This continent holds a special place in our hearts. We lived and worked together for almost 7 years in Mozambique, Angola and Zimbabwe. Before then, Claire did a 6 month assignment with the Red Cross in Djibouti working with a nomadic population in the midst of a severe drought. Our son was born in Zimbabwe and our daughter, spent a harrowing (health wise)16 months of her life in Angola, while still a baby. We had many wonderful travel opportunities, did numerous safaris and somehow managed to survive the ups and downs of our work. The following blogs, with more to come, our from that time (1987 to 1995). We hope to return one day….maybe a bike tour of hilly Rwanda (??).
Zimbabwe – Part 2: Mining, Safaris and Corruption (1994 to 1995)
Our last post described our integration into a comfortable life in Zimbabwe, followed by my tumultuous tenure and eventual demise with CARE Canada. With my usual self-confidence, as unfounded as it may be, I bounced back reasonably quickly and my work took on a wholly different focus. The above is representative of one of the… Continue reading Zimbabwe – Part 2: Mining, Safaris and Corruption (1994 to 1995)
Zimbabwe – Part 1: Stability then Upheaval (1993 to 1994)
Zimbabwe was one of those critical junctures in our lives. We had just fled our precarious life in Southern Angola as the civil war restarted. Zimbabwe represented a safe haven, good health care for our daughter, work opportunities for Claire, career advancements for myself and wonderful travel opportunities. As was so often the case with… Continue reading Zimbabwe – Part 1: Stability then Upheaval (1993 to 1994)
Angola: What were we thinking! (1992-93)
(Apologies for the old, degraded photos) CARE Canada’s offer of a posting as Regional Coordinator for the Southern Angola Relief Programme sounded good. We would be in the small provincial town of Lubango, away from the problems of head office. We spoke adequate Portuguese, or more accurately ‘Portuñol’: a mix of Español and Portuguese. After… Continue reading Angola: What were we thinking! (1992-93)
Tales from Africa: Paddling the Zambezi and climbing Kilimanjaro
(Note: Once again, my apologies for the blurry, old photographs.) In our last post I touched on our misadventures in the Okavango Delta of Botswana and finished with our hitchhiking north to Zimbabwe. Our plan was to check out the world famous Victoria Falls then continue downriver (overland) to Kariba Dam where we would join… Continue reading Tales from Africa: Paddling the Zambezi and climbing Kilimanjaro
Tales from Africa: Dirt roads across Lesotho and the Okavango Delta by dugout
(Note: Apologies for the poor image quality. All our old photos seemed to have deteriorated with age. Blame it on the tropics!) Our abrupt departure from Mozambique (Nov/1986) was tough emotionally but, in the end, a huge release. Both Claire and I had been working with the International Red Cross assisting in the development of… Continue reading Tales from Africa: Dirt roads across Lesotho and the Okavango Delta by dugout
Life in Mozambique, 1985-86
Preface: What with Covid lock downs and travel bans our wee adventures, modest that they are, are on hold for the foreseeable future. Claire suggested we change tack and blog about past postings in far flung corners of the globe and the many challenges, near disasters and unforgettable experiences we shared. The following is more… Continue reading Life in Mozambique, 1985-86
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OVER THE HILL AND BEYOND 