Back from Mozambique volunteer / cultural trip
Jun 17th, 2008, 06:28 AM
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Back from Mozambique volunteer / cultural trip
I just returned from an amazing 2 weeks in Mozambique. I debated whether to write a trip report, as this was totally different from a safari experience, but finally decided to at least share some of the highlights in case anyone is interested in hearing about a different type of trip.
My purpose was to volunteer at an orphanage. Almost every single detail of the trip was different from a safari, although just as memorable.
To start with, my travel doc recommended additional vaccinations, since I would be living in crowded conditions, and interacting with lots of local children. So on top of the shots I had previously taken (yellow fever, tetanus, typhoid, hep A) I added Hep B, Meningococcus, Polio, and MMR.
In the orphanage, the visitors slept in bunk beds in hostel style rooms, with 14 to a room. To get to the bathroom you had to go outside. We were ecstatic to find out that there was often a bit of cold running water, but not enough to flush all the time. When warned against the dangers of dehydration, and told that one should examine the color of one's pee, another visitor calmly remarked "it's sort of difficult to tell when 10 people already peed in the toilet before you."
I was also fortunate enough to travel into the bush to visit 3 villages that were more remote. We set up tent in the middle of the village, watched by a bemused audience.
The highlight was meeting local people on their own turf, playing with their kids, and attending church with them (120 people seated on the ground crowded into a bamboo and mud hut the size of my living room, worshipping in Portuguese and a tribal language).
The trip was eye-opening in so many ways. I had read about poverty, but had not really grasped the implications.
Imagine a place where children lie to be admitted into an orphanage, because the living conditions are better than at home (reliable food and shelter).
Imagine a place where you finish drinking a bottle of water, and naively give your empty plastic bottle to a child who gestures for it, only to find that you have started a riot because all the children are fighting for it.
Imagine a place where you try to be helpful by picking up garbage and putting it into a trash bag, only to find that it is immediately grabbed and torn open to see what treasures may be inside. Then the dirty garbage bag is used to hold scavenged food.
Imagine a village where half the children have such distended bellies that they look pregnant. This is generally a sign of parasites.
Imagine a village where the other half of the children have obvious high fevers -- markedly high to the touch -- with racing hearts, and headaches. This was probably malaria.
Imagine a place where the goodbye present is a de-worming pill.
Imagine a village that is happy to have a child mortality rate of 15% (deaths of children under the age of 5), because it was 50% before the orphanage started a medical and food program in the village.
Imagine a place so poor that you get mugged for a flashlight.
And then there were the cultural differences:
Imagine a place where the children are so fascinated by your white skin that they just want to touch and stroke and poke it.
Imagine a place where you have to wear long skirts (even when sitting in the dirt, or climbing into the back of a truck), because it is more culturally acceptable to show your breasts than your knees.
Imagine a place where you often need two translators, if you want to actually communicate between English and a tribal language. The translation goes from English to Portuguese to the tribal language, and then back again. Of course, you usually don't have access to such translators, so you communicate with gestures.
Imagine a place where you sit with a woman behind her hut, and are surprised to find her family ceremonially carrying out plates of food for you to share. You communally dip your fingers in dirty water to 'wash' them, and then stretch your fingers into the same plate to share the food. (Thank God for Cipro).
Imagine a place where you can rarely sleep through the night because the witch-doctors like to drum, especially around 3am.
Imagine a place where you cannot sleep past 5am, because that's when the children get up.
Imagine a place where you look dumbfounded at a local woman, wondering how in the world she got her kapulana (long skirt) so clean, when your own clothes are terminally soiled with the red dirt that didn't come clean when you tried to wash them by hand in cold water in a bucket.
Imagine a place where you are ecstatic to find a hole-in-the ground latrine encircled by a rudimentary bamboo fence, because the previous village had the hole-in-the ground with no privacy fence.
Imagine a place where you realize that there are commonalities in spite of the differences. Visualize a circle of little children playing Duck Duck Goose.
Imagine a beach at sunrise where a fellow visitor watches in horror as a local ritual is performed, involving burying a live baby in the sand.
Try to join in with a local dance, and realize that you are doing a really really bad version of the macarena. And no one laughs at you.
Imagine a place that is so full of love that it shines forth and predominates as the main memory of the trip, in spite of all the colorful details above.
My purpose was to volunteer at an orphanage. Almost every single detail of the trip was different from a safari, although just as memorable.
To start with, my travel doc recommended additional vaccinations, since I would be living in crowded conditions, and interacting with lots of local children. So on top of the shots I had previously taken (yellow fever, tetanus, typhoid, hep A) I added Hep B, Meningococcus, Polio, and MMR.
In the orphanage, the visitors slept in bunk beds in hostel style rooms, with 14 to a room. To get to the bathroom you had to go outside. We were ecstatic to find out that there was often a bit of cold running water, but not enough to flush all the time. When warned against the dangers of dehydration, and told that one should examine the color of one's pee, another visitor calmly remarked "it's sort of difficult to tell when 10 people already peed in the toilet before you."
I was also fortunate enough to travel into the bush to visit 3 villages that were more remote. We set up tent in the middle of the village, watched by a bemused audience.
The highlight was meeting local people on their own turf, playing with their kids, and attending church with them (120 people seated on the ground crowded into a bamboo and mud hut the size of my living room, worshipping in Portuguese and a tribal language).
The trip was eye-opening in so many ways. I had read about poverty, but had not really grasped the implications.
Imagine a place where children lie to be admitted into an orphanage, because the living conditions are better than at home (reliable food and shelter).
Imagine a place where you finish drinking a bottle of water, and naively give your empty plastic bottle to a child who gestures for it, only to find that you have started a riot because all the children are fighting for it.
Imagine a place where you try to be helpful by picking up garbage and putting it into a trash bag, only to find that it is immediately grabbed and torn open to see what treasures may be inside. Then the dirty garbage bag is used to hold scavenged food.
Imagine a village where half the children have such distended bellies that they look pregnant. This is generally a sign of parasites.
Imagine a village where the other half of the children have obvious high fevers -- markedly high to the touch -- with racing hearts, and headaches. This was probably malaria.
Imagine a place where the goodbye present is a de-worming pill.
Imagine a village that is happy to have a child mortality rate of 15% (deaths of children under the age of 5), because it was 50% before the orphanage started a medical and food program in the village.
Imagine a place so poor that you get mugged for a flashlight.
And then there were the cultural differences:
Imagine a place where the children are so fascinated by your white skin that they just want to touch and stroke and poke it.
Imagine a place where you have to wear long skirts (even when sitting in the dirt, or climbing into the back of a truck), because it is more culturally acceptable to show your breasts than your knees.
Imagine a place where you often need two translators, if you want to actually communicate between English and a tribal language. The translation goes from English to Portuguese to the tribal language, and then back again. Of course, you usually don't have access to such translators, so you communicate with gestures.
Imagine a place where you sit with a woman behind her hut, and are surprised to find her family ceremonially carrying out plates of food for you to share. You communally dip your fingers in dirty water to 'wash' them, and then stretch your fingers into the same plate to share the food. (Thank God for Cipro).
Imagine a place where you can rarely sleep through the night because the witch-doctors like to drum, especially around 3am.
Imagine a place where you cannot sleep past 5am, because that's when the children get up.
Imagine a place where you look dumbfounded at a local woman, wondering how in the world she got her kapulana (long skirt) so clean, when your own clothes are terminally soiled with the red dirt that didn't come clean when you tried to wash them by hand in cold water in a bucket.
Imagine a place where you are ecstatic to find a hole-in-the ground latrine encircled by a rudimentary bamboo fence, because the previous village had the hole-in-the ground with no privacy fence.
Imagine a place where you realize that there are commonalities in spite of the differences. Visualize a circle of little children playing Duck Duck Goose.
Imagine a beach at sunrise where a fellow visitor watches in horror as a local ritual is performed, involving burying a live baby in the sand.
Try to join in with a local dance, and realize that you are doing a really really bad version of the macarena. And no one laughs at you.
Imagine a place that is so full of love that it shines forth and predominates as the main memory of the trip, in spite of all the colorful details above.
Jun 17th, 2008, 07:13 AM
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Ann,
Thank you for posting this! I really enjoy reading the non-safari posts too so I appreciate you posting. Do you have any pictures? What organization did you go through?
I have to ask, did the baby die? Sacrificed? I can't imagine what an experience you had.
Thanks for posting.
Linda
Thank you for posting this! I really enjoy reading the non-safari posts too so I appreciate you posting. Do you have any pictures? What organization did you go through?
I have to ask, did the baby die? Sacrificed? I can't imagine what an experience you had.
Thanks for posting.
Linda
Jun 17th, 2008, 07:38 AM
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Linda, according to the woman who told the story of the baby on the beach, a local man dug up the baby who was still alive. It wasn't clear whether this was part of the plan or whether he was interfering with the ritual.
Unfortunately I cannot post the name of the organization -- they have asked us to not put anything identifiable on the internet because of potential problems.
But I will post some photos if there is interest.
Unfortunately I cannot post the name of the organization -- they have asked us to not put anything identifiable on the internet because of potential problems.
But I will post some photos if there is interest.
Jun 17th, 2008, 07:41 AM
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Ann, Thanks for the delightful report.
Were you in the vicinity of Machenga at all? How did you get around in Mozambique.
I am heading there in September with a friend and there is very little info around on Mozambique in general. I would love some details on the basics of your trip.
Were you in the vicinity of Machenga at all? How did you get around in Mozambique.
I am heading there in September with a friend and there is very little info around on Mozambique in general. I would love some details on the basics of your trip.
Jun 17th, 2008, 08:35 AM
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Hi Lynnie,
We were in the northern part of Mozambique. I didn't actually travel independently, we were transported by the orphanage in the back of large flatbed trucks called camions. I learned how to say 'sorry!' in both Portugese and Makua, in order to apologize whenever I slid into someone.
Please note that some of the roads have unbelievable potholes. I was really really fortunate that I had brought a seat cushion. And I'd recommend a sports bra.
There is some bus service connecting various regions to Maputo, but I'm not sure how reliable it is.
I think my biggest travel hint is that it is really helpful to have small change or bills in local currency, so as to be able to buy stuff from the vendors who will crowd around when you stop in a local village. The best 'safe' recommendations are bananas and soda, although some of my group was fearless enough to try fried egg sandwiches! A soda on the street tends to be 15 to 20 meticais. A bunch of bananas is 10-15 depending on how many bananas. The green ones are actually a lot better than the yellow ones, and are fully ripe. Basically it is about 1 metical per banana, but you buy them by the bunch.
We were in the northern part of Mozambique. I didn't actually travel independently, we were transported by the orphanage in the back of large flatbed trucks called camions. I learned how to say 'sorry!' in both Portugese and Makua, in order to apologize whenever I slid into someone.
Please note that some of the roads have unbelievable potholes. I was really really fortunate that I had brought a seat cushion. And I'd recommend a sports bra.
There is some bus service connecting various regions to Maputo, but I'm not sure how reliable it is.
I think my biggest travel hint is that it is really helpful to have small change or bills in local currency, so as to be able to buy stuff from the vendors who will crowd around when you stop in a local village. The best 'safe' recommendations are bananas and soda, although some of my group was fearless enough to try fried egg sandwiches! A soda on the street tends to be 15 to 20 meticais. A bunch of bananas is 10-15 depending on how many bananas. The green ones are actually a lot better than the yellow ones, and are fully ripe. Basically it is about 1 metical per banana, but you buy them by the bunch.
Jun 17th, 2008, 09:17 AM
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Ann, thank you so much for your report! I think a lot of us on this board are interested in other experiences besides just safari-related ones. I know I am.
I'd love to see some pictures, if you have the time and inclination to post them. What an incredible trip you had. It's clear from your writing that this was a profound experience for you, and you conveyed that very well.
I'd love to see some pictures, if you have the time and inclination to post them. What an incredible trip you had. It's clear from your writing that this was a profound experience for you, and you conveyed that very well.
Jun 17th, 2008, 10:11 AM
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Ann,
I am sure there is a lot of interest in pictures so I'd love to see whatever you can post.
I'm assuming you can email me the name of the organization? (if so,you could send the name to snowboard1000 at gmail dot com) I've looked into doing something like this before but have never gotten very far...some of the organizations I looked at online seemed to be more catered to making the volunteer comfortable, rather than keeping the focus on the reason for the visit, so it sounds like you were hooked up with a great organization.
I am sure there is a lot of interest in pictures so I'd love to see whatever you can post.
I'm assuming you can email me the name of the organization? (if so,you could send the name to snowboard1000 at gmail dot com) I've looked into doing something like this before but have never gotten very far...some of the organizations I looked at online seemed to be more catered to making the volunteer comfortable, rather than keeping the focus on the reason for the visit, so it sounds like you were hooked up with a great organization.
Jun 17th, 2008, 02:50 PM
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Ann,
I am so glad you decided to post this. What am amazing experience you had, and how wonderful a storyteller you are. I almost started to cry once or twice, but then just as quickly found myself smiling. Please do post photos when you have an opportunity.
I am so glad you decided to post this. What am amazing experience you had, and how wonderful a storyteller you are. I almost started to cry once or twice, but then just as quickly found myself smiling. Please do post photos when you have an opportunity.
Jun 17th, 2008, 04:14 PM
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Thank you for this moving report on a very different kind of trip.
You state your purpose was to volunteer at an orphanage, but how did you end up choosing Mozambique?
I am sure those 2 weeks will be part of you for life.
You state your purpose was to volunteer at an orphanage, but how did you end up choosing Mozambique?
I am sure those 2 weeks will be part of you for life.
Jun 17th, 2008, 07:04 PM
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Loved your amazing report. I, too, would love to have the name of the organization. My email is [email protected]
My husband and I have been looking for an organization such as this and have to agree with the other poster that most seem focused on the comforts of the volunteers which seems very backward to me. That's not why we want to go. We want to work with local people and feel like we can make a difference, albeit a small one.
Many thanks!
My husband and I have been looking for an organization such as this and have to agree with the other poster that most seem focused on the comforts of the volunteers which seems very backward to me. That's not why we want to go. We want to work with local people and feel like we can make a difference, albeit a small one.
Many thanks!
Jun 18th, 2008, 04:38 AM
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Lynn, I love your question about how I chose Mozambique. You put it more politely than my co-workers, who simply asked in disbelief: "Couldn't you find an orphanage that was closer?".
In any event, I had read a book by the founder of the orphanage which gave me a passion to go see for myself. To be honest, I wasn't even sure where Mozambique was until I started planning to go.
In any event, I had read a book by the founder of the orphanage which gave me a passion to go see for myself. To be honest, I wasn't even sure where Mozambique was until I started planning to go.
Jun 18th, 2008, 09:02 AM
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Hi Ann
Just wanted to say I enjoyed your report immensely. What an experience.
I know others have asked, but I too am interested to know how you came about your choice of Mozambique.
Would you do it again?
Would love to see any pictures you can post.
Just wanted to say I enjoyed your report immensely. What an experience.
I know others have asked, but I too am interested to know how you came about your choice of Mozambique.
Would you do it again?
Would love to see any pictures you can post.
Jun 20th, 2008, 07:01 AM
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I uploaded some photos to winkflash - please tell me if you can see them. This set is from the orphanage. If it works I'll also post some photos from the bush. Unfortunately, I think you need to log in to winkflash in order to view the pictures.
http://www.winkflash.com/PHOTO/signi...u5yuzodzt5y1fl
http://www.winkflash.com/PHOTO/signi...u5yuzodzt5y1fl
Jun 20th, 2008, 06:30 PM
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AnnNyc,
Yes, I can see the photos and they are lovely. I did have to sign up for a Winkfish account, but it could not have taken more than 2 seconds.
I cannot imagine gardening with a child on my back. This photo and the photos of a child carrying child, the "men" working, and the "all he wants is love" really touched me. You have some great images here. Please do post more.
Yes, I can see the photos and they are lovely. I did have to sign up for a Winkfish account, but it could not have taken more than 2 seconds.
I cannot imagine gardening with a child on my back. This photo and the photos of a child carrying child, the "men" working, and the "all he wants is love" really touched me. You have some great images here. Please do post more.
Jul 7th, 2008, 10:40 AM
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Jul 7th, 2008, 10:49 AM
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And here are some short videos on youtube:
Kids playing in a remote village:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdLu03yQoXE
A local church service, in Portuguese and Makua:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTLAj5--H1Y
Children's day - hundreds of local children visit to eat a special lunch. My job was crowd control:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui-6dnKS0T4
Kids playing in a remote village:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdLu03yQoXE
A local church service, in Portuguese and Makua:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTLAj5--H1Y
Children's day - hundreds of local children visit to eat a special lunch. My job was crowd control:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui-6dnKS0T4
