We all woke very early to get on the road, and as we headed further down into The Rift Valley the temperature began to rise. In Jinka we were to head for Mago National Park where we were to visit The Mursi people. This tribe are unique to Ethiopia and have some fascinating customs and traditions, in particular the lip plate. Young girls cut their lip to show their strength and their crossing into womanhood. They then insert a clay or wooden plate which gets larger as the girl matures.
Nadine Bogan and Liza Uprichard
A little bit about who we are...
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Visiting the Mursi Tribe
We all woke very early to get on the road, and as we headed further down into The Rift Valley the temperature began to rise. In Jinka we were to head for Mago National Park where we were to visit The Mursi people. This tribe are unique to Ethiopia and have some fascinating customs and traditions, in particular the lip plate. Young girls cut their lip to show their strength and their crossing into womanhood. They then insert a clay or wooden plate which gets larger as the girl matures.
An accident
I remember having a conversation in Cairo last year with Jyoti, the editor of Oasis magazine, and she said to me that people will want to read about the ups and downs of our journey… and would probably be more interested in the tough times!
What happened in northern Ethiopia is something that will stay with me for years to come and I hope by writing about it here, people will have the facts.
For those who don’t already know, we were involved in an accident. The whole incident was pretty harrowing for everyone involved, and Nades and I decided we would both write down our experience for people to read. There are many similarities, but it was difficult to write about it together.
Nadine:
The first thing that I really remember is the shock on Liza’s face as the blood ran from her cheek. The farmer who had walked into our car had hit the wing mirror and the glass had smashed through the open driver-side window into her. We had been told many times to drive away from an accident such as this but as Liza and I both sat in the car we could only think, we can’t leave!! As the voices around us began to grow and the tension built we knew it would not be safe to stay.
At this point both Liza and I were going into shock and I remember feeling that I needed to get help not only for the injured man, but for us. The events that followed brought us to a police station along with a policeman that had seen the accident and young Amar, who not only acted as our interpreter but was of great support to us.
Sitting on a bench in the station we were told that the man had died. As we both sat in tears I remember the police asking us if we had been hurt and did we need a hospital, as if they were confused by our tearful reaction.
We went through a whirlwind of emotions as we were told of the police process common to this type of accident. At this point I knew we were going to be here for a while and had to continually remind myself to stay strong, focused and cope with one thing at a time.
The days that followed were a journey of confusion, frustration and miscommunication. We had been told we could leave, then stopped. We were told we were being held illegally, then held. We were first told the man had died, then he was badly injured, then he had a broken leg. We felt relived the man was going to be ok but frustrated with the misinformation. Finally during the compensation discussions with the family we were able to see the injured man, with no broken bones but a cut to the back of his leg.
Our time spent in the police camp was a little unusual to say the least. We were allowed to camp in our tents, use our mobile phones and I was able to go to the market for food. When Phil arrived he was able to stay with us, he was a great support, comforter and stable force in the ever growing frustrations of myself and Liza. The policemen and women were extremely friendly to us. The mountains lush and green with a picturesque village could not have been more stunning. But all these experience had the undertone of uncertainty and confusion over the outcome of this situation.
This was an extremely difficult experience for the both of us and hearing from the embassy that this is a common occurrence worries us. Money and family compensation had been a continuing component of discussion but we tried not to think that it was about money, as it would have only heightened our feeling of frustration. I was really proud of the way we were both able to remain strong for each other and were able to find solutions to a very difficult situation.
Liza:
We had left Gondor with a mended tyre, new Ethiopian sim cards and the replacement tool to release the spare under the car, having left the original for junk in Cairo… nice one Steve! Beautiful Ethiopia passed through the windows and the lush green seemed to contradict recent reports we had heard about threats of another famine. We were heading to Addis to meet Phil for a few days in the capital before making tracks to Nairobi for the next stage of the school project.
I was driving the car, and because we were coming into a town I was going at around 50kmph… I dread to think what would have happened if I was going any faster.
I saw the farmers standing in the road in the oncoming lane and was beeping my horn to warn of our approach. The man, whose name I later found out was Mr Ombrasi, turned and saw us coming and was standing in a place that left lots of room to pass. This changed just as we were beside him, when he stepped into the side of the car. I have no idea what he was thinking… We later found out that people stepping in front of cars here is a known problem, as the legal system requires a civil case cash settlement with the family. I don’t know if this is what happened here. Maybe he lost his balance, maybe there was drink involved, maybe his stick caught the car and forced him forwards… all I do know is that I hit him.
We stopped and tried to grasp what had just happened… a traffic police man who was there by chance saw the whole thing, which would later make things a lot less complicated. He got in the car with us and told us to drive away from the angering crowd. By this time I was going into shock and was shaking, I didn’t know for sure where the blood was coming from.
I remember that Nadine was amazing and took control of the situation while I was trying to think straight, replaying what had happened over and over in my mind (this was later compounded by a bizarre procedure that calls for the driver to put the car back in the position of impact and pose for a photograph for police records). We called Barbara, as the number for the embassy in our guide book was incorrect, and she was able to make sure the right people knew what was happening – we were both concerned about driving out of phone reception and being of radar. We were taken to the nearby village of Ambosamie… where I would remain in custody until the matter was cleared up.
Although I was not allowed to leave, we were not imprisoned as such. This, among other discrepancies made the situation even more difficult to understand… it was impossible to get a straight answer or explanation about what was going on and language barriers certainly added to this.
The initial reports that the man had been killed hit me hard, and for those few hours I can’t describe how I felt. As it later transpired, thankfully, that was not the case…
Nadine was allowed to come and go freely and we were still allowed to use our phones and stay in our own tents – the embassy assured us these were very good signs. All the officers involved were very kind, and in the slow days to follow they offered constant reassurance that everything would be fine, and most came to check on us during the weekend and sit with us for a while. I got pretty good at backgammon, so not all was lost.
Having not made it to meet Phil in Addis, we were both really pleased that he was able to get an internal flight up to Bar Dir and come join us in the nick… not quite the visit he had been looking forward to though! Nades and I were both reassured that he was there, it definitely made me feel that we were not as remote as I had felt when we were driving into the bush from the scene of the accident, and I know both our families were really put at ease by him being with us.
The reported injuries to the man changed as the days passed, and on visiting him in his home for the final agreement on compensation five days later, I saw that he had a cut on the back of his leg. I was torn between feeling sad that this was probably all about money and angry that it was all so acceptable to the people around us. There was very little concern for the lives involved from the start, and obvious confusion about our concerned reactions.
Through all of it, we had much appreciated support from the British Embassy - putting us in touch with recommended local lawyers to help us through the system, regular calls from the consulate to see how we were doing, as well as keeping my family in the UK regularly updated about what was going on.
The whole thing had shaken us both and we decided that we needed to spend some more time in the South of Ethiopia in an attempt to leave ourselves with some more positive memories of the country… read on and see how that worked out!!
What happened in northern Ethiopia is something that will stay with me for years to come and I hope by writing about it here, people will have the facts.
For those who don’t already know, we were involved in an accident. The whole incident was pretty harrowing for everyone involved, and Nades and I decided we would both write down our experience for people to read. There are many similarities, but it was difficult to write about it together.
Nadine:
The first thing that I really remember is the shock on Liza’s face as the blood ran from her cheek. The farmer who had walked into our car had hit the wing mirror and the glass had smashed through the open driver-side window into her. We had been told many times to drive away from an accident such as this but as Liza and I both sat in the car we could only think, we can’t leave!! As the voices around us began to grow and the tension built we knew it would not be safe to stay.
At this point both Liza and I were going into shock and I remember feeling that I needed to get help not only for the injured man, but for us. The events that followed brought us to a police station along with a policeman that had seen the accident and young Amar, who not only acted as our interpreter but was of great support to us.
Sitting on a bench in the station we were told that the man had died. As we both sat in tears I remember the police asking us if we had been hurt and did we need a hospital, as if they were confused by our tearful reaction.
We went through a whirlwind of emotions as we were told of the police process common to this type of accident. At this point I knew we were going to be here for a while and had to continually remind myself to stay strong, focused and cope with one thing at a time.
The days that followed were a journey of confusion, frustration and miscommunication. We had been told we could leave, then stopped. We were told we were being held illegally, then held. We were first told the man had died, then he was badly injured, then he had a broken leg. We felt relived the man was going to be ok but frustrated with the misinformation. Finally during the compensation discussions with the family we were able to see the injured man, with no broken bones but a cut to the back of his leg.
Our time spent in the police camp was a little unusual to say the least. We were allowed to camp in our tents, use our mobile phones and I was able to go to the market for food. When Phil arrived he was able to stay with us, he was a great support, comforter and stable force in the ever growing frustrations of myself and Liza. The policemen and women were extremely friendly to us. The mountains lush and green with a picturesque village could not have been more stunning. But all these experience had the undertone of uncertainty and confusion over the outcome of this situation.
This was an extremely difficult experience for the both of us and hearing from the embassy that this is a common occurrence worries us. Money and family compensation had been a continuing component of discussion but we tried not to think that it was about money, as it would have only heightened our feeling of frustration. I was really proud of the way we were both able to remain strong for each other and were able to find solutions to a very difficult situation.
Liza:
We had left Gondor with a mended tyre, new Ethiopian sim cards and the replacement tool to release the spare under the car, having left the original for junk in Cairo… nice one Steve! Beautiful Ethiopia passed through the windows and the lush green seemed to contradict recent reports we had heard about threats of another famine. We were heading to Addis to meet Phil for a few days in the capital before making tracks to Nairobi for the next stage of the school project.
I was driving the car, and because we were coming into a town I was going at around 50kmph… I dread to think what would have happened if I was going any faster.
I saw the farmers standing in the road in the oncoming lane and was beeping my horn to warn of our approach. The man, whose name I later found out was Mr Ombrasi, turned and saw us coming and was standing in a place that left lots of room to pass. This changed just as we were beside him, when he stepped into the side of the car. I have no idea what he was thinking… We later found out that people stepping in front of cars here is a known problem, as the legal system requires a civil case cash settlement with the family. I don’t know if this is what happened here. Maybe he lost his balance, maybe there was drink involved, maybe his stick caught the car and forced him forwards… all I do know is that I hit him.
We stopped and tried to grasp what had just happened… a traffic police man who was there by chance saw the whole thing, which would later make things a lot less complicated. He got in the car with us and told us to drive away from the angering crowd. By this time I was going into shock and was shaking, I didn’t know for sure where the blood was coming from.
I remember that Nadine was amazing and took control of the situation while I was trying to think straight, replaying what had happened over and over in my mind (this was later compounded by a bizarre procedure that calls for the driver to put the car back in the position of impact and pose for a photograph for police records). We called Barbara, as the number for the embassy in our guide book was incorrect, and she was able to make sure the right people knew what was happening – we were both concerned about driving out of phone reception and being of radar. We were taken to the nearby village of Ambosamie… where I would remain in custody until the matter was cleared up.
Although I was not allowed to leave, we were not imprisoned as such. This, among other discrepancies made the situation even more difficult to understand… it was impossible to get a straight answer or explanation about what was going on and language barriers certainly added to this.
The initial reports that the man had been killed hit me hard, and for those few hours I can’t describe how I felt. As it later transpired, thankfully, that was not the case…
Nadine was allowed to come and go freely and we were still allowed to use our phones and stay in our own tents – the embassy assured us these were very good signs. All the officers involved were very kind, and in the slow days to follow they offered constant reassurance that everything would be fine, and most came to check on us during the weekend and sit with us for a while. I got pretty good at backgammon, so not all was lost.
Having not made it to meet Phil in Addis, we were both really pleased that he was able to get an internal flight up to Bar Dir and come join us in the nick… not quite the visit he had been looking forward to though! Nades and I were both reassured that he was there, it definitely made me feel that we were not as remote as I had felt when we were driving into the bush from the scene of the accident, and I know both our families were really put at ease by him being with us.
The reported injuries to the man changed as the days passed, and on visiting him in his home for the final agreement on compensation five days later, I saw that he had a cut on the back of his leg. I was torn between feeling sad that this was probably all about money and angry that it was all so acceptable to the people around us. There was very little concern for the lives involved from the start, and obvious confusion about our concerned reactions.
Through all of it, we had much appreciated support from the British Embassy - putting us in touch with recommended local lawyers to help us through the system, regular calls from the consulate to see how we were doing, as well as keeping my family in the UK regularly updated about what was going on.
The whole thing had shaken us both and we decided that we needed to spend some more time in the South of Ethiopia in an attempt to leave ourselves with some more positive memories of the country… read on and see how that worked out!!
Into Ethiopia
Driving closer to the border of Ethiopia, the landscape changed quickly. Desert gave way to boulder hills and acacia trees, which in turn became lush green mountainsides and endless rolling hills. The road snaked through, passing donkeys and Sanga cattle. With a new visa and another stamp on the carnet, we were excited to be in new territory and truly in awe of the scenery around us… absolutely stunning.
A flat tyre caused by a toddler throwing a stone under the car highlighted our idiocy at putting the wheel nut tool in the box strapped on the roof!... But the tyre change gave us an opportunity to fill up from the jerry cans on the roof, much to the delight of our newly (and surprisingly quickly) assembled audience. http://cairotocapetown.smugmug.com/Other/Ethiopia/10413549_XQHdX/1/721663018_evNhR
A flat tyre caused by a toddler throwing a stone under the car highlighted our idiocy at putting the wheel nut tool in the box strapped on the roof!... But the tyre change gave us an opportunity to fill up from the jerry cans on the roof, much to the delight of our newly (and surprisingly quickly) assembled audience. http://cairotocapetown.smugmug.com/Other/Ethiopia/10413549_XQHdX/1/721663018_evNhR
Monday, October 26, 2009
Opening the doors of The International School - Sudan
We have just finished our two week project in Khartoum and wanted to give you an update on what we have done… The above photograph shows the new basketball backboard painted by all the children involved, click on it to see other photographs from the Sudan project gallery.Background
We feel that this first project has been very successful and has opened positive lines of communication between both groups, who are keen to continue the relationship in a number of ways. There is already discussion about an after school club, sports fixtures and an exchange of ideas for upcoming Christmas celebrations... We have also managed to make possible links with a local family business here in Khartoum who would like to offer further financial support for the Centre.
Fingers crossed for future developments!
Here in Sudan we have focused on building a working relationship between children and adults from Unity High School and the Mohaba Centre for displaced boys. All of the boys that stay there have been found on the streets and the centre offers somewhere to sleep and schooling as well as working to relocate family members for the children. Visits to their relatives are encouraged and the centre staff work hard to make sure that reasons that led to them being on the streets in the first place are identified. This is often difficult, as many of the boys are unsure about what happened to them.
Some are victims of the war in the south while others have run away from abusive home lives. Many were sent out to work from poverty stricken homes while others are simply lost. Regardless of their reasons for finding themselves at the Mohaba Centre, the boys are well looked after in a safe and caring environment where they can work as part of an extended family unit.
The children from Unity High School are largely the children of local diplomats and wealthy business men, and rarely have the opportunity to mix with children from the local community.
All of the boys we worked with were excited to be involved and the connection between the two groups showed alot of potential for further development in the future. During our short time in Sudan we have been able to work with the boys in a number of different ways. We have run workshops based on sport, art, DT and music and their enthusiasm for all of these has been infectious!
When we first met them, we talked with the Mohaba boys and 
adults about improvements they would like to see to their home. These were identified as: fixing the basketball ring and back board; re-stringing the beds for their dormitory (many of these were broken) and painting the walls in their classroom white so they can use them to display pictures and alphabets. We were able to incorporate all of these ideas into activities taking place at both locations and involving both sets of children so that they all felt a sense of ownership.
adults about improvements they would like to see to their home. These were identified as: fixing the basketball ring and back board; re-stringing the beds for their dormitory (many of these were broken) and painting the walls in their classroom white so they can use them to display pictures and alphabets. We were able to incorporate all of these ideas into activities taking place at both locations and involving both sets of children so that they all felt a sense of ownership. The charity element of this project paid for all of this to happen.
We feel that this first project has been very successful and has opened positive lines of communication between both groups, who are keen to continue the relationship in a number of ways. There is already discussion about an after school club, sports fixtures and an exchange of ideas for upcoming Christmas celebrations... We have also managed to make possible links with a local family business here in Khartoum who would like to offer further financial support for the Centre.Fingers crossed for future developments!
Sufi Dancers
We have seen Sufi dancers in Cairo many times so thought we were about to experience the ceremonial dance, full of white with flashes of colour to the beat of the drum. As like all of Sudan, never expect the expected. We arrived in Omdurman just before sunset to a small circle of men and women watching three men parade around the interior of the circle singing, with the occasional drop of money into the donation bag and the occasional excited observer joining in. As the sun set, the proceedings seemed to climax into a larger circle with hundreds of men chanting and swaying in unison. The Sufi’s for what we could tell, where dressed in green or multi colour robes. The Sufis in the centre would dance, chant, talk, walk and some would spin. An extraordinary experience!
Al Morgan Family Park
Our quest to find the confluence of the Blue and White Niles took us to Al-Morgan Family Park. We found it buzzing with hundreds of families all enjoying their Friday weekend and eager to say hello. We stopped to take pictures of the towers of ice-cream cones, classic fairground rides and tat stalls. I couldn't resist the fanta ball. We need it... and there's nowhere near enough stuff in the car anyway...
Ahmed A. Jabir BA, MA/PGCE Art, Design & Visual Culture
One of the teaching artists at Unity school in Khartoum is the published childrens author and illustrator, Ahmed A Jabir. He has been working as a visual artist, arts researcher, educator in art and design and a worshop facilitator in schools and art colleges both in Sudan and in the UK.
Some of the books he has worked on are available at Amazon.
Click on his picture, 'Queen of Fun', 2004 to see availability...
To see a clip of Ahmed on YouTube, click on his painting,
'Girls with Black Horse' 2008.
Khartoum
Our time in Khartoum has been varied to say the least! We hoped that by working here, we would get a bit of an insight into life in Sudan and we both really feel like we have. As well as being comatosed by the heat, we have seen and experienced many sides of this African city. From the historical and cultural hub that is Omdurman, to local artists and the many soukhs… from seeing the joining of the Blue and White Niles and searching for hidden golf courses… Thanks to lots of lovely people we have met, we've had the opportunity to experience a really diverse range of things here.Our first week in Khartoum was punctuated with invitations to various local events including a British Council local talents night, the Khartoum Hash (dubbed as the hottest, dustiest AND coolest Hash in the world), the German Embassy happy hour and the Greek Club pool. Joy, Audrey and Michelle, all teachers from Unity school, made sure we had things to do and helped us find our feet… thank you!
Nadine and Audrey... keen hashers. On-on!
The hash also provided a great opportunity for us to meet lots of other people living in Khartoum.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Dongola
Nadine wasn't feeling well, but we were both a little excited about what we would find in our medicine chest!... (click to play video)
We stayed in the Lords hotel in Dongola for a couple of nights... Jacob had made it from Wadi Halfa on his KTM too, and told us that the Czech's had taken the other road... so we stopped feeling bad about leaving them to die in the desert!
Dongola turned out to be a great little market town, and if we didn't have to be in Khartoum by the weekend, we probably would have stayed a bit longer... But, our first school link in Khartoum was expecting us so we set off again on the Saturday morning.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Wadi Halfa to Dongola
We were up and on the road early on Thursday morning, as we had hoped to stop along the Nile a couple of times to see what we could find. Not far out of town we started to realise that the 'excellent road' we had been told about must have been the one that went due south, and not the one we had taken along the river. Going was slow, as it was still being built, and a few times we worried about the four Czech's we had met who were driving the two little yellow cars that shared the barge over...
Our beast did really well - only one minor stuck getting back onto the road from a dust bowl side road. We got into Dongola late afternoon after seven hours of pulling on and off the tar to travel 350km.
However, we had a couple of lovely little interludes along the way...
A view of the Nile from Farkah
Tea with Mohammed and Fatima
Our beast did really well - only one minor stuck getting back onto the road from a dust bowl side road. We got into Dongola late afternoon after seven hours of pulling on and off the tar to travel 350km.
However, we had a couple of lovely little interludes along the way...
A view of the Nile from Farkah Tea with Mohammed and FatimaWadi Halfa
Having got safely off the boat and into Sudan, we then had to wait for the barge carrying our car to arrive the following morning... which it did, no worries.Waiting a further day to drive it off the barge was a little frustrating, but gave me some time to get a few important things done at the port. For example: looking at stuff; shoo-ing away gnats; sweating; burning; blinking etc... so it wasn't a complete waste of time at least.
With the help of Magdy, we finally got the car cleared that evening, and being late, we bedded down for another night in Wadi Halfa.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
The boat to Waadi Halfa
Once the car was loaded onto the barge we were set for Sudanese shores. The boat was full of interesting characters all willing to chat and play towla.Ahmed the Aswan Sailor
While we were in Aswan, Phil called ‘Ahmed the Aswan Sailor’ who he had met on a previous visit. Ahmed and his cousin Mohamed proved to be invaluable contacts in helping us to get our paper work pushed through for the boat to Sudan.
Hidden Tomb
Out of the tight roads of Maadi and the people filled streets of Cairo I was happy to drive the car for the first time.
While I was busy thinking that Nadine was concentrating on driving the car for the first time, it turns out she was actually tomb spotting. This was set back in the cliffs somewhere between Marsa Alam and Edfu. A great excuse for a wee stretch…
Coming into Aswan we were excited to have successfully(ish) completed the first leg of our journey. We drove straight to the airport to give ourselves time to do some much needed reorganising to make space for Phil and Russell. Refer to afore mentioned ridiculous packing! We had a lovely weekend thanks for coming to meet us.
While I was busy thinking that Nadine was concentrating on driving the car for the first time, it turns out she was actually tomb spotting. This was set back in the cliffs somewhere between Marsa Alam and Edfu. A great excuse for a wee stretch…
Coming into Aswan we were excited to have successfully(ish) completed the first leg of our journey. We drove straight to the airport to give ourselves time to do some much needed reorganising to make space for Phil and Russell. Refer to afore mentioned ridiculous packing! We had a lovely weekend thanks for coming to meet us.
From Cairo to Aswan
Goodbye MBIS
To be honest we were both nervous about arranging a send off…..with the schools closed we were afraid that not many families would be around. We were both overwhelmed by the number of friends and supports who had come to wish us well. When we left the CSA we were both in pieces!!
Luckily we didn’t have to go too far as the electric windows had short circuited. The smile garage by the Ain Soukhna turn off had the pleasure of our company for the next hour. More teething problems came in the shape of a dodgy fuel gauge, meaning that we ran out of diesel 100 km up the road!!! We spent the first night in the Sahara Inn near Zafarana…could we recommend that others don’t do the same.
Luckily we didn’t have to go too far as the electric windows had short circuited. The smile garage by the Ain Soukhna turn off had the pleasure of our company for the next hour. More teething problems came in the shape of a dodgy fuel gauge, meaning that we ran out of diesel 100 km up the road!!! We spent the first night in the Sahara Inn near Zafarana…could we recommend that others don’t do the same.
The Virginia
Saying goodbye to friends and loved ones is never easy. We invited everyone up to The Virginia in Mokkatum for last sundowners. Thank you to everyone who came. If you haven't been there the view over Cairo is stunning.
Packing up
Packing to go away for one year cannot be done in a day F.Y.I. We know this because we gave ourselves one day to do it. Because of panic packing we our now carrying: one life size model of Horus; a set of golf clubs; a kite and board; a bicycle; along with many other day to day essentials. How did we fit this in??? With the help of Steve.
Sudanese visa
Contrary to popular belief it was extremely easy for us to pick up our Sudanese visas. A doodle compared to the bureaucracy we faced in terms of Egyptian paper work. One day, 100 dollars and it was ours.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Final preparations
While Big Red is still in the shop having a few transplant operations, Nades and I are on the outside worrying about her pulling through and fretting about how we are going to pay the medical bills!To keep our minds off it, we are busy exploring the world of websites, blogs and YouTube uploads. Good times. Also trying to get our heads around tweeting... Does anyone get it? Help?...
I have also been doing a little research, and am almost positive that we need to head south for Sudan. So... get to the Nile from school and turn left. Check. So everyone can stop worrying now.
Liza x
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