The EXPEDITION Project 2012 – March 2012
It’s been nearing 3 months since we last spoke to The EXPEDITION Project team.
We caught up with them recently, eager to find out how the past 72 days on the road had panned out. A couple of tanned, happy but slightly worn out looking individuals met us in Bray, a small little town smack bang on the Botswana border. This seemed like an ideal opportunity to catch up with a small team of dedicated travellers as they had just completed stage 2 of their 2012 expedition.
To bring you up to speed, TEP is a non profit organisation that aims to visit 200 of the smaller towns along the perimeter route of South African 365 days. Quite a mean feat that these 2 are undertaking but you only get an aura of positivism when they talk about the project.
It will not always be Roger and Maddy on the expedition during 2012, as for periods of time project sponsors and partners will be joining them on the road, in order to further develop initiatives around the country. Roger (32, from Cape Town) and Maddy (23, from London) both have charity backgrounds, a passion for travelling and a love forAfrica. It is these reasons that make them the perfect team for this mission. The EXPEDITION Project doesn’t end with just the 2 of them however –it is supported by Place in the Sun (a new Distell wine placed in Stellenbosch), Pam Golding (based inCape Town), Jam Factory Advertising (based in Kynsna), Fairtrade Label South Africa(based inCape Town). The project is also grateful to have equipment sponsored by Quiksilver and Bushwacker and to have the expertise of Firestarter Media, Virtuvent and Open Africa at hand.
Sitting in Riverside restaurant on Bray’s main road (as main as a road can get in a small town), we asked Roger and Maddy to sum up the last few months for us. “Hot, bumpy and dusty” was Maddy’s response –said however in a very cheerful tone. “On a serious note though, it’s been wonderful. The support we have been given and the information we have gained has been invaluable”, she continued. Roger added, “It has definitely been successful so far but I still think we’re mad in deciding to undertake such a mammoth task! It’s something that wouldn’t have been possible though without the help of the 50 accommodation establishments and numerous food establishments that have helped us along the way so far”. When asked what the hardest part of the trip so far had been, the consensus was unanimous, “the bloody car”. Although Roger had purchased a 4X4 Isuzu trooper for the journey (named Chris), he had slightly been lagging in the hot weather and had had to have many a trip to the doctors.
Parts of TEP’s tasks are to find successful stories as well as aspects of the towns that aren’t working efficiently. Roger and Maddy have told us that what has been discovered so far is not entirely what they had expected. Instead of hearing about problems of education and crime, the majority of towns had raised concern for alcohol and drug abuse. The first shop that they would discover on arrival in a new town, even the tiny ones, was a ‘drankwinkel’. Some towns purely consisted of a petrol pump, a police station and a drankwinkel. The ‘All Pay’ system present in South Africa is also hugely frowned upon by many locals and a lot of people would like to see it gone, or at very least re-assessed.
But what about success stories? Well, there may not be a surplus of environmental projects, but it seems that the Department of Social Development are making an effort in supporting many initiatives in the smaller communities. “We have found a lot of towns, especially those which are smaller than others, have a well functioning drop in centre or youth development programme running” says Maddy. The Department of Health also seems to be on the program as HIV and TB awareness signs can be found in even the most remote of areas. In Bray for example, the HIV rate is approximately 80% which the local ‘Love Life’ centre is doing their best to educate the community about. It seems the battles are being fought but the war is long from being won. It is great to see that crime is not as much of an issue outside the big cities, tourism is being welcomed with open arms and South African smiles, for which we are so famous, can be seen daily.
“So where to from here” we asked the team. “We don’t want people thinking that this is a once off trip, a feel good campaign that we all know has been done time and time again acrossAfrica. We are unique in that we will be embarking on these trips yearly, adding more towns each trip and documenting more information as we go”. We also learnt that the only 2 provinces not to be visited in 2012 will be theFree State and Gauteng, leaving a lot of work for 2013!
From Bray, they will be continuing to hug the northern border as much as possible until they reach Limpopo, then moving South East to Mpumalanga and Kwa-Zulu Natal, before the long costal Eastern stretch before back to Cape Town at the end of the year. In order for the project to work, not only this year but in the years to come, Roger, Maddy and TEP team need not only participation from the communities that they visit but the online help from you wherever you may be across the world. When asked, “what is the best way for people to help”, Roger emphasised their website, their Facebook page,and their SMS campaign, of which contributions go towards petrol. All you need to do is SMS the words ‘ShowMe’ as well as your name and the name of your town to 36764 to sponsor a kilometre of their journey and stand a chance of winning monthly prizes.
Roger and Maddy are 2 dedicated individuals who are genuinely happy to be devoting their time to better the country of South Africa. Roger’s words, “we wouldn’t be doing anything else”, end our conservation. Speak to you in 3 months guys, and good luck.”