Would you go to Botswana (read this)

dejr_8

<font color=CC00FF>DIS Veteran<br><font color=33CC
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This posting was on C*****list. Would you do something like this????

It would a great PR deal for Disney if they could organize something like this. It would be an extension of "Adventures by Disney" but with a humanitarian bent.


We want your labor. This is our proposal: You provide your labor and building skills for approximately 5 hours of work per day. In exchange, we will provide a daily safari of approximately 3 to 4 hours, plus even night drives...and we will provide room and board.

Tuli Tamara Lodge is an 8000 hectare game farm in the Tuli Game Reserve located in the extreme south east corner of Botswana (search Tuli Block), and it is in the process of major reconstruction. Our ultimate goal is to have a lodge facility that will offer affordable safari adventure vacations to those who cannot afford the $500+ charges of the luxury lodges offered in this region.

We need hard working, enthusiastic, and creative people to assist with our planned transformation. We do not have deep pockets, and we are not funded by some major worldwide resort chain. There is not enough local skilled and semi-skilled labor in the region, and we cannot afford to import a construction firm, so this is the reason why we offer this proposal to you.

Your monetary expense: you will have to buy your round trip transportation to Johannesburg, South Africa. From then on we will cover all daily expenses. From Joburg, we will drive the 6 hours to the Tuli Block. We’ll arrive just in time to have a nice sundowner and get settled in. The next day (and six days a week), we will head out in the game viewer and experience our first safari. Three or four hours later, we’re back at the lodge, eat lunch and have a bit of a sit down, then we begin work.

What kind of people do we seek and what kind of skills should you have? You are woman or man. You are of an adult of any age. You are fit. You are industrious and willing to put in 5 hours of respectable work 6 days a week. You have worked some kind of construction either as a profession or around your own house. You are adventurous (to consider this offer is a good indicator). You can take direction. You can get along with others and accept being part of a team. As far as construction skills, experience in masonry and tiling is needed first off. If you have other skills such as carpentry, electrical and plumbing..we want you. If you have no skills, but are willing to provide manual labor in carrying brick and making mortar, we might have a place for you. Tell us what you can do.

The Tuli game farm is a dream, and we have to share the dream with others. It has never had an income, and it has become a big financial drain. Wildlife has flourished on this large tract for years while other farms have killed it off to graze cattle and goats. To keep this paradise alive, we must transform the farm into one that produces enough to keep the wildlife safe from poachers.

How much more can I say here? I can write pages, but if you have an interest, shoot me an email. I don’t know what kind of response I’ll get from this ad, but I know that I would have rushed a query if I’d read it 30 years ago!! I think I’d like to have 4, 5, or 6 people at a time. The accommodation is double occupancy, so I would like to have 2 men or 2 women per room. The daily activity will be an early rise, grab coffee and a bite, then head out for a drive...actually, you may want to stay in and see the tuskers that visit the waterhole at the fence line. Back from a drive and a rest and food...then work. All meals, cooking and cleaning, are shared activities.

What info do I need from you? I would like the first group to arrive probably April. If you can’t get away then, tell me when you can come as I expect there will be several construction groups. Tell me how long you can stay....3 weeks to 4 weeks would be the target...tell me if you are thinking longer. I need you to be flexible with your travel dates. Everyone must be able to coordinate through me as it is not possible to have some wanting 2 weeks and others 4 weeks.

I need to know your skills. Tell me all that you can so that I can plan around that.

The best thing you can do is to let me know YOU.

Enough for now....WRITE ME...and don’t be shy with supplying information and dreams.

Do you have any medical training? Well, we might have an offer for you as well. Botswana is a very poor country, and the government cannot provide many basic services to a large percentage of the rural population. We have been given government approval to open a medical clinic, and we will be doing so as one of our first projects. This clinic is funded solely by us and by our medical friends in South Africa. We will provide basic primary care to anyone and will do so at no cost. This means building the physical structure as well as providing the medical supplies and equipment. Only one of us is a medical professional, so it would be great if we find someone else with any type of medical training who could be on call. Come on, tell us!
 
My niece spent last fall studying abroad in Botswana. It was a very eye opening experience for her. She enjoyed it a lot. But she also enjoys triathlons. :crazy:
 
That sounds really cool.... if I could get away for that long I'd seriously consider it!
 
That would be amazing if it werent too good to be true!
 

We wouldn't go, because once you travel to anywhere on the continent of Africa, even for a few hours, you are forever precluded from donating blood again. EVER.

There are plenty of humanitarian volunteer opportunities right here in the US. If you are interested, you can contact Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross, and many others. For information: http://www.volunteermatch.org/

Anne
 
I did something kind of similar to this in South Africa through Earthwatch. We basically assisted in the search for Blue Swallows and nests throughout the Northern Province. There was no manual labor besides climbing the mountains and crawling into the holes in the ground. Direty and tiring work, but well worth it. Earthwatch offers opportunities to do the environmental assistance like this throughout the world
 
I wouldn't be able to get away for an extended period of time at this stage in my life, but it's definitely something I would seriously consider if I were in better shape.
 
I have always wanted to go to africa, south africa, so yes I would if i could. I am very much loking forward to the world cup there in 2010, i am saving up a lot..lol..
 
How fascinating. Don't show this to my DH because he is a skilled carpenter, and he would seriously consider it.

I would be afraid it is either some sort of hoax, or that the living conditions would be terrible, or that this guy is a rapist and ax murdered who would cut me up into tiny pieces and feed me to the tuskers.

Denae
 
I have been to Botswana twice. I can only say this. Botswana is the ONLY place I have ever been where I was sure I was seeing the earth as it was created. I have been to other countries in Africa and many other wilderness and adventure spots. Once you have thoroughly checked out this company or are sure that if you get there and it's bad, you can find other activity, do it.
 
We wouldn't go, because once you travel to anywhere on the continent of Africa, even for a few hours, you are forever precluded from donating blood again. EVER.

Anne


From the redcross.org on blood donations:

Travel Outside of U.S., Immigration
Wait 12 months after travel in an area where malaria is found. Wait 3 years after living in a country where malaria is found. Persons who have spent long periods of time in countries where "mad cow disease" is found are not eligible to donate. This requirement is related to concerns about variant Creutzfeld Jacob Disease (vCJD). Learn more about vCJD and donation. Persons who were born in or who lived in certain countries in Western Africa, or who have had close contact with persons who were born in or who lived in certain West African countries are not eligible to donate. This requirement is related to concerns about HIV Group O. Learn more about HIV Group O, and the specific African countries where it is found.
In-Depth Discussion of HIV Group O and Blood Donation

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the virus that causes AIDS. The virus can be transmitted through blood transfusion, so all donor programs are required to question donors about possible HIV exposure, and to test donated blood for this virus.

There is a rare form of HIV called Type O that is found in western Africa. The available tests for HIV do not always detect the Type O strain. This means that blood programs must take special precautions to keep this virus out of the blood supply by not taking blood donations from those who have been where the virus is found.

Persons who were born in or lived in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Niger and Nigeria since 1977 cannot be blood donors. The Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for supervising the safety of the American blood supply, put this requirement in place in 1996. The requirement applies to all blood donation programs, including that of the American Red Cross. The list of countries with HIV Type O risk is based on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where experts monitor infections worldwide.

It is possible that the tests used to screen donated blood may someday be improved so that they detect Type O HIV. If so, these donation restrictions may be removed
 


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