After spending a night in Bulawayo, we hit the road early doors, and had hoped to perhaps catch a glimpse of Victoria Falls. Unfortunately though, when we arrived, we were in a race to hit the border, and so after discovering that we would have to pay to even catch a glimpse of the falls, we decided to add it to the list of tourist attractions omitted from our itinerary. We would be crossing into Botswana, and then after an hour, further into Namibia, where we would be staying with ‘Children of Zion’, a Christian orphanage, in Katima Mulilo.
Our progress was slightly delayed by traffic cops in Zimbabwe, who with something resembling a 1950s hair dryer, suggested that we were going to fast. After almost an hour of debate, we decided to pay the $5 fine, and be on our way. In truth, I probably was going a little too fast, but an 80km/hour speed limit on a straight, tarred, and empty road was a little limiting. Anyway, eventually it was an hour that we couldn’t spare, and after passing through the border in Botswana, we were informed that we would be too late to make the Namibian border. It was a shame, but not the end of the world.
We headed to the only major town in the area, Kasane, to get some cash, and having eaten a late lunch, decided to head to the border, and buy dinner once we arrived. Once we got to the border, it was indeed closed, and thus we headed off in search of food and a place to stay. We hadn’t quite realised how little there was in North Botswana, however, and after driving around for an hour or so, we accepted the locals answer of ‘there is nowhere to buy food anywhere’. We were used to finding small local restaurants, or at least someone cooking on a grill, but there was literally nothing. As we headed back towards the border, we decided to veer off the road towards a safari lodge. It would probably be expensive, but it had been a long day, and the idea of setting up our stove and cooking some of our remaining tins didn’t appeal.
We drove up to the lodge, and felt a little out of place nervously walking into a luxury restaurant with our travel withered faces, and dusty clothes. At first it seemed that we were going to have no joy getting food, as it was bought in especially to order for the guests. But after hanging around chatting for a little while, the mood changed, and soon we were given meals in little takeaway boxes, and drinks free of charge. It was a massive relief. We were both tired and hungry, and have to extend a massive thank you out to J.J Nyathi, at Muchenje Safari Lodge in Chobe Nature Reserve, Botswana. After eating our delicious meal in the car with the border in sight, we chanced upon an accommodation block for local lodge workers, and were granted permission to use their bathroom and toilets. After spending a short time, watching ‘The Patriot’ with a couple of guys in their outdoor bar area, we headed back to the car to sleep.
We had been used to sleeping in strange places, and indeed the car, so we didn’t think it would prove to be much of a problem. We did not, however, take into account the vast quantity of mosquitoes in the area. It was like a never-ending chorus of piercing hums. Eventually it got to the stage where neither of us could sleep, and instead spent hours trying to execute as many of the damned things as possible. Eventually nature balanced out again, and as a reward for being kept up by the mosquitoes, we got to see a small family of elephants grazing right in front of our car. It wouldn’t help to clean the cobwebs from our souls, but it certainly reminded us of the beauty of nature in the face of the annoying.
Early doors it was time to progress, and soon we were in Katima Mulilo, having successfully crossed the border. We found a great little café with wifi, and after getting our breakfast inside us and doing some work, headed to the Children of Zion Village. We were met there by Travis and Lorna, who have been the managers at the village for 11 months now, and who would be our hosts for the week. The organisation was set up in 2003 as an orphanage, mainly supporting children who have lost family members through HIV/Aids, and is now home to 59 children. In their own words, “Each year, millions of children are being orphaned or abandoned in third world nations as a result of war, poverty, neglect, and the AIDS Pandemic. Too many times, these children have no one to turn to for help. Children of Zion, Inc. is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization that supports a Christian Children’s Home in Namibia, Africa”.
Having been running now for 8 years, Travis and Lorna have arrived at a time, where many new issues need to be addressed. One of their first initiatives was to attempt to empower the community more. It has been a recurring factor on this journey, that people are starting to move more towards sustainable, and community driven projects, and repair some of the damage caused by earlier mistakes within the sector. Travis and Lorna were both keen to be a part of this transition, and so they have begun the process of making the village more inclusive to the local communities, firstly by the simple gesture of opening the gates, and secondly by involving themselves more within community life as a whole. In addition to this, they have also given more responsibility to the local Namibian employees, who have thrived, and began to develop a real sense of ownership over the village. Travis and Lorna commented that initially there had been some reluctance towards these new responsibilities, but now they have proved they are capable, and their confidence and self esteem has grown incredibly as a result.
The next hurdle that Travis and Lorna are working at overcoming is the fact that the initial group of children, who first entered the home eight years ago, are now adults, and thus a plan of how they can move on from the village and back into the community is vital. The first piece in this puzzle was ready to be put to the test soon after our departure, with the founding of the Transition home. This would be a first step for some of the older children to begin learning about how they can live independent lives. Here they would have to cook, clean, and tidy for themselves, as well as after an initial month settling period, be required to earn their own money, and budget for themselves, for food and bills. They would earn money by working within the village, and this would give them their first taste of how life might be in the outside world. In addition to this, the children were also encouraged to spend their school holidays with family members within the communities in which they will most likely return to at some stage in the future. This was to ensure that in addition to the education they received through COZV, they would also pick up many of the skills needed to live within mainstream Namibian society.
The one thing that will stick with me the most from my time in the village is the incredible personality and character of the children. They were truly a lovely bunch of kids, all offering something different and equally rewarding. They had experienced extreme difficulties and grief within their young lives, and they still held themselves in such a positive way. I laughed an awful lot during my time there, and really learnt to respect a lot of them for being so kind, friendly, open, and positive in the face of such adversities. Although this all sounds incredibly clichéd, it was really the overwhelming feeling I had during our stay. The abilities of some of the young men on the football pitch also, was incredibly impressive. They weren’t just good, but several truly displayed a great potential to play at a higher level. The village really offers these children a chance they otherwise wouldn’t have, a home and a family. It is always difficult to know when to let go, and be able to move on in this respect, but work is certainly being done to find a balance.
The religious aspect of the orphanage is one, which to me personally is not important. The fact that these children are being raised in a kind and loving environment is really enough to justify its existence. We could go into deeper debate about the long-term implications of such external influence, but really I feel no need to. Lorna and Travis both understood, and indeed had experience in the complexities and sensitivities of what the village offered, and although Christianity was at the core of the children’s syllabus, the main aim was to empower the children, and allow them to grow into good, healthy, and inspirational Namibian citizens. I have my own opinions about the involvement of a religious context in humanitarian work, but really for now I’d rather focus on the positive work being done. There is still a huge need today to support people, and especially children, affected by HIV/Aids. It has had such huge negative implications on countries and communities now for years, and although there is a major effort on the behalf of several NGOs to address the issue, there is still a lot of work to be done, and like everything it begins with the children, and indeed education.
We were incredibly humbled once more, by how welcoming and friendly everyone was to us. It was a place that could very easily have been depressing and almost hopeless, but due to the fantastic work of the local staff, Lorna and Travis, and indeed the children, it was a place full of positivity, hope, and an ambition to look forwards. It was extra difficult to leave these children, and it would be very easy to want to stay forever. It really is an incredibly challenging aspect of development work; to be able to help, but also to be strong enough to be able to let go when the time is right.
After, a wonderful and thought provoking few days, it was time to hit the road once more. We were heading back into Botswana, and hoping to reach Francistown in a day, where we would be filming with the ‘Tachila Nature Reserve’. South Africa was getting ever closer, and soon it would be time to digest everything we had experienced on this incredible journey.
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