Promised in yesterdays blog to tell more about the seven persons in the car. So:
- Fredrik Glad-Gjernes – Director of Y-Global (http://www.kfuk-kfum-global.no/)
- Svein – Sandefjord Sykleklubb (about to donate two containers full of bikes – more than 400 – to Lushoto). See Bikes4Africa.
- Pona Hurst Bukuku – Member of Young Peace Performers (http://www.facebook.com/Ypp20122013)
- Godfrey Wall – The YMCA responsible in Lushoto (as well as Reverent in a local Church and DEAN in the faculty of Justice and Peace at SEKOMU university)
- Gideon Mandara – Founder of Entrepreneurs Resource Centre in Nairobi and experiensed consultant for many NGOs
- The driver
- Myself
Godfrey invited us to the inaguration of a new building (huge audiatorium) at the Sekomu university.
The bishop of the district and loads of prominent people.
Service lasted 4 hours…
Some Pictures:
In the evening we were invited to Godfreys home for dinner. The warmest welcome and best food (not least homemade juice) ever!
Some Pictures:
Breakfast at 6.30. Departed 7.00 to visit the South Beach.
Mission: Look at some property prospects 😉
Trip involved a small ferry trip. Crowded, to put it mildly.
In the afternoon we headed for Lushoto. Seven of us and luggage in a not too big Toyota 4wd… Departure a little bit delayed, so we did not arrive until late (around 11 p.m.). More about the seven People and the mission tomorrow.
Some Pictures from the trip:
Safely back from Ilula, but no time to report in detail, so far. A very memorable trip, for sure!
Yesterday I met with program officers from YMCA/YWCA units around the globe, who are attending a ‘Savings & Loan Groups’ training/workshop here in Dar Es Salaam, arranged by Y-Global (See: http://kfuk-kfum-global.no/).
Today I contributed with two talks for the same group at the last day of their training/workshops. One on ‘opportunities related to the renewable energy products/systems’, the other on ‘modern collaboration’.
Finished the day with a common dinner and lots of interesting conversations at a very nice restaurant close to the sea.
After breakfast, it was time to say ‘good bye’ to the all the Nice people at Ilula, incl. friend Pablo, who chose to stay for some more days. This will for sure not be my last trip to Ilula.
This time I had made sure my phone was fully charged. Was hence able to shoot photos and videos to compensate for the missed opportunity on the way to Ilula. The decent from the highland was a Chapter of its own. Trucks snailing both ways (also down to avoid overheated breaks). One serious accident observed on the way up and yet another one on the way down. In addition there were trucks with technical problems every km. And tires! Destroyed tires every few meters.
We also passed a Baobab tree belt:
When arriving at DAR i checked in at the YMCA hostel and joined the team of Y-Global partners:
Woke up early eager to see the IOP and its surroundings in daylight. Beautiful!
Inspecting the SAWHAS (Sanitary and Water Harwesting System) houses:
The afternoon was spent, trying to fix the solar system which had not worked from some weeks. Inverter was apparently overloaded. Teamed up With one of the volunteers, Otto (physisist), and the local electricians. And we did it! Invistigated, eliminated and fixed. Fond good use of my electrical inspection skills from my years in DNV!
I also found time to visit the chicken farm which was under construction (including inspection of the electrical installations):
…and the new School a little bit further up the hill. What a scenery!
Later in the evening i was interviewed by Pablo, the podcast reporter. Kind of a New experience. Can be heard from here: http://efterregnkommersolsken.libsyn.com/dar-el-salaam-till-ilula
Blogging from my mobile phone… (later updated from LapTop)
This morning we are heading for Ilula.
Transport by NCA who is sponsoring the construction of houses with integrated water harvesting solutions at the Ilula Orphant Project (See also separate page for IOP supporters).
The 8 hour Journey was in itself a valuable experience for me. To see with own eyes how business/industry changes as we move out of the city.
We also passed through the Mikumi National Park (the smallest one in Tz). Just as we saw the fist elephant, my mobile (camera) died. Flat battery. Managed to catch a giraffe, though. See it?
Team in the car was Einar Gjernes, Pablo Paez, myself and Three NCA reps. (Goodluck, Francis and the driver)
Arrived IOP after dark, but not too late to get a warm welcome:
Went to NCA to meet with Kelvin, one of the hired consultants with particular interest in renewable energy issues. Very useful exchange of experience and viewpoints. We will keep in touch!
Spent most of the day at NCA (good WiFi line there). Also nice to feel the very friendly spirit there. Was invited to join in for lunch. Lucky me!
I also managed to set up a meeting with the Tanzanian Rural Energy Agency (REA). Met with the General Director. Very positive Meeting and good exchange of information. Many opportunities here for the NREEG.
Spent the day at Bongoyo island, together with a newly acquainted friend, Pablo Paez, from Sweden. A very beautiful place indeed! Oh, and YES, I turned a bit pink. See photos.
I was then invited over to a friend of Pablo, Agneta Segerfelt, who had her residence at the Nordic school (http://nordicschool.net). She made us a nice meal.
There I also met with two ‘art friends’ of Agneta, Malulu Vita and Emanuel Kalimili.
After the meal, and a beer, we went to a local pub to watch the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (http://www.cafonline.com/). Nigeria vs Burkina Faso. Home around midnight.
Lucky to have my cardbordbox with 10 LapTops checked in at no extra cost. (More about the LapTops later.)
Flight to Istanbul was OK, but seats very worn out. One big cave in the middle and no way to change sitting position. Positive surprise was that the plane to Dar Es Salaam was almost brand new. Not so big for an intercontinental flight, but very comfortable. Didn’t sleep too much, but OK.
Visa/Passport process went smoothly, but took a while. Took a photo to capture the moment, but was kindly but firmly asked to delete.
Found luggage immediately, but cardboard box had been treated roughly. Two corners teared off. Quick check tells me that content is still there, but later counting shows one PC missing ;o( Hard to tell how/why.
Got picked up by my friend Einar Gernes around 5.00 a.m. Hotter and more humid than expected. Dar Es Salaam also much bigger than expected. ~30 min drive to the Passionist Father (LA PASSIONE DI GESU CRISTO). Nice room with air-condition. Jumped to bed and slept like a baby until 8.30 (Alarm.)
Nice weather. All blue sky and quite hot.
OK breakfast (toast, jam and coffee).
Then the usual find a WiFi story. Found one local to the residence, got a PW, but no connection…
Spent most of the day preparing for the presentations to be held on Friday.
Had a quick run in the local area. A little bit as expected. Very diversified. Superstores, hotels and commercial signboards. At the same time small businesses like selling a few bottles, manual digging. Lots of plant/flower outlets alongside the road. Pavements bumpy, lots of litter. Heavy traffic! Many people just hanging around…
Had dinner at the Passionist Father, together with a handful of residents there. Many interesting stories…
Managed to Connect to the WiFi just now…
Today marks kind of a new era.
I am sitting on the train on my way to the airport. Ticket says Dar Es Salaam and return from Kampala in 20 days…
My plan and ambition is to use this blog as a diary for the trip. Share my day-to-day experiences and impressions, but also to reflect back on what brought me to this milestone. I.e. my Se4All story…
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