Oonduroafrica

[Deleted account rno]

Great report there Johnny. Nice pics of the happy wee kids too

Maybe it was one of the jealous loosing team who nicked yer passport

 

[Bob Jeffries]

Johnny's team didn't have accidents because they rode so slow It's hard to hurt yourself at 10kph.

We, the Green Team, had an average moving speed of 65kph (not bad for 200cc 4 strokes off road) and had one guy with a broken collar bone (he was 59 and missed a turn in the dust from a truck).

The two crashes on the road on the last day were because we were having to go so slow behind the police cars - in the first crash two of the guys touched handlebars whilst taking pictures of the procession and in the second (the one in Johnny's picture) one of the Red team hit our guy with the broken collar bone, who was doing the ride in with us, and took out his front wheel.

Other than that - I have a broken rib and a broken toe, but neither stopped me finishing, nor knowing all about Johnny's passport - I will tell all later.

Have I mentioned that Johnny was tucked up in bed (on his own) at 8pm one night

 

[Uinneag]

Pile the pics in Bob and yes I was in bed early one night


I lost my passport and had a nightmare of making my way to Pretoria and was shitting myself for ages.

Luckily for me Uncle Bob decided to got to the bog to knock one out
And guess who's passport was in the offending magazine

By the way it was TWO wheels only mag

Pic above from the tortoise was it overtaking me

 

[Bob Jeffries]

I'll get some more pics up soon, and a few videos. I think Johnny will agree that we all had a great time and made many lifelong friends, from all the teams and the organisers.

Everyone helped everyone else, whatever the colour of their shirts, and in the evenings when the team shirts were off it was one big party.

The trip was a fantasic experience but it did change my views of the needs and people of Africa. I started the whole Enduro thing wanting to make just a little teeny weeny weeny difference, I hope I have, but am not very confident, I may even have played a part in making things worse.

It was easy to see why the white SA guys generally have such a low opinion of the majority of black SA people and why they laugh at the Western Nations and the likes of Geldof constantly pouring money into SA. They consider that as long as we keep giving the black SA people money the majority will do nothing for themselves and simply sit back with their hands out.

The school we visited needed furniture and more toilets

but the local men (the women seemed to be working hard) just sat around with their hands out even though there was plenty of wood lying around that they could use to make basic chairs and desks, they really do expect everything to be given and don't seem to understand the concept of earning or working for anything.

The kids were fantastic but for many of them their first experience of education is to be taught the "money for bread" mantra, and that's often almost before they can walk.

Even the chairs and desks that will be bought with the money we were asked to give have to be given in small doses or they will simply be stolen/sold.

It seems that black SA will waste all the money you can throw at it, what it really needs is huge amounts of education but they even squander that with 70%+ school drop out rates - it's easier to steal or hold your hand out rather than have to work for it.

If the people of SA can work together they have a fantastic country with enormous opportunities but it will take a radical cultural change before that can happen, I really think that it's a case of having to be being cruel to be kind - stop giving them money and stuff and just provide education and medical care, force them to help themselves.

The trip has actually left me feeling more confused about it's charitable aspects, I'm just not sure if we're doing the right thing. The kids certainly need help but I just hope we're going about it in the right way and not making things worse for them in the long term.

A confused Bob Jeffries

 

[Devon]

Thank's for the honesty in your post Bob. Charitable £Billions upon £Billions have been pumped into Africa for many years and it still remains, in large parts, one of the most dismal places on Earth

Maybe it's one of those problems without a solution

I will still give to the cause but I don't expect to do much good

 

[Deleted account 250319001]

Fantastic, Johnny boy.

 

[Uinneag]

Thank's for the honesty in your post Bob. Charitable £Billions upon £Billions have been pumped into Africa for many years and it still remains, in large parts, one of the most dismal places on Earth

Maybe it's one of those problems without a solution

I will still give to the cause but I don't expect to do much good

Yeh I agree fuk them don't do fuk all

Seems to be the attitude out there let them fend for themselves
Education is what they need as with the Scots, Irish.
And anywhere the English invaded and made slaves the legacy lives on.

It's ok it's Sth Africa so it's fine
Some people raced through peoples gardens and never saw the people
Hopefully they will rise and treat Mr White better than they treated the people who's land we used

Xhorsa people are not unlike Islander Scots from 60yrs ago

Mind you if they had oil the English would have bombed them years ago

 

[Devon]

Yeh I agree fuk them don't do fuk all

Seems to be the attitude out there let them fend for themselves
Education is what they need as with the Scots, Irish.
And anywhere the English invaded and made slaves the legacy lives on.

It's ok it's Sth Africa so it's fine
Some people raced through peoples gardens and never saw the people
Hopefully they will rise and treat Mr White better than they treated the people who's land we used

Xhorsa people are not unlike Islander Scots from 60yrs ago

Mind you if they had oil the English would have bombed them years ago

Pissed and the chip on your shoulder weighing you down OONYACK? Good on Bob Jefferies for an honest view I say. Many people are of he opinion the poorest bits of Africa need to do more to help themselves: too right. It won't stop me donating for good causes: I did towards your fund raising I recall and I intend to donate in the future but it's naive to think Africa doesn't need to help itself.

 

[Womble]

The point is that there are areas that need BOTH education AND aid. The aid to support the people, and the education to help them make the best of it?

If you educate people, they will hopefully sort themselves out eventually, but it will be a lot more long, drawn-out and painful than if they were supported along the way. The difficult thing is making sure that the financial aid gets used wisely and isn't just frittered away by petty criminals, or pointless red tape.

 

[Womble]

The point is that there are areas that need BOTH education AND aid. The aid to support the people, and the education to help them make the best of it?

If you educate people, they will hopefully sort themselves out eventually, but it will be a lot more long, drawn-out and painful than if they were supported along the way. The difficult thing is making sure that the financial aid gets used wisely and isn't just frittered away by petty criminals, or pointless red tape.

I've got to admit that there's a lot of truth behind the rest of Johnny's post, but then again I'm Irish and I've done a bit of reading up about colonialism. However, don't forget that the English weren't the only people caught up in colonialism - the French were heavily involved as well.

 

[Uinneag]

Pissed and the chip on your shoulder weighing you down OONYACK? Good on Bob Jefferies for an honest view I say. Many people are of he opinion the poorest bits of Africa need to do more to help themselves: too right. It won't stop me donating for good causes: I did towards your fund raising I recall and I intend to donate in the future but it's naive to think Africa doesn't need to help itself.

Hole in one regarding the pished bit

Cold light of day


yip ye's are right

 

[Norrie]

EofA

Bob/Johnny

Enjoyed both yer write up's and photo's ,Bob admire your honesty in your report.




Schultz

 

[Devon]

Hole in one regarding the pished bit

Cold light of day


yip ye's are right

You're a star

 

[Uinneag]

No real easy answer to the problems
you could give and give but if the people don't help themselves what can you do.

Hopefully we raised enough to put desks and chairs in the school whether they are there next year is a different matter. I think the idea is that if they are still there next year they will get something else.

Sorry if I have detracted from what was a great event that hopefully makes someones life longer and better

 

[garfield]

I always read with interest things that happen in Southern Africa, I'm from the bit of Africa that Oonyak was in (I speak some Xhosa as well). Just some random thoughts about things I've been reading on here.....

A bit of history, the former chief/president Kaiser Matanzima (who died in 2003) was a character and a half, 10 wives each with a Mercedes to themselves. They would in a procession travel through the then Transkei, whilst the people looked on in abject poverty. Matanzima was a relative of Nelson Mandella and acted as his best man at his wedding

Later and towards the end of Matanzima's time in political office, his brother staged a coup against him. I still remember the bomb going off in the town I lived in.

I lived through the birth and death of the first Bantu Nation of the modern world.

What I saw living there is something endemic of that region and the very reason why South Africa today will always struggle to attain the western european ideal (even with education), tribalism remains strong within the heart of the people (I watched a Zulu boy dying by machete (his head was decapitated) in the high street of Butterworth for no other reason that he was a Zulu in a Bantu town). Even in the early 1980's the local Chief would throw his enemies off the Bowa Falls (100 metres to the rocks). There are many more examples of this sort of behaviour

Turning to the issue of charitable support particularly, having to navigate complex political infrastructure to help people is pointless but having people who can get aid direct to those most in need is the way to go, that's why someone like Bert stands out for me as a beacon of hope (as well as the guys who have just been over ). I get concerned about large charities because they exhibit all of the characteristics of a large organisation in terms of bureaucracy and because of this fat fall short in terms of being an adequate service provider (I'm a former Director of an organisation in the Charitable sector), a little mouse can get through a crack in the wall quicker than an army can go over the top of it.....

Ultimately, we should help and I am so proud of those who do so.......but we have to be realistic about dealing with Africa, it is a complex continent and western countries don't deal with africans in a way that they need to nor understand them

Lastly, to put any perspective on my comments and to assuage the cynics and those with alterior motives about my thoughts, I have Africa in my blood (I hope to live there again at some point in my life), I speak some of the languages and have in my own way worked to get help to people who need it most. In terms of issues today, my heart is broken watching the inaction of government in dealing with HIV particularly. I could in my lifetime see the end of the Bantu nation in particular if the epidemic is not brought under control (life span has gone from 50 to around 33 in far too few years and if that rate continues as indicated then it could go as low as young 20's very quickly which causes complications for all of their survival - we could be looking at the extinction of an entire race of people in our lifetime - a horrid thought)

Sorry if all of these thoughts are perhaps jumbled, I speak more passionately about Africa in person...... and for those who go there, will quickly find their heart stolen by the people.....

 

[Northern jock]

Africa, great place, I've spent years there for a variety of reasons. Personally I think it needs a mixture - some aid like the bike thing but also trade. I remember driving through Burkina Faso a few years ago, one of the poorest countries in the world and it was mango season. They were everywhere, kids couldn't even give them away, they were rotting under the trees. And I thought (if I won the lottery) why not open a mango factory to process them, make anything - jam, chutney, juice, whatever. Pay locals to collect and bring them in, pay locals to work in the factory, etc etc - then just get round the trade barriers of the west to sell the stuff. And any profit made by the factory goes into the local economy, not a fat mans' pocket.
But if some of the aid money went that way, there would be a wee economy started, money to spend, shops opening - and some pride restored. No pride in hand outs.
Aid - and Trade.
But there's no nice soundbite for a politician about buying mangoes, sounds much better to say we're giving £XXXXX in aid.

Rant over!

And well done guys, great effort and I'll give again to the cause happily

Alastair

 

[AndyT]

Great reports Johnny and Bob, no gates to open/close must have been heaven

I don't want to get embroiled on the reason for your trip but I would just be proud of the intention behind it whether or not it makes a difference is largely out of your hands now.

Well done and get yourselves a drink or 10

AndyT

 

[Uinneag]

Well done and get yourselves a drink or 10

AndyT

Done that last night

Drink and keyboards


Might have to have a couple tonight though

 

[Bob Jeffries]

I'm surprised by Johnny's rant, he's a different person in the flesh, but he’s entitled to his opinion - as am I.

And anyway I'm not English, I'm Welsh and just as proud of that as Johnny is of being Scottish, and the Welsh have been just as downtrodden as the rest of the English colonies but perhaps some of us at least have got over it - and we can spell better

I don't propose doing nothing, just something other than simply throwing money at the problems and keeping your fingers crossed - I paid over £4k out of my own pocket to do Enduro Africa because I wanted to try and do something to help, however small it was, and I don't regret doing that, I just think things could be done differently.

When we got to Port Alfred I went on a short boat trip with a few other Enduro’ers and there was an obviously well educated and prosperous black SA man and his wife on the boat. We spoke with him at length and during our chat he claimed to know Nelson Mandela and surprised us by heaping praise on the “English” (he didn’t seem to have any concept of Wales, Ireland and Scotland, just “the English”) for having brought modern civilisation to Africa – yes he admitted there were problems but he considered that overall Africa was far better off as a result of the input of the “English” and other nations, he even claimed that Nelson Mandela thought exactly the same.

Johnny seems to be having a personal dig at me - "some people raced through peoples gardens and never saw the people" - because I was in the green team, the team that was in front all the time, but that wasn't our decision it was the organisers, and just because he didn't see it doesn't mean we didn't stop and see the people, we probably did just as much as he did, so I don't really know why he's having a dig.

I’m not a PC person, I tell it as I see it and I don’t look at everything through rose tinted specs, I saw the differences when we crossed into the Transkei, and how things instantly improved when we left it. I saw how Port St John has changed from a prosperous tourist resort to become almost a ghost town since the white SA people were “evicted” – much like present day Zimbabwe, as things stand then without the whites to organise things they go to hell (remember the hotel in Joburg?) that's a cultural thing and will take a long time to sort out.

I believe it’ll take more than just money to put things right and education and medical facilities will be the bedrock on which change will be brought about.

We both want the same for SA Johnny, it just seems we differ a little as to how it can be brought about, but knocking others for their beliefs won't help, either on UKGS'er or in SA, take care (particularly of your passport )

No more on this, time to move on.

 

[Deleted account rno]

No more on this, time to move on.

After that post, I think your being a wee bit naive there, Bob