Exped Namibia 07 Yam Wing Sze, Sze

Raleigh life is about:

10 weeks eating porridge, biscuit and maize

10 weeks staying in the tents under minus degree temperature

10 weeks toileting in long drop

10 weeks lacking of washing

BUT

Raleigh life is also about:

10 weeks watching sunrises and sunsets in desert

10 weeks experiencing a totally different and unique life from Hong Kong

10 weeks working and making friends with Africans, British's and Bermudians

10 weeks contributing to a community in need

10 weeks creating a fantastic memory in life

And much more than you can imagine…

Last summer, I went to Namibia and participated in a 10 weeks Raleigh expedition project. And I realized I am one of the luckiest people in the world!

Over 50 children rushing to new playground at the same time

In the first phase, my group built a playground for Otavi School . The playground would be beneficial to the Orphans and Vulnerable Children who have been orphaned or marginalised as a result of HIV / Aids and general poverty.

When we completed the playground (which includes climbing frames, swings, slides, monkey bars, stepping stones, seesaw), w e all felt SUPER as we constructed a decent playground within 3 weeks from nothing!

Apart from construction work, we also did some teaching. We played with those lovely children and taught them Maths. I cannot forget that 10 children wanted to climb on my back and over 50 children rushed to the playground right after the opening ceremony!

Diamond Forever

In the second phase, we worked for “Ministry of Environment and Tourism” of Namibia and worked in Sperrgebiet, where offers exceptional scenery with coastline, desert and mountains. Most of the area is open to only those who hold a Diamond Permit, and it is one of the last true wilderness areas on the planet. This restriction area has been untouched for nearly a century and now has the world–wide reputation as a bio–diversity hot spot.

That is why Raleigh has been involved in several projects there so as to help Sperrgebiet become another sites for education and scientific research. We renewed the tourist campsite and cleaned up toxic water pool in desert. Surprisingly, we also had the chance to visit the restricted Diamond Area and heard many stories about diamond mining. 

Oh ! We found wild Elephants ! Yes, but please move your tents to uphill to prevent their attack!

In the last phase, we t rekked 240kms through the majestic ephemeral river beds of the Goantagab and Ugab rivers. We encountered imposing canyons and impressive geology before crossing extensive desert plains on our journey to the Atlantic Ocean . Walking through untouched wilderness and camping under fantastic African sky was an experience to me to remember forever.

We needed to wake up at 4:30am every morning in order to reach the next campsite quickly before the sun was on the top. So we could see the sunrise / sunset everyday! During trekking, the scene kept changing everyday and the weather was so extreme. We experienced the super dry, hot and strong sunny days, and also windy, humid and cold weathers there. One of the high point in this phase was we saw wild elephants near our campsite (though we needed to move our tents uphill in dark because of this “elephant–alert”)!

PEOPLE

All people I met here were nice and lovely! I made many friends. Although sometimes I could not understand their English (especially the Scottish guys, hee), and needed to overcome a little culture difference but we all had a good time together.

Many local Namibians still live in desert, stay in a so–called “houses” made by sticks and leaves, still sharing the desert with wild elephants, leopard, etc. The orphans (playground phase) came to school on their own. They did not have any relatives to accompany them even in the opening ceremony. I felt so lucky to be born in HK. And it was such an honor to work in Namibia .

Another peak — stay behind journey

Because of the expedition, I flew to a continent which is far from my home. After finishing the projects, I kept on traveling with another Venturer, Rainbow. We went to eastern Africa and headed up north to Egypt . In this three and half month's journey, we saw and learnt a lot! So, Raleigh not just gave me the chance to serve people in need, to refresh myself and also encourage me to explore the world!

Hongkie, please sleep more… in order to make dream!

Hong Kong people are too busy, have too much pressure, so they all get a syndrome — insomnia, and cannot make dreams. Stop finding excuses, if you WANT to jump out of the box, and make a little difference to the world (and to yourself), let's DO it ~

Let's finish by quoting our Namibia project director's speech, “Keep on dreaming and creating more memories. It makes us human.”

Happy Lunar New Year

Yam Wing Sze, Sze