Column

Wekelijkse notities in de kantlijn van waar de wereld over praat. En waarover ik vind dat de wereld moet praten.

De maandagcolumn is een institutie in niemandsland.

February 25. Swampridden.
It is raining and we are - again - confined to sitting inside. We find our way to the café where we used to work in another era - three exciting weeks ago. It still offers great coffee and great smiles. I am writing here, but absent-mindedly. Have I ever written anything, "ever", and "any" ...
February 24. Guy the beekeeper.
Dobermann puppies cuddle on the couches as we enjoy a "farm" breakfast in the guesthouse. It will keep us going for a while and we walk back to the main road. The 15-minutes rule does apply today: Guy the beekeeper picks us up and takes us to Johannesburg via Pretoria. We go shopping for equipment ...
February 23. Guesthouse Goedehoop.
We leave Gaborone today, after a lazy morning and a warm goodbye to Sheldon and Gudrun. Up on the main road with thumbs in the air and some smiling policemen take care of us. Our remaining Pulas bring us neatly to the border. Stamping and re-entering the RSA is a whistle of a cent, but ...
February 20-22. Women’s Shelter, Mozart, Quaker meeting.

The women's shelter is a nice place. It is hidden away because the abusive men have a tendency to get back to their victims. We see a nice plot of land with a fence around it and some converted sea containers serving as housing. A German NGO has constructed a nice bricked and plastered ...
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 ...