Czes and Pete's Great Big South African Adventure!: September 2008

Tuesday 30 September 2008

Only 2 Days to go

Not long now

Final details need sorting: passport, travel insurance, money - not sure if there are going to be any cash points in the bush! Oh and a toothbrush!

Thursday 25 September 2008

Tuesday 23 September 2008

I can't believe there is only nine days to go!

Not managed to get out on an off road bike yet but the Rocker I took out on a test ride from the new Harley dealership in Guildford earlier in the week was good fun!

A big thanks to those who have already sponsored and to those who are planning to do so, please dont forget! Every little bit helps.

Saturday 20 September 2008

Still 12 days to go!

Pete the reluctant model showing off his body armour and jacket in this seasons latest colour ..... blue!

12 Days to go

Czes changing his blog settings from the jungle... Well Guildford anyway!

Thursday 18 September 2008

14 days to go before we fly out

The flight times came through last night from the organisers!

We catch an early evening South African Airways flight down to Johannesburg on the 2nd October arriving about seven O clock in the morning local time, then catch another flight down to Port Elizabeth in the afternoon.

If all goes to plan (!), we start our journey back from Durban on the 12th via Jo'burg getting into Heathrow very early the morning of the 13th.

Monday 15 September 2008

17 days to go before we fly out

getting ever more excited about the trip.

Still trying to work out how we are going to update this blog from the bush though!

Thursday 11 September 2008

21 days to go before we fly out

The last of my clothing turned up today.

There appears to be a bit of a black theme running through my gear! It all seems to fit quite nicely though I wont really know how comfortable it will be to ride in until we get to SA. The only problem I have at the moment is with the trousers as they appear to be a little on the long side.

Monday 8 September 2008

Pre-Trip Training

It is very important to acclimatise to the local traditions such as cold beer ..... and ..... lively music !!

UNICEF - Born free from HIV

Every minute of every day, a baby is born with HIV, passed on by his or her mother during pregnancy, labour or upon delivery. For babies with HIV in the world’s poorer countries being born with HIV is often tantamount to a death sentence. The harsh truth is that without treatment, half of all HIV-positive babies will not live long enough to see their second birthday; and a third will not even live beyond a year.

The good news is that we can prevent babies getting HIV from their mothers. The Born Free from HIV phase of the campaign aims to ensure that all pregnant women with HIV receive the right medicine and care to prevent them passing HIV onto their baby. Given this medicine and care, the chance that a mother with HIV will pass the virus to her baby drops to less than 1 in 50.

For 60 years UNICEF has been the world's leader for children, working on the ground in 156 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. UNICEF helps children receive the support, health care and education they need to cope with the threats of childhood poverty - such as preventable disease or malnutrition - and grow up to become healthy adults.

Sentebale

Sentebale is a dynamic new charity with a mission to transform the lives of Lesotho's orphans and vulnerable children. The name Sentebale means “forget me not” which is also the charity’s call to action. It was founded by Prince Harry and Lesotho’s Prince Seeiso in memory of their campaigning mothers to help the forgotten victims of poverty and of the HIV/Aids epidemic ravaging this small mountain kingdom.
Enduro Africa is supporting Sentebale’s aim to target particular support to the most vulnerable of vulnerable children – the abandoned, abused, neglected, orphaned, disabled, and ill. In Lesotho today life expectancy has plummeted to a shocking 35 years of age. The country has the third highest rate of AIDs in the world – with nearly one third of the population infected. Generations of adults have simply been wiped out by the combined scourges of poverty and HIV/Aids – leaving behind hundreds of thousands of orphans to fend for themselves. Between one third and half the school-age population is either a single or double orphan and in a situation where the extended family has almost ceased to exist schools have had to become virtual orphanages. To add to the kingdom’s problems Lesotho has declared a national food emergency. Years of drought and multiple crop failures have resulted in a countrywide crisis with its vulnerable children left even more vulnerable.
Sentebale works by committing long term funding to local community based organizations in Lesotho who have the capability to make a real difference. By investing strategically - not just granting generously – Sentebale helps them increase their impact on the lives of the children they serve. Sentebale is building stronger, more effective organizations serving more children better by combining thoughtful aid giving with effective businesslike methods.
The charity funds projects ranging from residential care for vulnerable children through to community crop growing projects which feed local child-headed households. Sentebale funds directly at grassroots level and it measures and monitors improvements in children's lives on an individual basis, not just on what they receive.
By supporting Enduro Africa you will be responsible for helping Sentebale give thousands of children a better chance of growing into healthy, productive adults.

Nelson Mandela Children's Fund

We were driving back to the Presidency in Cape Town one cold winter’s evening, when I saw a group of street children and stopped to talk to them. The children asked me why I love them. This astounded me and I asked them why they ask this and they said that because every time I get money from overseas, I share it with them”.
Nelson R. Mandela
© Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund

The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund was founded by Mr Mandela in 1994. He committed one-third of his annual Presidential salary to found and perpetuate the Fund – R150,000 each year for five years.Mr Mandela’s vision was to protect, nurture and develop the next generation of South Africans, to ensure a better life for them and a stronger future for the country he loved.By participating in or supporting Enduro Africa you will be both sharing his commitment and helping The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund to improve the lives of children and young people in South Africa.They face many challenges, and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, a development agency run by committed and expert South Africans, has developed creative and culturally sensitive programmes to help them overcome many obstacles to lead healthy, productive and fulfilled lives.We work with disabled children, their families and communities to encourage their equal treatment, particularly with a view to them attending mainstream school and so having the same opportunities as non-disabled children. Fanana is 9 years old, and was unable to walk from birth. She lives in a township outside Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, and is now attending a local school. A local community based organisation, funded by the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, undertook to negotiate with the school and Fanana’s mother, who are now united in their commitment to Fanana’s education and future well-being.Developing leadership potential and skills amongst young people is another key aim of NMCF. Sport, arts and volunteering are used as the means to engage with youth, help them to recognise and take pride in their own abilities and potential, and in many cases, become a role model for others.Greater self awareness and pride also help to steer young people away from anti- social behaviour and risky life choices and so ensure that they remain healthy and able to contribute to their communities. Zwai, a young man from Springs, outside Johannesburg, is a prime example of this approach. The project he started, YCo, which aimed to steer his peers away from dangerous lifestyle choices and encourage their creativity self esteem and skills, has been so successful that with the support of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, he is helping others to establish projects like his.There is so much that NMCF still wants to do to continue to improve the lives of young South Africans, and we are very grateful to all who participate in and support Enduro Africa, as the funds you raise help us to make Mr Mandela’s vision a reality.

Touch Africa - Making a difference

The Eastern Cape of South Africa, home to Enduro Africa, is historically the poorest and most impoverished area of the country. It has been named as one of the ten worst places to grow up as a child.

What is Touch Africa?
Touch Africa is a Section 21 Company (2007/024885/08) which is sustainable and accountable to all stakeholders.
The Touch Africa initiative was started by Mike Glover, owner of Eastern Cape based Red Cherry Adventures. The concept was borne out of Enduro Africa. Seeing the enormous need in the areas through which the Enduro Africa ride took place, Touch Africa was established to address some of the many problems encountered by the local community en route.Touch Africa specifically targets the health and education sectors, with particular reference to rehabilitation of facilities.The focus of our energies is on children and the scope of our work includes but is not limited to the:
a) rehabilitation of schools, clinics and crèches
b) provision of basic education equipment
c) rehabilitation of community halls
d) rehabilitation and/or provision of school transport
e) provision of technology

The requests from the rural villages are simple, they usually ask for clean toilets, gym equipment, sporting equipment, a soccer pitch, a fresh coat of paint and a happy place to learn. It is with your contribution, that we are able to make these dreams become reality.

Current Projects
Technilamp
One of the most serious issues facing our country is the transmission of air-borne diseases, primarily Tuberculosis (TB), in over-crowded, poorly ventilated clinics and clinic waiting rooms.Since there is no treatment available for Extreme Drug Resistant TB, containment and prevention remains the only way to combat this disease at present.The Medical Research Council and Council for Disease Control has approved a device called Technilamp, developed by a South African manufacturer. This is an ultra violet TB infection control lamp, which when placed in clinics protects against the spread of air-borne viruses and bacterial infections, thus protecting those working in and attending the clinic.

Lifestraw
“Life Straws” are an inexpensive personal water filtration device that can remove contaminants from approximately 700 litres of water.The schools in the Western Koukamma region have been earmarked as recipients of the “life straw” project. Early in 2008, a rapid increase in cases of diarrhoea was reported in this area. 343 cases were reported at Cacadu Clinics, of which 15 had to be hospitalized.Friday Flik
For most of us a trip to the local cinema is easy. However many people in South Africa have never been to the cinema or seen a movie.Due to the lack of infrastructure and ready cash in rural and urban areas, many children turn to crime and unsavoury ways of passing the time over a weekend. Project Friday Flik was launched to provide a “movie house” in community centres, run by the local communities, who raise funds through this project to assist with community needs.

Adopt A School
Our simple aim is to make school a better place than home. This will ensure migration to their place of learning. We do this by fixing the simple things. Jungle Gyms, Desks, Sporting Fields and equipment and providing nutrition through container kitchens.

Czes and Pete's Great Big South African Adventure!