Poor Alfani

Last Sunday a boy from my homeroom class, Alfani was getting out of the local transport, a daladala and the driver took off before he was fully out. Somehow (he doesn't remember) his leg was broken in two.

He is now in hospital in Arusha in a lot of pain.

I've been to see him a few times, but the first visit was also the first time I've been into a developing country's local hospital. I should have known what sort of things to expect - 2 in one bed, filthy, no food or water provided, no pain killers provided etc. I should have thought about all of those things but I didn't and so I was a bit shocked on arrival. Luckily, Alfani was asleep that first time.

The second time I went, he was awake and very happy to see me. While I was there a Dr came along and tied a bag of weights (how do they know how much weight?) to a nail-like peice of steel they had inserted through the lower part of the bone the day before. The Dr then hung the bag of weights over the end of the bed to try and pull the bone back into place. I nearly passed out. Alfani was in so much pain but was so brave. I gave his mum some money so she could buy some pain killers for him but really I just wanted to take him out of there and find somewhere better... maybe there is nowhere better.

Anyway, it has really affected me so I thought I'd share it. I'm going to see him as much as I can because he really loves the company - there are only 3 visiting times in the day and no one is allowed to stay with him overnight. His mum is always there when I go and has only been grateful. It really hits hard though when you get face to face with the poverty in yet another way.

Inside the Ngorongoro Crater

the markets on the way home

driving through the zebra
dust rising
burn shadow
the large 'shadow' is actually the burnt area
buffalo skull
The guinea fowl crossing
The burnt out National Park land - one cigarette the week before we were there
Circling vultures

Lots of wildebeast
Wildebeast
A cheetah is standing in the middle of the picture
The dot in the middle of the photo is a cheetah
A big vulture on an old kill (old as in hours)
A vulture
The skeleton of a very large dead elephant, only died 2 weeks ago of old age... it still stank
I recognised this as the waterhole that featured on the Australian Story of Gemma and the School of St Jude, there are hippos in the back ground

hot lions
Buffalo and zebra sharing the waterhole with the hippos

More lions! Couldn't believe my luckYes! The hippos are moving!
We waited ages for a hippo to even move, let alone yawn. No yawning that time
Hippos in a pool with the crater dust rising behind

Going Down into the Crater

A very large male lion sleeping in the grass with his dinner grazing behind him

me and a sleepy lion
A sleepy lion
Buffalo
The tired out hyena - the ostrich chased him away
A female ostrich
An angry ostrich chasing a hyena
Wildebeast
The dust rising inside the crater
up and off
the lion lying near the wheel
If you look carefully you can see a large male lion lying next to the white car's right side wheel
A zebra crossing
The cattle
The Maasai bringing their cattle down into the crater for a once-a-day drink, the only water available, then they trek back up and out again
Raymond, getting the roof off the car
At the back of the crater before the sun hits in early morning

A Leopard! Just before leaving!

The freezing campsite on the rim of the crater in Ngorongoro National Park. Wild pigs came around in the night Very cold
Wild donkeys in the rough terrain near Ngorongoro Crater
Driving through the local Maasai regions from Serengeti to Ngorongoro


There is actually a leopard in this tree but we couldn't get close enough to really see it at first as there were 16 other safari vehicles all around.

You can kind of see the leopard
these are all the other cars - there are severe fines if you drive off the track and the driver is then banned from all National Parks for several months but here it seemed like the risk was worth it as there was not much else around to look at.
I just loved these trees The leopard is right in the centre of this photo - we came back after lunch and there were no vehicles and still the leopard remainedThere he is and you can just see his kill in the tree below him in the picture - a Thompson's Gazelle
this was the illustration on the wall at the visitor's centre