4 August - DETA

This morning began with two full group sessions – another inspirational scholar from the University of Pretoria (Prof. Jonathan Jansen), and a panel on using OERs (open education sources, available online, on CDs/DVDs, and in print form) to train teachers, especially those who cannot attend a university. There are many opportunities and challenges with this method, including issues of access and lots of curriculum development from outside of Africa. Prof. Jansen spoke of qualities of true leaders – conscious decision-making, credibility, courage, counter-culture vision, compassion, self-criticism, and commitment. It could have been given and equally received in a US context. So many issues are the same on many levels – political rhetoric without backbone, improper treatment of students, lack of care, teaching to the test, even. Jansen gave many examples of excellent teacher and administrative leaders who dared to think and act outside the problematic boxes we often find ourselves in. One quote I especially liked: “You cannot teach if you cannot feel.”

Cornelius and I gave our presentation on the role of parents during and after the war in Northern Uganda, and I added an update on our current work. It was well received. I also met others from Makerere. One, Peter, is the dean of the higher learning dept in the College of Education. He is interested in networking opportunities with USF and Makerere.

Long day, and much longer one tomorrow as I make my way back to the US. It’s been a wonderful opportunity to immerse myself in the amazing warmth of African cultures, learn from everyone I met, and get a better sense of the work I expect to do over the next many years.

3 August - Start of DETA Conference

This morning I made my way from my hotel to Universidad Eduardo Mondale, where the Distance Education and Teacher Training in Africa (DETA) conference was being held. The majority of attendees were from Mozambique and South Africa, with plenty of African representation also from the areas areas of the continent. There were a handful of Europeans and I was one of 3 or 4 from the US. I spotted Cornelius, and we sat together for lunch along with delegates from other countries.

For me, the highlight was the afternoon keynote speaker, Graca Machel. She is a well-known social activist who has been instrumental on bringing child soldiers to the attention of the UN over the past 10 or more years. She was married to the former president of Mozambique (who was assassinated) and is now wife of Mandela. Her speech was inspiring. It is fascinating to hear the voices of so many layers of African society – from local citizens affected by war to middle class people, those who live in the quiet of the bush, and well-educated, informed scholars and activists. Too much for a blog (I’ve already written too much), but important and valuable to me as I continue my work in Africa.

2 August - Bye ZA; on to Maputo

I got up early and ready for my last game ride prior to boarding another plane for Maputo. I was first for tea and worried that my new companions would be late, but they arrived about 10 minutes later, bundled and complaining loudly about the cold. At one point the Mom said, “But it’s worth it, isn’t it?” and she looked at me. I’m afraid my thoughts came tumbling out of my mouth: “If I had the money to bring my kids here, they’d be kissing my boots. They wouldn’t be complaining.” Again, that issue of privilege and taking it for granted. I later sat by the mom on the game ride and told her about my work, explaining that it taught me not to complain much when I think of what so many people have endured and how little they have. She wasn’t upset, and seemed to appreciate my comment.

We got a couple quick glances at leopards, then the highlight of the morning ride: a whole pride of lions getting their fill after killing a cape buffalo. The males had already gorged themselves and were crashed in the grass while one of the females and the cubs were eating. Typically I turn away at scenes like that even on documentaries, but I sat mesmerized. Just a couple days ago when we found the females with the cubs, Rob and Ron were concerned with the low weight of the lions. Now they would be full and healthy. It’s hardly different than people’s eating of cows, chickens, and pigs, except that the wild animals aren’t wasteful. Most of us were busy snapping pics and filming the scene. When there was no breeze, the smell was pretty strong. I imagined the reverse, with lions wandering out to watch us eat around the boma, pulling out their cameras to photograph the exotic animals covered in cloths and using weird metal tools to pull at the meat. The cubs would probably take a sniff and find the smell of burned flesh disgusting!


I had a quick breakfast and enjoyed a vervit monkey who stole an orange from the buffet and enjoyed it in a branch. Then my ride back to the airport arrived.

The same young woman who brought me to Idube also drove me back to the airport. I told her about my challenges with the young US young women, and we had a pleasant conversation on the 2-hour drive back to Nelspruit. Johanna told me that middle class South Africans can’t afford time at the private reserves. It was certainly a rare treat for me, too, something I couldn’t typically afford, and am very grateful to have had that opportunity.

1 August - A Happy Birthday!

I woke up at 5:30am so was ready to roll before 6:30. There was another beautiful sunrise, and it was a bit warmer this morning. We tracked for a long time and saw only occasional impalas, nyalas, babbons, warthogs, mongoose, and birds. We also found the elephants we watched the other day. But it seemed no one had found any cats or rhinos. We stopped for a coffee break in the grassland and decided we’d try to go in where others had heard lions but not been able to find them. Finally, we
saw a lioness, and soon after, her sister and their three cubs. The females were beautiful, and the cubs were adorable, especially the one that is just a couple
months old. The moms would get up and walk, and the cubs would eventually get up and follow. Rob said they looked a bit thin and were in need of a kill. What a perfect Leo present for me to see the lions!

On our way back, we again saw the leopard from yesterday, but today she was sound asleep near the road. It ended up a great morning, and I got some wonderful photos. I had a filing breakfast and am now sitting on my porch just taking in the beautiful weather, scenery, and quiet. I do have to grade papers, but what a setting for it! Today is warm enough to use my private outdoor shower, and I will enjoy it!

This afternoon, seven people arrived – a couple working in Angola (she’s from Brazil, and he from ZA); and five Americans. From what I can gather, the parents also work in Angola, and their three young adult girls are visiting. I have to admit, I enjoyed it much more when I didn’t have to listen to silly US girl talk on the game rides, so I’m glad I had that time to myself before.


On the afternoon/evening ride, we saw several rhino (seven, I think), about 4 bull elephants (one that dared us on a bridge while crossing through the river!), a giraffe, a leopard, mongoose, water buck, and three sleeping male lions (one of whom woke up long enough to give us some great photos). It was much warmer today, though the girls were complaining that they were freezing. Again, we could see the Milky Way on the ride back, though there was a crescent moon out tonight, so it wasn’t quite as brilliant.

For dinner I tried eland, ZA’s largest antelope. It was good, but tough compared to the ostrich. Melinda and the staff came out at the end singing “Happy birthday” to me and carrying in a chocolate cake covered with strawberries and kiwi. Altogether, it’s been a rare and wonderful mini-vacation.

31 July

After a sound night’s sleep, staff knocked on my door at 6am for the morning game drive. It was only about 8 degrees (Celsius), so I was glad I bought a fleece yesterday. Armed in four layers of clothes, I joined the others for a quick cup of tea and hopped into one of the large open jeeps. We stopped to watch two female elephants with their three babies for a while. It’s amazing how close they walked towards the jeep (about 5 feet away)! Next we saw a medium-sized rhino.


After that, my first cat! The oldest lion of the pride, at 13. He was more interested in sleeping than paying attention to us. I few minutes later, we tracked two younger males (10 and 11) in search of a female in their pride who did not yet have cubs. It was thrilling to watch them in the wild. We saw rhino in a watering hole, a brown snake eagle, and impala. Then we found a female leopard and stayed with her for a while. She was beautiful. On our way back, we watched nine elephant (four young ones – we think the ones we saw this morning along with four others). We also saw a male, but he was well hidden in the bush.


We came back for breakfast around 10, then I went for a nature walk with Rob. He showed me prints of elephants, hyenas, jackals, rhinos, and mongoose. At a camellia tree, Rob told me that the tree has significance in South Africa because clan medicine men use parts of it in rituals. They also believe that it can make women heavy (and they like their women heavy), so they have their girls pray under the trees so that they will grow up heavy. So maybe I can blame my camellia bush in Georgia!

Rob showed me around matted pile of rhino dung and told me that the males mark their territory by stamping their dung into a round pile. The females defecate around his pile but do not stamp theirs. If another male rhino wants to challenge the original, it defecates in the middle of the circle but does not stamp it down (like throwing down the gauntlet). However, a white rhino male can mess in a black rhino’s spot and vice versa, because they are not a challenge to one another.
When impalas are in season, the male will spread his dung in a large pile, then pursue as many females as he can. However, he is too busy to groom himself, so he will acquire up to 6 times more parasites than the other males, which means he tires quickly, sometimes within 24-48 hours. Then, another male steps in and adds to the pile, taking over until he is too weary from parasites. By the end of the season, the pile is huge!

Rob also told me wonderful stories of biodiversity and ways in which the trees and the animals support life for one another. For instance, all impala give birth within a two-week period, right after the first rains come in the spring. If an impala was impregnated late in the mating season, she gives birth to a small baby; one with a longer gestation gives birth to a larger baby. This is because there is less chance of the babies being killed if they are born and stay together in a huge group. If there will be a drought, the impalas all spontaneously abort the fetuses, because they could not take care of themselves and babies without water. Regarding the termite hills, trees grow on them because they do not eat living cellulose. The hills provide space to create fungus from dead wood, and the termites eat the fungus. The roots of the tree create favorable conditions by drawing water, and each termite carries a drop at a time to the dead wood to make the fungus. If it gets too hot or too dry, they can open or close their some of their numerous tunnels to keep the conditions just right.

It seems that the folks who were to join us this afternoon missed their plane, so it is to be me for the rest of the day. It’s so peaceful. I’m sitting on my porch with nyalas, warthogs, and vervit monkeys all around me. The monkeys jump onto my roof, then leap to the trees, race down, and run across the lawn. Sometimes there will be a loud chattering of some kind of animal in the distance, and the nyala will become watchful for a moment, then go back to grazing. Then there is just the sound of the wind as it rustles through the leaves, and the sound movements of nyala hooves as the animals move to graze.

Melissa, one of the managers, ate lunch with me. She’s having ostrich prepared for our dinner, and she and her husband Rudy will eat with me. I left with Rob and Ron (the trackers; actually, they are both excellent trackers) shortly after for the afternoon game drive. This time we found the elephants again, along with water buck, a zebra, giraffes, and kudu. We also spotted a beautiful older kudu male with gorgeous horns. We tracked two lionesses and their three cubs for a while, but it got dark before we could find them. Maybe tomorrow.

Rob showed me the Southern Cross and Scorpio constellations as it was dusk. When we were driving back, it became dark, and I looked up and saw the brilliance of stars that can only be seen when one is completely away from the electricity of cities and towns. I also thought I saw a light patch across the sky. I asked Rob, “Can you see the Milky Way in the Southern hemisphere?” He asked Ron to turn off his flashlight, and Rob turned off the lights on the vehicle. There it was, a white steak across the sky, the first time I had ever seen it.

Back at camp, we had a delicious meal of giant shrimp, ostrich with potatoes and carrots, and a crepe with cream and strawberries for desert while sitting by the fire. I’m back in my room now, warmed from the outside cold, catching up my blog entries (I’ll have to post when I get to Maputo; there’s not really service here to do it). I’ll grade a few more papers before getting to bed.

27-30 July

Solomon and Martin brought us back to Kampala after we had a morning meeting with Bwonyo Bosco, the District Educational Administrator for Lira. I met with him last November and felt he was a very good administrator. We had another positive meeting on this morning, and he was happy about the concepts and plans of the Unity Project.
We returned to the Fairway, as it is a reasonably priced hotel. Fortunately, this trip took the expected 5, and not 13, hours of travel!

On Thursday, John had several meetings with people who could potentially help us figure out partial funding. I went with Solomon and Martin to the Curriculum Development Office and picked up the teacher’s curriculum objectives for English, history, biology, and entrepreneurship (the latter I gave to John) to begin looking at ways in which we might integrate the Unity concepts with the curriculum. In the evening, we met Cornelius and Betty from Makerere University for dinner to review how our past week went. They are also interested in learning more when we return.

Friday morning, John and I met with some of his friends in Kampala who took us to my hotel in Entebbe. They also have some contacts and ideas for funding. It was a pleasure to rest in the quiet of the Boma and try to catch up and review our work over the past two weeks and plans from here. John expressed his gratitude for the trip, and we talked about how we would continue once we had a chance to catch our breath and review what we found on this trip. He left just after 8pm for his return flight, and I got an early bedtime, as I leave at 5:15am for South Africa in the morning.


Saturday: Travel to Jo’burg was uneventful, and I arrived at Nelspruit at mid-day for a couple days of r&r before continuing to the educational conference in Maputo. Being so close to South Africa’s famed Kruger Game Park from Maputo, I decided to pay for a mini-vacation of 2 ½ days on safari. The drive to Sabi Sands was lovely. In the beginning, it reminded me so much of New England, with the rolling hills, small mountains, lakes, and trees. There were hectares and hectares of Cyprus trees planted for paper, followed by pines, then banana trees, citrus trees, and occasional palms. Then we came to the bush. En route we saw some impalas and other deer-like animals.

Idube Game Reserve is quite beautiful, and also quite back to basics. Yes, I have hot water! And a beautiful room. But only the briefest internet access, and no radio or tv in my room. It will be refreshing. Tonight I ate with 12 others around the boma. Most are leaving tomorrow afternoon – I hope others replace them! For now, I am dead tired after another full day of travel and look forward to just crashing for a good night’s sleep.