Month: april 2010

February 19. A nice couple.
From a Gaborone gas station we find transport into town and to the house of our hosts, Mr. Weeks and his wife. From the minibus taxi, we get a glimpse of Gaborone, not yet knowing that there isn't much more than a glimpse to that city, before we knock on the door of our host. ...
February 18. Hitching it off.
Charles is driving a big truck all the way down to Gaborone. The Chinese-built road cuts sharply through the endless arid plains of Botswana. He spots some elephants trotting along the road with an intense crimson sunset in the background. He arrives in Gaborone ahead of schedule, as early as 3:50 in the morning. He ...
February 17. Victoria Falls.
Robert finally goes away, but not after we have refuelled and refilled his pockets. He turns out to be just another rich guy, bragging about his cattle and the bmw he owns in Durban, but not feeling financially responsible for the fuel guzzler he drives and has us filled up. I crunch my teeth and ...
February 16. But the Charity budget…
Robert seems nice, and we get along well until the second flat tyre. We meet him strodding in the morning sun on our way to the main road, and he offers us a lift. Later the lift turns into a fuel-guzzling 8 hour-drive to Victoria falls, and we have to pay for the fuel. And ...
February 15. Oasis and Streets Ahead.
A morning visit to Oasis and Streets Ahead. At Oasis, we visit a hiphop workshop with young kids, followed by counseling. It is only a roll-out of the concept, the first time they do it with preschoolers (it has been done successfully with teenagers). It seems to work well, the kids like it. The counseling ...
February 13. Lush, placid.
We just write. There's a lot of things to write aboout believe me. It's kind of amazing being here in Harare. We see another movie. Amazing to be here in Harare. Already said that. Our hosts have decided to spend the Valentine weekend outdoors and leave us guarding - and enjoying - their place. It's ...
February 14. Art that pulls the trigger.
Sunday. Lazy sunday. We hang around the pool and engage in writing again or at least attempt. It is six weeks later that I write these lines describing this memorable day so I guess, well, let's leave that be. This is supposed to be art. In art and in war, it is said, everything is ...
February 12. Big Brother.
Friday. What's going on? Guess who's back. Bruno has a list of ngo's that work together with Volens, and we go through it. Some organisations are located in other cities like Bulawayo, but the bulk of activities takes place here. Oasis and Streets Ahead are the most suitable for our intentions.
There's now time to ...
February 11. Good Ol’ me.
We are presented with a few NGO options, and pick two of them. We will visit two Harare-based organisations working with streetkids, teaching them life skills and preventing them from going down a spiral of addiction, depression or worse by organising Capoeira and Hiphop classes. We hope to link them later on with ngo's working ...