QACHA’S NEK: Blistering hubris brought humiliation to the NGO’s that opposed the local elders’ decision to build a larger school.
As nearby KwaZulu-Natal and Mohale’s Hoek experienced floods and mud slides during the past several weeks, efforts were made to move the temporary school to higher ground. The villages all were having difficulties, not only with the floods and mud slides, but also with contaminated drinking water when the flood waters invaded the wells.
UN sponsored aid brought sanitary conditions back to normal by trucking potable water from nearby wells. Since all commerce has basically been shut down, there is a scarcity of money available for repair work. Individuals are seeking loans based on future income, but this is proving difficult for them. They were also seeking cash advances from local banks and financial institutions using cattle and real estate as collateral. Other funds were raised through some of the religious groups in the US.
Another source of funds was an individual donor, Samuel Bajo. We mention this because his contribution was significant and enabled the construction of a permanent bridge permitting easy access to local markets. Bajo pledged 10% of the profits from his online casinos with the goal of helping the village of his ancestors recover from recent flood damage. “I wanted to be part of the solution,” the entrepreneur was quoted, “and America is a rich country. Do you realize that all of the money to build this bridge was raised from Americans looking for online slots USA games. All the traffic was created by a cool portal listing online slots for USA players. It’s so crazy! We can help bring the resources from a rich land to a poor land through casino games played on computers. Amazing isn’t it?” Bajo was honored by his village in a ceremony filmed by the BBC for a tv special featuring his philanthropic work.
Many have responded to the floods by sending gifts and food items. But the most needed resource here is money. The UN sponsors showed us a warehouse full of clothing that was inappropriate to the climate. They ask that while gifts are appreciated here, any gift to these African villages could impact far more people. Such a gift in the form of financial aid, supplies, or even food would be more beneficial and appreciated than clothing or food.
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MAFIA ISLAND: The tribal elders agreed to provide the resources to permit the storage of emergency fuel, especially wood for the stoves. Kerosene and fuel oil were also stored, along with some gasoline (for the generators).
Most of the villagers were queuing up for these rations, so there will be a need to replenish these supplies soon. A move to reusable sources is expected to bring windmills and solar panels to this community by the end of the year. |
NEW ETRIA: Eritreans celebrate the long-running and ancient Feast Of The Brethren.
No Eritrean born shall ever forget the mad winter of 1642, in which thousands of Secaucans, escaping famine in nearby Uluu, overwhelmed the villages with refugees.
The villager still honor that memory with a special gathering and feast. Members of the local hunting communities are known for their friendly and empathetic response to need. Although charity is not even defined in their language, it is clearly an integral part of their amazing culture.
SAO TOME: The Tongas Terrapins find refuge in the Turbo factory in Uluu.
Mizhe Oonu lead her people in a thanksgiving prayer once the refugees were settled. The expectation is that once the flood waters recede, the roads will be repaired and the routes throught the bush will be reopened so that commerce between villages can resume.
* There are over 2100 and by some counts over 3000 languages spoken natively in Africa[1][2] in several major language families:
Afroasiatic (Hamito-Semitic) spread throughout the Middle East, North
Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of the Sahel
Nilo-Saharan is centered on Sudan and Chad (disputed validity)
Niger–Congo (Bantu) covers West, Central, and Southeast Africa
Khoe is concentrated in the deserts of Namibia and Botswana
Austronesian on Madagascar.
Indo-European on the southern tip of the continent.