The Same Yet Different
Each Habitat trip is the same in many respects but uniquely different as well. We have the privilege of wandering down thoroughfares, roads, tracks and paths that no non-resident would ever find; we meet amazing people who are making the most of their circumstances and raising numerous children on very little material wealth, and as travelers we enjoy getting to know our team mates.
By the end of the first day the locals have all heard that there are white folk in the community; on the second day we are acknowledged as we walk the village paths; and then at the end of the third day just about everyone waves as we head for the mini-bus to take us home for the night. We are also beginning to get to know our team mates.
In the rural areas people maintain their communities with a sense of pride. The bare ground is swept clean; the children seem happy, are well behaved, and they are dutifully looked after by the elder siblings (some not much older than themselves). We are the odd folks. We are older than many of the local elders and our women do the tasks that are traditionally within the domain of males. Every move that we make is watched and scrutinized by a myriad of eyes, and occasionally, at our expense, there is laughter shared amongst the onlookers.
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| ...and a loonie for luck by the front door! |
Maputo is a big bustling city that has all of the challenges of a magnet that attracts folks attempting to better their lives. It has the very wealthy and the very poor; it has traffic challenges and its roads are pot-holed and busy, capitalism seems to be alive and well as we drive by hundreds and hundreds of ‘store front’ businesses that line every curb and roadside as we travel in from the airport to the centre of the city. However, there are very few people soliciting alms and it is a surprisingly clean city in comparison to San Salvador, Guatemala City, Georgetown, or Hyderabad.
Xai Xai is a bustling regional town that is the commercial heart of Gaza, a local province, and it is not unlike Szarvas, Hungary. It begins to come to life in the early hours of the morning. At dusk the street sweepers begin their work, the huge transport trucks rumble down the main street all night long, and in the morning it is ready to play its role as a clean, attractive, regional centre.
In one two hour period Brett identifies the names of over a half a dozen NGO’s from the sides of pick-up trucks and land cruisers passing in front of the hotel. The Toyota Hiaces are crammed to the gills with commuters as they head in opposite directions along the main street. Every third or fourth vehicle is carrying wares and foodstuff to market. In Mozambique the bright red Coca Cola advertisements have been pushed into second place by the red advertisements of Vodacom. There is life everywhere in beehive-like activity and it is occurring on a daily basis wherever a Habitat trip may take you.
- Dennis
- Dennis
