the Chiedza Child Care Centre who work in the south of Harare, Waterfalls, Sunnydale and Mbare, had a video guy come in to train 10 chidlren how to use a camera and film. They made this little presentation video, interviewing teachers, staff members, counsellors, the clinic, the director etc.

Doop Loïc

2009-07-12T12:48:00.006+02:00

Deze zondag was het de GROTE dag voor de KLEINE Loïc.

Mijn petekind ging zijn eerste zwemles krijgen in een heilig doopvatje. Loïc, 2,5 maand oud en in topvorm, werd in Gent gedoopt, met heel de familie Vandewalle en papi Deceukelier en oma Kerkhove.

Lieve, de schoonzus van moeder Domie, had de eer als meter te dienen, en ik als broer van vader Bart was verkozen als peter.

Brüno: the movie

2009-07-08T13:07:00.004+02:00

Okay, so the first day I got into Belgium, I must admit I was flattered by all the billboards. Great was my disappointment when I noticed that this had more to do with the movie Brüno. But since my first day also coincided with the premiere of Brüno, we all decided to check it out in Gent.

Thomas and me had enjoyed Borat, but though I laughed alot, Thomas didn't like it at all. I must admit Brüno was very similar and thusnot so new. Am amazed by all the hype about it though, which I suppose is exactly what Baron Sacha Cohen wished for.

Drama as a counselling tool: Theatre of the Oppressed

2009-07-02T10:37:00.004+02:00

Volens is also promoting existing tools that, through creative arts, can allow for children to open up and raise certain issues. One of these is done through a close friend of ours, Chiyedza (Shona name which means, as she poetically puts it:'the light that melts away the shadows', or in other words, the dawn), who is currently living with us as well. She used theatre with the kids from some of our partner organisations, of which hereby some pictures:

How capoeira can be used to counsel on successful interaction

2009-06-24T15:44:00.002+02:00

Here is a little video I made with the capoeiristas of our Academy that worked with children from Mavambo, one of our partners. This module details how capoeira classes may be combined with group counselling on successfully interacting with people in life within the realms of social work.

It provides guidelines for those in charge of capoeira and counselling classes.

The methodology is meant to be used with a specific group of participants over a number of capoeira classes – ideally over a period of at least a few months, involving at least 10 classes organised at regular intervals. Capoeira classes will help build confidence and self esteem of participants. The counselling methodology is designed to capitalise on learning points capoeira classes provide concerning successfully interacting with people, i.e. to the advantage of individuals and their environments. The capoeira instructor teaches participants on how to interact in a positive way during capoeira classes. He/she continues to coach participants on putting positive interaction behaviour into capoeira practice. The central counselling tool consists of a chart on which positive behaviour of individual participants as practised in the classes is recorded - as defined by the participants themselves. Progressive filling of the chart over a series of classes measures, visualises and reinforces progress on positive behaviour put into practice. A number of strategic questions asked when filling out the chart provides learning points on the advantages of positive interacting. These learning points are capitalised on by a counsellor in group discussions on how to positively interact in life and its advantages.

High quality:

Low quality:

Little presentation about our work and programme

2009-06-24T14:10:00.006+02:00

Currently we have been illustrating and explaining a lot of our programme and the tools we have been developing. To this purposes, we made a powerpoint presentation which shows the trainings we have facilitated, some of the tools we have developed or are promoting, the feedback we have received through evaluations etc.

We got a lot of nice comments on the presentation, so we hung it on the walls of our offices (which were in need of some cheering up). It really helps to explain our programme to visitors...

So, if you want to watch it:

HipHop as a counseling tool - tried out at Chiedza

2009-06-22T13:38:00.003+02:00

Volens, the Belgian organisation that sends me out, builds capacities of local Zimbabwe partner organisations to enhance and diversify their counselling of orphans and vulnerable children, using amongst others creative arts.

Here, at Chiedza Child Care Centre, based in Waterfalls, Harare (Zimbabwe), they tried out urban dance and hiphop as a tool to have children express themselves and discuss issues like confidence, appearing sexy, trust etc. Enjoy!

Friend of ours gets evicted from her Zim farm

2009-06-19T11:24:00.003+02:00

It is always a funny feeling when somebody you know is portrayed in the press. And this one is on the BBC.

Catherine, a French friend of ours, had bought a farm in Zim just before the invasions began, and since it was protected under a bilateral agreement France-Zimbabwe, one of the last farmers to still have her farm. Until in February she's been kicked off. Here is a bit of her story as on the BBC website:

On February 6, a crowd of 30 men showed up on our land. Most of them were young, many of them wearing [President Mugabe's] Zanu-PF T-shirts.

I was away in South Africa visiting my son at university but my husband had stayed behind. We had a feeling that something could happen so we decided one of us should stay.

They told my husband that our farm was now being taken over by a local businessman. Their manner was boastful and arrogant. When I came back from South Africa a few days later, I was advised by the French embassy not to return to the farm (I'm originally from France). This is because in 2008 there were similar invasions of white-owned farms and it got quite violent. Back then, there were people threatening to kill us and we had to leave our farm for some time. This time, there was less violence, but I was in touch with my staff on the mobile from Harare. They told me the invaders had been menacing towards them and stopped them from working. This made my staff very angry, but they were under strict instructions from me not to lose it.

'Rent-a-crowd'

After a week, my husband and I returned to the farm. In the meantime we had obtained a court order in Harare saying the squatters had no right to our land...

Read the rest on the BBC website.

Bruno's Birthday Braai

2009-06-13T10:25:00.001+02:00

Only the second time, but it felt a bit like a tradition. This Saturday, 13th of June, I turned 31, and that was the excuse to throw a little barbecue for our friends in Zim. I really like the vibe of our place at that time, we put up sofas in the garden, fabrics on the grass, people hang about and chat, smoke the waterpipe, play a bit of music. It's not a party atmosphere but chilled, with little groups colliding and separating...

It felt a bit funny, since last year's braai marked sort of our arrival, the beginning of our social life and networking. Compared to last year, there were maybe half the same people, but also a lot of missing ones, that have left the country, and lots of new ones.

Capoeiristas, colleagues, neighbours, folks with kids, black, Indian, from Belgium and other expats, it's nice to see the mixture of people we hang out with.

Several people asked me that eternal question: so, not sad that you're getting older. At first at a loss for an answer, I finally actually started saying that no, it was the opposite. It was another year of my life that was full and interesting, with learning and growing opportunities, new faces in different places, families expanding... If I would like at my life and go: damn, already 31 and what have I accomplished, then I would feel sad. But now, no, I'm pretty content with what has happened and where I am currently... And isn't that the best birthday gift I can wish for myself?

Analysing my horoscope

2009-06-06T10:33:00.001+02:00

One of our CouchSurfers this weekend (we again had like 5 people staying at the house), Catherine worked on a book with an astrologist and she helped me analyse my chart (conveniently done for free by this cool German website). Can't say that I believe to much in this stuff, but it is always fun to use a tool to auto-analyse or discuss whether or not you have this personality. And with a bit of loose interpretation, you can actually make a lot of it stick...

So what came out of mine? I'm actually a triple Gemini, having it as a Zodiac sign, but also Mercury, the planet of Gemini, is in my First house, which is the House of Identity, and my sun is there as well (ascendant), pretty rare feature, but that really enhances the Gemini characteristics. And Gemini is the communicator, sharing and distributing information. Often teachers or journalists, they are represented by Mercury, who was the Messenger of the gods. Pretty cool huh. That First House should be read relating to the opposite seventh house, which has to do with my interaction with others. There I have Neptune, which is about exposure, travelling, getting to know other cultures and ways of thinking.

Then, next interesting feature was my fifth house, the House of Games, Sexual pleasure and relations to children. Well, I got a strong dose of that one. That is where my Moon is, another dominant influence and which symbolizes the motherly, caring side of me, which I would show through games and exciting things. Also, my True Node is there, an astoroide, which is supposedly my purpose, my meaning in this life. Mars it here too, the Warrior, which means that I would fight for the right to play and have fun (very true ;-)...

Other things seemed less relevant, the Wounded Healer, Chiron, in my twelfth House, which has to do with the subconscious, and maybe would have indicated childhood trauma that is afterwards used to heal others or creativity. Can't really see what that is about. Anyway, it was interesting and fun, though I won't stop to check my daily horoscope from now on to see what I should do...

Waterviews...

2009-06-05T12:27:00.000+02:00

Volens has crosscutting issues, themes that should run throughout all the programmes worldwide:
1. Gender
2. People with disabilities
3. Ecology/environment

In Southern Africa, we also added HIV/AIDS as an important issue that should be included in our approach, as well as child participation specifically for the programme I'm facilitating.

Crosscutting means that though we have different activities, we always try to keep these themes in the back of our head and be sensitive about it. For example, if you organise 5 day workshops in Harare around food processing, it will be difficult to have women participate because they can hardly stay away from home so long. When you know that women are primarily involved with food processing, you have to adjust your programme to have more trainings closer to their homes and for less time. This is an example of how you can gender sensitive.

Sometimes it does mean sensitising our partners or their beneficiaries regarding these themes, which can be quite a task. Our programmes already ask a lot of time and effort, but sometimes you can work around these issues by simply building on other initiatives and benefit from those.

Like here, when several embassies were organising a photo competition for children 10-14 year to illustrate the importance of water for 5th of June World Environment Day.

Any tool such as photography or video can be used as an artistic self expression tool, and when we can have it focus on ecology, it's like killing two birds with one stone (hum, that doesn't sound very environment-friendly ;-).

In total, over 32 children from our Harare partners participated, sending in disposable camerasof each 15 pictures they had been given. The above picture, my personal favourite, was made by 14 year old Tinotenda from Chiedza Child Care Centre.

He didn't win though, coming in a deserved fourth from over 600 pictures.

The winner was this picture:

Weekend getaway: Chimanimani Festival

2009-05-24T21:46:00.004+02:00

Last weekend, right after my Bulawayo trip (6h busride), Thomas and me had planned to go to Chimanimani with Caroline and her husband. Chimanimani is in the east of Zimbabwe, about 6h drive from Harare, and they hold an annual festival that has become quite reknowned. Now, we have to admit, though it gives a pleasant vibe to the village, it's definitely no HIFA and we haven't watched that many groups perform.

However, the scenery here is really splendid, rugged mountains, so plenty of possibilities to go hiking, swim in waterfalls, etc. But as always, it's just really nice to get away from Harare for the weekend, though the fact that this one falls between work related trips to Bulawayo and Kariba makes it a bit less fun...

A week in Bulawayo to develop artistic self expression tools there

2009-05-22T20:56:00.000+02:00

Now, in our Volens programme, several tools have been developed to work with children and have them open up, or talk about certain issues. For that, we've used arts like puppetry, poetry, capoeira, theatre or hip hop. Now, most of this has benefitted the partners from Harare, but not the partners in Bulawayo.

So, last week I went down to Bulawayo together with two of the artists we have been working with to develop some of the artistic self expression tools, Rahim and Chiyedza. It was, as always when I go to Bulawayo, intense and busy, but also very rewarding. On the Monday, we had a meeting with counsellors and artists that were interested in our approach of using arts as a tool to counsel, and the following three days, both artists rolled out their tools at one partner. At HOCIC, Chiyedza did Theatre vs. Oppression, and at Thuthuka

Rahim did puppetry and hip hop with some of their street kids. It's hard though to sh

ow a tool in three days, the time children are getting used to it and starting to open up, it's already finished. The Friday, we had another meeting with the

same people, and wanted to see if, after what they witnessed during the past three years.

Besides that, we also networked the entire week, meeting up with artists or interesting institutions, such as a theatre group that is already using theatre forum to work with youngsters. Also, and which I personnally felt was a great success, we met with some organisations for and of people with disabilities. Now, disabilities is a cross cutting issue for Volens and the Belgian government, so we are supposed to work on that theme, but so far we haven't had many ideas on how to go about it.

Now, we started thinking that since we involve so many artists, why not get one that has a disability and have him/her teach the artist skill, thus exposing the children to a person with a disability but that has still managed to do something successful and inspiring with their lives. Might be a good starting point.

So, it came as quite a shock for some I think when three people in a wheelchair also came to participate to the Friday workshop, which might indicate it is a necessary step...

Anyway, we identified some artists, including one guy in a wheelchair who wants to do comics with the kids, three guys that do hiphop, one acrobat, slam poetry, and now we just have to be able to get it off the ground.

the BnT Hostel

2009-05-03T15:09:00.000+02:00

The Harare festival draws quite a crowd, and this was also reflected in the amount of CouchSurfing requests we received. Where during the entire past year, we only hosted about 5 people, of which a couple were journalists, now, we got flooded with requests to the point we didn't really knew who was who anymore. Eventually, we hosted about 15 people in our little flat, with about 8 nationalities, from Lusaka, Germans driving to South Africa in a minibus, two Danish fact finding guys...

Our place got very crowded but honestly, it was a fun feeling. A bit like a hostel, where you catch one playing the guitar, another two are swimming in the pool, some chatting or chilling. A relaxed atmosphere and we had copies of the keys made so everybody sort of went their own way. Bit of traffic jams for the bath room, but hey, that's why we had the pool filled up.

An afternoon at Domboshava with the CS'ers

2009-04-30T13:58:00.004+02:00

We decided to take Liam, Leslie and Gavin to Domboshava, after having run some errands, preparing for the influx of people for HIFA. We stocked in on water, bought an extra mattress (300USD, thank you please) and got loads of beers. After all this shopping, time for some sundowners at Domboshava, so we headed out there just in time for the sunset.

Liam is into photography (like really), and he really took some awesome pictures, with the sun setting that I wanted to share in the most narcistic manner.

Liam and Leslie make such a sweet couple. I really took to them, and the way they interacted. Leslie comes from this tiny place in Oregon, where her travels are sometimes the topic of the local newspaper, while Liam is from sunny Brisbane in Australia. She used to work as a nanny, while he's a mecanical engineer that loves to explain why roads can get bumpy. She was brought up a catholic and still clings to some aspects of faith, while he's all into evolution and scientific proof (the god illusion). But they fitted, at least now in modus traveli.

I liked them both very much. It is the fun and sad part about CouchSurfing, random people come and go.

They eventually left on Thursday morning, after a final treat of some belgian chocolat at Doon Estate. I must say, despite the sweet taste of chocolat, it was still sad to leave them by the side of the road hitch hiking to their next destination.

I know, I've been in their shoes so many times, leaving, saying goodbye. No real reason, you're simply on the road, and you move on. I've had to explain so many times without being able to. "But why do you need to go, you don't have anything in particular waiting for you, stay a bit longer..." Such a sweet question but impossible to answer.

It did get a little tail, when at HIFA we met this Brazilian girl, Vivian, who had picked them and given them the ride. She just arrived to Harare and was interested in starting capoeira, so they had given her our phone number. It was funny to hear how the roadtrip had been...

HIFA is here... and so is everyone

2009-04-27T10:12:00.004+02:00

This week, the Harare International Festival of Arts (or HIfA in short) is taking place. This is THE main cultural event for all of Harare (and a lot of Zimbabwe), with lots of local and international artists perfroming during 7 days in all corners of the city (and then buggering off, leaving Harare as dead - or maybe I should say comateus - as it was before).

Everybody's been talking about it for ages. When the programme finally came out, people had lunchons, going over the schedule, deciding what they wanted to see, which show to buy tickets for and all. Many of them have been brought in by embassies, so our diplomatic friends also have their two cents to put in. We've been a bit more laid back about it then most people, haven't even bought any tickets yet and just hoping at our good fortune to be able to get last minute tickets without having to queue for eternities.

With this festival taking place, our CouchSurfing network has picked up once more. For those who don't know it, Couchsurfing is a website to hook up travellers and locals, where you host them or meet up for coffee and share what you know of your city. Great system since it allows people to get a bit off the beaten track and interact more with the people living somewhere (as well as being cheaper). Both Thomas and me have benefitted of it numerous times and had great trips through it, so time to give some travel-karma back. So, since last Thursday, we have two Ozzie guys, Gavin and Liam and one American girl, Leslie ("loving America anyway") staying with us. Two Germans are scheduled to arrive this evening (with their tent), adn Thursday, some French chick from the Alliance francaise in Lusaka would be coming with 4 more friends. Others coming is still possible, so our house might get a bit hectic over the next week, but the more, the merrier, right?

Loic, my godchild has just arrived!

2009-04-22T07:18:00.003+02:00

Yesterday evening, we'd already turned in, at 23.30, the phone starting ringing. I must admit, it is sort of a shock. It is one of the first times I get a phone call so late, so it was funny to see what my reaction was. You just can't help wondering if it is bad news, to be calling that late. "Oh, I hope my parents are okay." "Hope it isn't any bad news for Bart". I could actually imagine a bit of those thoughts that would run through a parent's head.

But it turned out to be the best news ever: my brother, Bart was on the phone from Belgium. The minute I heard his voice, I could guess what he was calling about. His wife Dominique had given birth, and all was well. Little boy, 2.9kg, named Loïc.

Le prénom Loïc est un dérivé de Louis. Les racines germaniques "Hlod-" et "-wig" signifient "gloire" et combat". Au fil des siècles et des monarchies, le prénom est passé de Hlodowig à Louis.

Gosh, I am so glad! It is a bit of a weird feeling, being so far away and all, but my mind keeps going back to it. I have been looking up headlines for today's papers, the top 10 songs for this week, the name, all such. Thought it would be cool for Loïc to read later on, once he bigger, what were the headlines at the time, listen to music that was in fashion the date he was born... Shame our internet connection isn't that great, if not, I could do so much more.

But I will definitely come back to Belgium for the party (12th of July). Have been pestering Volens to go ahead and make the booking, but it's been taking some time...

Our world, your world too

2009-04-21T16:49:00.003+02:00

I just came across this publication for IRIN, a UN agency, about orphans and HIV, called 'Our world'. I found it quite touching and therefore wanted to share it with you. Go to their website or download a first chapter through this link.

They also give some radio reports:

Giving children a chance to live
'I don't want to die alone' - the challenge of prevention
Looking forward to life
Children bear the brunt of AIDS crisis

SPECIAL SPECIAL, READ ALL ABOUT IT: The Zims n°5 are out

2009-04-19T09:11:00.000+02:00

Yep, our little Easter Egg, The Zims Issue 5, hatched especially for you.

Download the latest news on our lives as development workers in Zimbabwe and Zambia here.

Issue 5 - April 2009: EN - FR - NL

Away for the Easter weekend: to Nyanga

2009-04-12T11:17:00.000+02:00

This long Easter weekend, since we'd worked so hard before, with all the reporting and everything, Thomas and me decided to leave the stress of Harare behind us and go to Nyanga, about 3h away to the east. It has beautiful sights, high up, with rocks and mountains. It used to be very touristy and still has a lot of infrastructure, but with the external image of Zimbabwe, there are hardly any international tourists and with the dollarisation of the economy, most locals can't afford it.

The first night, we stayed at the Inn at Rupurara (a rock which translated means bald head). It also boasts a small game park, with girafs, zebras and kudus. Very nice views and luxurious. We went for a horse ride which allowed us to get really really close to the girafs.

The second night we stayed at the National Park lodges, which are really still very affordable (only 20USD for a lodge for two people). It is all self catering, so we had to look for food to cook on Easter Saturday, and wait till 19.30 before the electricity came to be able to cook, but that was largely compensated by the open fire and the space. Until at 7.45 on Easter Sunday, the caretaker just walked in without knocking and found Thomas and me sleeping in front of the fireplace...

Work work work... What is in a report....

2009-04-10T11:29:00.001+02:00

This period is an administrative nightmare for cooperants. April is the month in which we have to combine two things:

the reporting of 2008(financial and narrative) and
the planning for 2010 (activities and budget).

Two very different frames of mind and hard to combine, but necessary, if we want to receive the funding for 2009. Biggest chunk is of course the reporting, which we have to do on soooo many levels, it almost becomes funny (notice how I stress the 'almost').

for each cooperant: a report on all his/her activities and how this contributed to the results Volens wanted to achieve (bijlage 5).
a compilation of all of these reports (bijlage 6)
for each cooperant: planning for 2009 (bijlage 4)
a compilation of all of these plannings (bijlage 3)
For each Partnerorganisation: how they contributed (bijlage 2)
a compilation of this (bijlage 1)
an AFAU 4 document, which each cooperant has to fill in to explain what contributions he/she made to the regional dynamics and the south-north dialogue
an R8 for each cooperant: giving a brief narrative summary of activities.

Then, regarding the orphans and vulnerable children programme I am facilitating:

a logical framework (P10 AFAU 2 F LK)
a planning of the activities for 2010, (P10 AFAU 2 F)
a specific file for the entire region, Zimbabwe and Zambia, R8P10 AFAU, which gives a general overview of our activities (R8 AFAU);
a file with pictures that illustrate our activities (R8-AFAU-2-F-fotomateriaal).
a financial report for all the money spent in 2008, according to whether it was spent in Belgium (modele 7a) or in Zimbabwe (modele 7b) (and of course taking into consideration the varying exchange rate, which is in...modèle 7c). Thank God mom was here to carry all of the receipts back to Belgium. Just hope they will be approved... And, before I forget, of course, there are also separate accounts and reporting to be done if the activities consisted of:

attachments (look and learn visits between the partner organisations) or
scholarships (bursaries to go abroad and study something).

And of course, all of this has to be coherent, not only with all the cooperants involved in the programme, but also with the other programmes (Caroline's and Kristien's). Needless to say, it means a lot of emails back and forth, small changes, numerous versions of the same documents and all. But the end of the tunnel is in sight, as we would say in Belgium, with most of the documents finalized (or almost). Now let's see what Volens Brussels is going to give for comments....

Beside all this, we also have a monthly overview with planning that we do to keep track of what is happening in the programme, extra funding proposals we introduce with provinces and cities in Belgium, etc... Amazing how much paperwork we have to produce... And how little of it will really be read. Of course, I understand we have to be held accountable for the funds we receive, which is a good thing, and though they might not read all of it, the Belgian government does do checks on randoms files, so all of them have to be in order. It is just frustrating to spend so much time doing paperwork and not focussing on the objectives of your programmes...

Fototentoonstelling in Halle over landbouw in Zimbabwe

2009-04-08T09:40:00.004+02:00

Met de hulp van ons programma gaat er in het stadhuis van Halle een fototentoonstelling door betreffende de landbouw in Zimbabwe van de 20ste april tot de 30ste april.

Landbouw in Zimbabwe: Een stap verder...

Sinds 2000 ligt de landbouwsector in Zimbabwe in puin! President Mugabe voerde een landbouwhervorming door. Eigenaars van grote landbouwbedrijven werden verdreven. Kleine landbouwfamilies kregen meer land. Maar de regeringssteun viel bijna volledig weg. Zaden en meststoffen zijn nog maar moeilijk te krijgen. Dit alles leidde tot de instorting van de landbouwsector en veroorzaakte enorme voedseltekorten. Bijna de helft van de Zimbabwanen (meer dan 5 miljoen mensen) is vandaag afhankelijk van voedselhulp. Bovendien is de ecologische degradatie, veroorzaakt door de huidige manier van boeren, enorm.

Als gevolg, met de steun van internationale en lokale NGOs, zijn duurzame, ecologisch verantwoorde landbouwpraktijken erg populair geworden in Zimbabwe.

De duurzame landbouwactiviteiten van kleine familiale boeren in Zimbabwe zijn redelijk productief, maar de gewassen worden nauwelijks verwerkt. Boeren missen de kennis, de ervaring, contacten en middelen om landbouwproducten te verwerken en te vermarkten. Het toevoegen van waarde aan hun producten en de verkoop ervan bieden echter enorme mogelijkheden: een grotere productiviteit en grotere verscheidenheid aan geteelde gewassen, een meer gebalanceerd dieet bij eigen gebruik, extra inkomsten en het stimuleren van de lokale economie.

VOLENS tracht daar verandering in te brengen door een netwerk van lokale NGOs de mogelijkheid te bieden om hun ervaring in verwerking en vermarkting van landbouwprodukten te vergroten.

Meer info op de website: http://volens.be/expo/

Playing at Emerald Hill

2009-04-06T17:41:00.003+02:00

Our Capoeira group also has a class with children from an orphanage, realy close by to our house. The place is called Emerald Hill and also has a school for the deaf. This Saturday, it was their end of term and so we went to do our practise there, rather than have a training. It's always so nice to do it with children that are seeing capoeira for the first time and great fun.

After the rhoda with the kids, we kept practising and generally fooling around. It's always a good opportunity to practise moves, ask people for how they do a jump and so on. And of course, it's always the best of times to take impressive pictures, being outdoors and all.

One fo these attempts I orchastrated finished in a catastrophy though, when I requested the three trainers to do the same move for a picture. Ed got hit on the head by Tendai, who injured his ankle... Dangerous job, to be a capoeira model... Worst of all, I missed that specific moment for a picture.

Our new housemate, Kili...

2009-04-04T20:25:00.001+02:00

For three days now, we have had a new cat. Dexter, our previous cat, disappeared while we were away for the Christmas holiday and was dearly missed. I truly love having my own cat, despite the hassle and our frequent travels. It is simply such a joy to come home and play or caress a cat. And I derive such great pleasure from it, that I don't see why I should deny myself the enjoyment. As long as the cat feels at home and seems happy...

One who isn't looking too happy about all this, is Thomas, but he eventually agreed. So, through a friend of ours, Melissa, we heard about this girl who had kittens and was trying to get rid of them. We could chose between a gray male one and a ginger female. Well, we don't want kittens, and needless to say, we prefer males, so gray it was. Still no set name yet, I feel we have to wait a bit, getting to know his personality and all before naming him, but currently, we're leaning towards Kilimanjaro, since he enjoys climbing a lot, Kili in short.

Day 14: the departure: Mams and Jan go back to Belgium

2009-04-04T15:36:00.001+02:00

Today, Mams and Jan went back to Belgium, the end of 14 days in Zimbabwe and Africa. For mams, the first time in black Africa, for Jan, memories from his Congo holidays coming back.

Though it was short, it was also very intens and diversified. They got to see parts of my work and parts of what Zimbabwe has to offer tourists. They met people from all walks of life, colleagues, friends, blacks, Indians, Belgian and other expats. Most of them were impressed that they had come, despite the entire catastrophy image that is portrayed in the western media.

The first week, in Harare, it was really great that she could meet some of our partner organisations, see some of the tools we are developing for artistic self expression of the children, how street kids turn acrobatics upside down, play capoeira, and how we develop these activities... Since she's also strongly involved in the solidarity group that is supporting our work in Belgium, and she's genuilly interested in this field of work, this was an outstanding opportunity.

The second week was more of touristy Zimbabwe. This map shows how we travelled around:

From Harare to Great Zimbabwe (Masvingo): where there are stone ruins from 12-14th Century civilisations.
From Great Zimbabwe (Masvingo) to Antelope Park (Gweru): to get a taste of the wild life in Africa, a carriage safari.
From Antelope Park to Bulawayo and Matopos: the second biggest city of Zim and where 4 of my partner organisations work.
From Bulawayo to Victoria Falls: see the Smoke that Thunders, in the biggest waterfalls of Africa.
From Vic Falls back to Harare: by plane, Air Zimbabwe.

Lots of kilometers, lots of different places and people, but Mams, always interested and talkative, Jan, always ready to lend a hand and give advice. Thanks for coming! Hope these posts gave an idea of what they did, and inspires others to follow their example.

And maybe see them back in 2010?

Day 13: Mams en Jan veilig terug van Victoria Falls

2009-04-03T08:39:00.004+02:00

Gisterenavond veilig terug in Harare met het vliegtuig aangekomen vanuit Victoria Falls.

We zijn dan op terugweg van het vliegveld nog even langsgegaan bij het Zimbabwean German Society, waar we Shona lessen volgen. Daar was het een feestje voor het eind van het trimester, en dus deed elke klas een klein toneelstukje. Het viel me op hoe anders de atmosfeer was vergeleken met ons laatste feest, dat ergens in oktober was. Toen was het nog heel gespannen, met maar weinig studenten (denk dat we een twintigtal waren tegen gisteren rond de 75 of zo). Mensen hadden andere prioriteiten veronderstel ik.

Onze klas, met 4 studenten, hadden een klein toneelstukje in mekaar gestoken waarbij onze lerares, Beatrice, belt om te verwittigen dat ze ziek is en er geen les zou zijn. Dat wordt dan op met slecht netwerkverbindingen en misverstanden dat ze cholera heeft en al gestorven is. Als de studenten dan afkomen met een traditioneel begrafenislied, is de moeder heel verbaasd en roept Beatrice. Doorspekt met enkele slang uitdrukkingen (Network yakadhakwa: het netwerk is zat, dwz werkt niet goed), het was goed genoeg voor algemene hilariteit.

Daarna nog even een natje en een droogje en dan huiswaarts. Vrijdag gaat eerder een rustige dag zijn, bijkomen van al het reizen en de emoties. Een kleine drink voor al de mensen die ons moeder haar pad hebben gekruist om 17u.

Day 12: Victoria Falls

2009-04-01T21:33:00.001+02:00

For their honeymoon, Thomas and me had decided to offer Mams and Jan two romantic days in Victoria Falls, the most touristy place in all of Zimbabwe. We'd booked them in a nice hotel, Ilala Lodge (at local residents rates, which they had to debate before the manager accepted), with view on the Smoke that Thunders, with the rise of waterclouds, about a minute from the waterfalls and 5 from the centre.

They came back with loads of stories, how they socialized with the tourist security men, going to the local market to buy fruit,...

They also got to see some wild life, warthogs playing on the field in front of the hotel, and even two big male elephants that decided to linger on the path when they were returning back to the hotel on the first night. Nothing much to do, but do what they do best in Africa: wait and be

patient.

Day 10: The train from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls

2009-03-30T20:00:00.001+02:00

Strongly recommended in the guidebooks, though a little bit of a relic of the past, Mams and Jan started their little honeymoon trip to Victoria Falls, the Niagara Falls of Africa, by a taste of adventure: the overnight train with sleeper.

Train is still the cheapest way of transportation in Zimbabwe, and often there are overnight queues to buy tickets. We paid 6USD each for mams and Jan, which is actually the most expensive, for first class and a compartment by themselves (two bunk beds). This for a 14h train ride which covers around 500km...

Bulawayo to Vic Falls is less in demand but the train is a lot more reliable. Still, it isn't the most comfortable way of travelling, but it is definitely an experience to remember.

The train edges along the most famous nature park in Zimbabwe, Hwange, but with all the trees and green after the rainy season, mams and Jan didn't see any spectacular animals. Well, one animal though, but not really spectacular, mams got a tick in her foot which had to be removed with saliva and turning it anti clockwise...

So, they survived and can now say that they took one of the top ten most famous trains in Africa...

Day 10: Visiting Matopos, Bulawayo

2009-03-30T14:00:00.002+02:00

Our next stop on the visiting Zimbabwe in one week time was Matopos, a natural park not with animals, but with stones. It is a park with magnificent views of rocks balancing on each others, so beautiful that Cecil Rhodes, after who Rhodesia was called, asked to be buried there as the most beautiful view of the world that he knew.

There are also ancient cave paintings, made ages ago. Especially our mams wanted to see those, since growing up she had a poster of these figures in her room that she could look at for ages. Impressive to image these have spends thousands of years unchanged...

And we also had our share of adventures. Driving over a dam, as if it was a Honda commercial.

Even to a point where we got worried if we could cross. So brave Jan went out to check on his bare feet, and turned out it was too deep...
No other solution but to turn back, since our mams and Jan also had to catch the train...

Day 9: Cuddling with the lion cups

2009-03-29T19:26:00.001+02:00

And our second activity (what excitement in one afternoon), was lion cup cuddling. When we were there, they had three cups, 2 males and one female, that you can spend some time with. It is amazing how much like kittens they are, just bigger and a bit less elegant.

Interesting is that their tongues rasp a lot less than the ones from kittens, they are actually quite soft...
Thomas got scratched by one of the cubs, so now he's all proud saying that he has a scar from a lion ;-)

And while I was playing tug of war with the cubs, one of them actually bit down on my finger through the old carpet, so have I now been bitten by a lion ;-)?

You have to love Africa, for the good stories...

The elephant swim

2009-03-29T19:07:00.003+02:00

At Antelope Park, Thomas and me decided to do their most 'adventurous' things, so we went swimming with the elephants. First job though is how to get on top:

Then, safely with a guide in front of us, the two elephants walk into the water. And, the heat in Zimbabwe being what it is, they enjoy going under. Completely under... No, not true, their trunk does stay out of the water. Quite funny to see, like an alien probing the air, seeing whether it is fit to come to the surface.

It doesn't last very long, about 15 minutes, during which the elephants go up and down, and at the end they have to be probed to go out of the water, but it is still very impressive. You always keep wondering if the elephant will just go to lay on its back and crush you...

But no, we managed to get back out unharmed, just wet, and an experience richer ;-)

Day 8: the safari

2009-03-29T11:31:00.005+02:00

From Great Zimbabwe, we went to Antelope Park, some 200km and a lot of potholes away, heading towards Bulawayo. It is a game park with 80 lions, zebras, giraffes, kudus, antelopes, impalas, etc. Mom and Jan were quite excited at the idea of sleeping in a tent, though honestly, with the amount of comfort in tents here (bathroom, twin beds, bedside lamps), you can hardly call it 'camping'. Still, being out in the wild allows you to enjoy those famous african sunsets...

But it is still adventure, especially when moms wakes up at 5am because the lions are roaring ;-)

So today, Mams and Jan went on a carriage ride into the wild, and Thomas and me are a bit more adventurous, going to go swim with elephants and cuddle with lion cups ;-)

Day 7: Great Zimbabwe

2009-03-29T11:06:00.005+02:00

Friday afternoon, we drove down to Masvingo, some 300km south of Harare (past the point where Susan Tsvangirai lost her life, not a very safe road). Then onward to the Lodge at the Ancient City, which is really close to the monuments. We got there just after nightfall and mom said it was the fanciest place she has ever stayed in, nice little bungalows in the style of Great Zimbabwe.

Saturday, we went to visit Great Zimbabwe, which is the oldest and largest stone structure in the Sub-Saharan continent. It is often compared (especially by the Zimbabweans ;-) to the pyramids, or to the ancient temples build by the Incas. It even gave the name to the country, Zimbabwe, in 1980, when it stopped being a part of Rhodesia. Zimbabwe literally means 'Big House of Stone': Z- to indicate something big

IMBA - house in Shona
IBWE- from stone

Honestly, I wasn't expecting too much, on pictures it looked like a lot of piles of stones. But I was quite impressed. Built around the 12AD, no ciment or morter was used, stones were 'simply' piled up, up to 11m high, with 6m wide at the base and 2m at the top.

Our local guide, Champion, told us many stories, also insisting on the role of diviners or spirit mediums.

He told us that sometimes even nowadays, the 'Elders', the influential political leaders of the country, go up to where the Kings used to meet, and consult the ancestors on the best course of action for problems. Spooky...

Day 6: Kufunda, een ecologische partner

2009-03-26T10:51:00.002+01:00

De donderdag op vrijdag brachten Jan en Annie door bij Kufunda, een partner organisatie in het landbouwnetwerk van Thomas. Die wonen daar in een soort van gemeenschap, een beetje hippie achtig, op een boerderij 30km buiten Harare. Ze werken veel met kompost en kruiden, dus we dachten dat een nachtje ginds doorbrengen wel tot de verbeeldingskracht zou spreken van ons moeder en Jan.

Bij het ophalen de vrijdag leek dat inderdaad wel het geval, al hadden ze wel iets monder goed geslapen op het dunne bed in een scheef huisje.

Maar zeker er niet rouwig om, ze hadden zelfs tot een gat in de nacht pintjes zitten pakken (allez, twee pintjes tot 9u ’s avonds).

Daarna begon onze roadtrip voor de rest van het weekend.... Hierbij ons trouwe stalen ros...

Visit mom and Jan: Day 3 and 4: Streets Ahead: acrobats and puppetry

2009-03-25T11:57:00.000+01:00

Gezien ons moeder ook erg geinteresseerd is in het werk dat hare jongste hier uitspookt, gaan we maandagmorgen naar Streets Ahead, een organisatie die met straatkinderen werkt in Harare.

Daar ontmoeten ze Veerle, die voor Volens werkt en een aantal artistieke zelf expressie instrumenten uitwerkt en uitprobeert bij onze partners. Met de straatkinderen proberen wij momenteel acrobatie uit. Dat is iets dat hen heel erg aanspreekt en dus motiveert om te komen. Eerst werd een kleine show gedaan, waarbij de kinderen ogen opentrokken en erg onder de inruk waren.

Vooral kleine Tendai, tien jaar stond met open ogen te kijken. Als we hem vragen of hij het ook wil leren, kan hij niet geloven dat hij ook zoiets kan doen. Anderen, als hen wordt gevraagd in te schatten wat ze zouden kunnen doen over tien weken, hebben het ook moeilijk, sommigen denken dat ze alles kunnen, anderen niets. En daar draait heel de therapeutische waarde van acrobatie rond: het zetten van realistische doelen en het gedisciplineerd werken daar te geraken.

The next day, puppetry was done at Streets Ahead.

This is done by Rahim, a local performer and artist who, together with Veerle and the counsellors from the partners, developed scenarios regarding certain issues like trust, falling sick, being blamed for things you haven’t done etc.

Each time Rahim sets the scene, playing a short story, and then the kids invent an ending to it. This allows them to talk about issues without having to directly relate it to them. But since there is an atmosphere of trust being built, a counsellor after the session has a talk with all the kids. And then personal stories come up, like how they take care of each other if they fall sick.

Visit of moms and Jan: Day 1 - the Arrival. Day 2 - the Lunch

2009-03-22T06:03:00.002+01:00

Momenteel is ons moeder hier samen met Jan voor twee weken op bezoek. Het is natuurlijk een lange reis maar ze zijn toch tevreden hier te zijn, en ze hebben nog het Belgisch lentezonnetje meegebracht (dat hier tot nog toe ontbrak met een uitzonderlijk langdurend regenseizoen).

Na de zaterdag te hebben uitgerust en vroeg het bed in, zijn we de zondag bij een Indische vriendin en collega en haar echtgenoot gaan eten, Sonah en Pedro.

Lekker eten en interessante gesprekken rond relaties, geloof, traditionele gebruiken zoals uithuwelijken bij katholieke Indiërs, veel gepraat en veel gelach.

Daarna naar the Celebration Church, één van de grootste kerken hier die op Amerikaans Protestant model werd opgebouwd en waar iets van een 5.000 gelovigen klappen, ‘hallelujah’ zingen en dansen, terwijl er vanvoor een hele show wordt opgevoerd. Daar blijven we toch niet te lang. Om de dag af te sluiten, nog even langs op Bruno zijn bureau bij CFU om ook even te tonen waar hij zijn zweet en tranen laat, en dan thuiswaarts, nog even bijkomen voor een drukke week.

Happy Birthday Thomas!

2009-02-01T11:18:00.003+01:00

So, what does somebody do to celebrate their 31st birthday in Zimbabwe?

Well, it being a lazy Sunday, we started off with two episodes of 'Hustle', a British series we've began watching. Then we went to buy some groceries, including a chicken to prepare for lunch, with my famous lemon-oven recipe. After spending 120USD in the supermarket, we drove up to Caroline and Andy's house, where they watched the tennis competition of n° 1 and 2 off the world, Nadal and Federer playing in Melbourne (while I am taking advantage to use their internet).
Once this is over, we've sort of invited ourselves over at Mia and Michel, an elderly Belgian couple that we like very much, and who happen to be the fortunate owners of a Belgian-style deepfryer, so we are going to enjoy some classic Belgian fries, together with the chicken that I am currently preparing....

Rest of the day, we haven't made to many plans yet. Maybe go out to a nice restaurant tonight, it has been a while we went out to eat. Anyway, it'll be all up to Thomas, cause today is his special day, and it all revolves around him...

Confucius say:

2009-01-29T10:51:00.001+01:00

Cholera-SMS from UNICEF

2009-01-28T10:10:00.002+01:00

This morning, I got a text message saying this:

"CHOLERA ALERT: Prevent cholera; avoid shaking hands at mass gatherings, particularly weddings, church meetings & funerals. - UNICEF & Min of Health"

Cholera in Zimbabwe has claimed over 2500 lives and infected over 30.000 people already, while it should be an easily curable disease.

This is already the second message we received like this, the first one in December 2008 to warn us of the outbreak and advising us to boil water. I must say, at first I though it was bizzar to get this sort of message, but hey, it is a good way to reach a lot of people, and it is definitely better then getting commercial texts to drink coke or where which sales are going on....

DAG 20

2009-01-28T09:34:00.002+01:00

De contact persoon voor dat GSM abonnement is terug uit vakantie, vertelt buurman Edward en belooft: deze week heb ik nieuws! We zijn benieuwd.

Gezien het hoge ritme waarmee we onze voorraad films en series (leve de externe harde schijf!) aanspreken, besluiten we een andere bezigheid te zoeken op zondagavond en trekken naar de bioscoop met collega Farai. De films blijken ongeveer een

jaar na hun release date in Harare te geraken, zelfs als ze tegelijkertijd op DVD in de videotheek om de hoek worden aangeboden... . Het blijft toch een charmante gelegenheid, de zaal is nog zo’n ouderwetse cinema, met een gordijn dat opengaat en plaats zat voor lange benen.

We maken kennis met Constance, die drie huizen verder woont en die haar diensten aanbiedt als meid. We denken er eens over na. We weten het, dat komt in Europa zo bourgeois en decadent over. Alsof je te lui bent om zelf je vaat te doen, of dat je dat beneden jezelf vindt. Maar anderzijds missen we hier de moderne huishoudapparatuur die het leven gemakkelijker maken. Verder wordt huishoudelijke hulp hier ook anders bezien. Je geeft werk en een inkomen aan iemand, en via die persoon vaak aan een hele familie. Uiteindelijk besluiten we om Constance 1 dag per week te laten komen. Ik vraag hoeveel ze wil krijgen. Ze zegt 4 miljard, wat omgerekend uitkwam op 5 Euro. Wat voel ik me daar raar bij.

Iemand die vier dagen komt werken per maand, en niet eens een Belgisch uurloon. We bieden haar dan 8Euro per maand aan, voor ons een peulschil, maar meer dan het dubbel van een leraar die hier voltijds werkt. Ik beloof mezelf wel dat ik haar heel respectvol ga behandelen.

Die avond hebben we een spelletjes avond georganiseerd. Taurai, de artiest van HIFA komt af met vrienden. We spelen Risk tot een gat in de nacht, met veel palaver en gelach. Onze voorraad bier wordt er volledig doorgejaagd, maar aangezien ze ook elk een paar flessen hadden meegebracht, voelen we ons er niet slecht bij.

DAG 15

2009-01-28T09:26:00.004+01:00

Het is einde mei, en aan deze kant van de evenaar zijn de dagen omwille van het winterseizoen kort. Als we ’s avonds rond 18u thuiskomen is het donker, en er is geen elektriciteit. We ondervinden voor het eerst hoe veel mensen avond in avond uit in Harare leven. Met het verschil dat we er totaal niet op voorbereid zijn: geen kaarsen in huis! Aan de andere kant beseffen we dat we met een gasfornuis altijd zullen kunnen koken, elektriciteit of niet! Onze ervaring is van korte duur, een half uurtje later springt het licht weer aan.

De verkiezingscampagne is druk bezig. Mugabe (huidige president) en Tsvangirai (oppositie) zijn alomtegenwoordig. Bepaalde van de thema's of slogans verwijzen naar de onafhankelijkheid, ofde landbouw. Mugabe tr Tsvangirai ervan een puppet te zijn in de handen van Groot Brittanië, en terug een kolonie te willen maken van Zimbabwe.

DAG 12

2009-01-28T09:07:00.003+01:00

Twee huizen verder van het onze wonen onze enige blanke buren, een ouder Zimbabweaans koppel, Ken en vrouw Val. We geraken aan de praat. Ken was vroeger de tweede grootste tarwe producent van Zimbabwe, en had een vijftal boerderijen en twee ranches, waar ze gingen jagen. Sinds 2000 heeft de Zimbabweaanse regering veel van de blanke boeren onteigend. Van de 3.000 tot 4.000 boeren die er toen nog waren zijn er nu nog maar een driehonderd tal over, en zelfs dat aantal slinkt snel. Ken legt ons uit dat één voor één zijn boerderijen werden afgepakt. Hij is er erg bitter over, en gebruikt vaak het woord ‘they’. ‘They’ took it away, ‘they’ are driving the country into misery, ‘they’ just do everything out of envy and jealousy… Soms is het niet helemaal duidelijk wie hij bedoelt, de regering, de Zimbabweanen, al de zwarten van Afrika? Ik ga er niet al te veel op in. Zijn laatste boerderij werd nog maar drie maand geleden bezet, en nog niet al te zachthandig. Hele nachten heeft hij gepatrouilleerd met geweren in zijn handen en schrik in het hart. Uiteindelijk nog maar net ontsnapt. Mijn medelijden gaat wel even naar beneden als hij vermeld dat hij met zijn privé vliegtuigje wegvloog. Zó erg zal het dus ook wel niet hem gesteld zijn. Zijn hoop momenteel is dat hij recht zou krijgen op een vergoeding, misschien niet onder Mugabe, maar met een andere, meer gematigde regering? Het is moeilijk te weten wat te zeggen tegen hem. Die man heeft hier zijn hele leven gewoond en gezwoegd, en kent het land en de politiek zoveel beter. Veel van wat hij zegt gaat echter in tegen mijn overtuigingen. Zo vind ik het toch wel onrechtvaardig dat vóór het jaar 2000 een handjevol boeren meer dan 75% van de beste landbouwgronden in handen had. Nu ligt de merendeel ervan echter braak en is de hele landbouwproductie van Zimbabwe in mekaar gestuit.

DAG 5

2009-01-28T09:03:00.002+01:00

Inflatie. Iedereen praat erover, de kranten staan er vol van, maar niemand die me echt heeft kunnen uitleggen hoe, wat, waarom. Maar in die vijf dagen dat we in Zimbabwe zijn, heb ik de inflatie al wel kunnen voelen! Die letterlijke stapel geld van een paar dagen geleden is nu al meer dan de helft van zijn waarde kwijt. We moeten van tactiek veranderen, en het geld maar beetje bij beetje omwisselen. En onmiddellijk weer uitgeven!

DAG 7

Buurman Edward laat weten dat zijn contact bij de GSM operator op vakantie is en pas over twee weken terugkomt.

Zimbabweaanse collega Farai, een gezellige 27-jarige vrouw, brengt ons spontaan een bezoekje thuis, onverwachts. Ik voel me al snel op mijn gemak in haar bijzijn. Is dit het begin van een vriendschap?

Dag 4

2009-01-26T16:44:00.000+01:00

Het valt na vier dagen echt op: elk contact met mensen begint steevast met een variatie op “Hallo, hoe gaat het met u?”. Ik bedoel dan ook elk contact. Bij het uur vragen op straat, aan de kassa in een winkel, bij het geld ruilen op de zwarte markt, en natuurlijk ook bij het groeten van bekenden waar er zelfs uitgebreid gevraagd wordt naar de situatie op het werk en thuis, en of er wel elektriciteit en lopend water is.

Op dat vlak mogen we van geluk spreken, elektriciteit en water hebben we vrijwel altijd, wat niet van iedereen kan gezegd worden. Collega Veerle en haar familie hebben te kampen met heelder maanden waarin het water slechts ’s nachts een uurtje loopt en amper elektriciteit. Er wordt in de buurt gezegd dat de reden van ons geluk het nabije ziekenhuis is, dat voorrang heeft als er tekorten zijn. De straat verderop is klaarblijkelijk aangesloten op een ander netwerk, want ’s avonds hoor je daar de generatoren ronken. Een andere verklaring van het feit dat die straat verderop zonder licht en water leeft is dat de leider van de oppositie partij er zijn huis zou hebben... .