Friday 9th July 2010

Well it’s time to pack up and head for home – we visited GGA to say our farewells and then went to Victoria Street market (to stock up with items which we hope to sell in the UK to boost our fundraising initiatives) and then off to the airport.
Although I have been to Sierra Leone 6 times and witnessed extreme poverty (most of which is as a result of 10 years of civil war) this experience for me has been in many ways more difficult to cope with (not just because I’ve had Charlie to put up with). The massive gap between the “haves” and the “have nots”, the contrast between World Cup fever and the poverty we have witnessed and the devastation caused by HIV/AIDS pandemic for those both infected and affected is unbelievable. BUT having said all that I firmly believe that each and every one of us can “make a real difference” - if we have the desire to and I would urge you all to think about trying to do whatever you can to help It is my first visit to South Africa BUT I don’t think it will be my last – please don’t tell my wife!!

On my part coming back was easier than I thought. But things have not changed much. Its very true what Alan says. The gap between the rich and poor in South Africa is massive. With a country 3 times the size of the UK, a population of 45 million people, 11 official languages and now some very nice new stadiums – its poignant to remember some facts and figures only 5 million people are eligible to pay tax in South Africa, 13 million people survive on pensions and grants when they can access them, there are 1000’s of people who do not exist in the eyes of the state as they do not have any official documents. South Africa remains one of the most devastated countries by HIV Aids and this continues the cycle of poverty. There are ladies in the 60’s and 70’s caring for their grand children when their own children have died, and on the flip side there are children caring for the siblings some as young as 14 caring for two year olds. These are the ones we know about, it’s the ones we don’t that makes what people are doing here so important in all the projects we have visited, no matter the scale of the problem they continue doing what they can striving to do more. South Africa isn’t a country that feels sorry for itself. As Alan said such a little can make such a huge difference. These are not only South African problems, nor an African problem we are all in together, humanity must fight the scourges of disease and poverty as one. There is saying in Zulu, Known as Ubuntu – which in basic translation means “I am because you are”. In other words a person is only a person when you view them as a person! This trip for me once again has put a face to poverty, the faces of Children, Babies, Grannies, Teenage mums, Fathers and Mothers, Brothers and Sisters. These are faces to easily forgotten when poverty is discussed. They are people just like us, only facing a daily battle for survival.