Another Year in Africa: February 2023

January has been a month of real highs and lows!

Having Liz and Sophie here was wonderful. I have told them that when I am in my dotage (some days that doesn’t feel too far off!) that I will depend upon them to talk with me about ‘my’ Africa. They will know what I mean when I say ‘school’ or ‘shop’ or ‘terrible road’! It’s always a wonderful thing to watch someone’s reaction when they see their first giraffe in the wild and the girls were suitably impressed seeing these beautiful creatures.

Liz and Sophie saw the Big 5 and did really well on big cats and antelope. But more importantly they saw the reality of daily life for people here - the poverty and vulnerability but also the joy. I’m sure the sights, sounds and smells of east Africa will stay with them and they will treasure the experience. Liz did get a marriage proposal too - from my fruit and veg man - but she thought him too young! They leave Zanzibar today tired and ready to be home. It’s such a long journey and east Africa is way out of most people’s comfort zone. Sophie was a wonderful traveller and she will have so much to tell anyone with the patience to listen.

There’s more on Liz and Sophie’s trip including excellent photos on Steve’s Blog as well as the trip to Kenya earlier in January in case you missed it.

The situation at the Flying Medical Service is still difficult. FMS was grounded in April last year and since then the director has tried all avenues to get back in the air so that the isolated people of Arusha and Manyara regions will once again have access to maternal and child health services, immunisation and emergency transport for medical care. The situation is disheartening as the reality is that people who may have lived are dying because they cannot get to advanced medical care, and disease outbreaks such as measles among the young are being made worse because children are not vaccinated.

This photo is from the FMS website.

Another more personal tragedy was the death on 18 January of Castissima, the much loved housekeeper and cook at Olkokola Catholic Mission. She has worked here for over 30 years and her children from their infancy have all been part of the OCM family, particularly Richard who is one of the pilots. Casti is so sorely missed. I will remember her as one of the most wise, compassionate, kind and generous people I have ever known. Castissima helped me with my translations of documents into respectful swahili - something Google Translate doesn’t always achieve - and that I will miss along with her excellent chapatis and pumpkin pies. Her family will miss her in much more profound ways. She still has children in primary and secondary school and has always encouraged them to high achievement in education which she saw as so important to their futures. I hope their love and respect for the values she held will keep them on the path she wanted for them.

Castissima William

Steve loves the end of January - with the last weekend comes the finals of the Australian Open and the return of AFL news. He has that to look forward to as he plans our trip to Britain when we leave here in April. In this I may have to intervene so it is not solely a tour of RSPB sites!

More soon as our time in Tz enters its last 9 weeks. Steve will try to get out a few more times with local birder mates. here is an example of what we saw yesterday on the Maasai Steppe near Simanjiro.