Tag Archives: Africa

Fascinating_People, Travel

The Path to Ginde Beret

Leave a comment
3 men in Ginde Beret
Three men welcomed us on the path to Ginde Beret.

I wanted to see the places in Africa that Dr. Tom Coleman spoke about so often, and in the spring of 2016 I booked a trip to Ethiopia. In Addis Ababa I met my translator and chauffer. We had a lot of places to see so we left the city early the next morning. Leaving Addis Ababa, we drove west for about an hour and then turned north, up through the mountains and a beautiful forest. The air was crisp and sweet and the forest was brimming with wildlife. At first the gravel road was wide and even, but it gradually became worse. It was about 120 km across the mountain but, with big rocks and large holes in the road, it took us several hours before we came to the small village of Kachise.

Our goal was to get to Ginde Beret, where Dr. Coleman had worked most of his time in Ethiopia. From Kachise the best route was to walk down a steep footpath to the valley below. There was, my chauffer told me, a road, but it went way out of the way and wasn’t at all in as “good” condition as the road we had just come by, so the decision was easy. I wondered if anyone in the village remembered Dr. Tom Coleman and his family who had lived there during the 1960’s and 70’s.

We arrived in Kachise before dark and checked into the hotel. Well, they called it a hotel; it was really not more than a shed. The toilet was a hole in the ground and there was no running water. The room we were givien was small and dirty and the mattress was lumpy and hard. I pulled out my travel sheets and crawled into bed. We needed to get an early start in the morning.

We were up at sunrise, ate a quick breakfast, a couple of eggs and tea, before beginning our trek through back allies and out to the edge of the cliff where the serpentine path wriggled down the ravine. We stood for a moment on the edge and looked down at the little village of Ginde Beret far below. A great surprise was waiting for us down there. No one has yet forgotten the miracle doctor, Tom Coleman, who saved the lives of thousands of suffering people.

We were four people in our group when we began walking down the trail, myself, my friend, Stefan Jansson from Sweden, our translator and a guide. But within minutes we were joined by more and more people who offered to carry our equipment and camera bags. I don’t know where they all came from; they seemed to appear out of nowhere. Our little troop was transformed into a caravan with people all eager to help. The path was steep with large rocks strewn here and there. Some portions had been repaired with large stone steps that made it easier to step safely. Tall trees lined the path giving us shelter from the sun. Baboons and other wildlife wandered nearby, watching us curiously.

Coming down into the valley we met people on their way up the path to Kachise. Many people from Ginde Beret climb the steep path daily to go to school, work or shopping. Suddenly there were three men standing on the path in front of us. As we came nearer I noticed that they were missing fingers and their faces had been badly marred by leprosy. Without hesitating they reached out, one after the other, to shake our hands in welcome. Their fingerless hands felt soft in mine, but it was a peculiar sensation. It was the first real encounter with a leper.

When asked if they had ever heard of Dr. Tom Coleman, they all began talking at once. Dr. Coleman! It had been 50 years since they last met him, but Dr. Coleman had saved their lives. I realized that many people in Ginde Beret indeed remembered the Colemans. They asked, “Is he coming back soon? Are you one of his children?” I explained that I was a good friend of Dr. Coleman and that I wanted to film in the village and show it to Dr. Coleman. We spent a whole day in the village and they showed us all the places where the Coleman family had lived and worked, and where the children, Judy and Bill, had played. A visit from a friend of the Coleman’s was cause for a celebration. I felt humbled by the reception we received in Ginde Beret and it gave me a greater understanding of the impact Dr. Tom and Elaine Coleman had made in Africa between 1956 and 2004. The name Coleman is spoken with great respect in Ginde Beret. It represents people who sacrificed their own comfort and prosperity to save the lives of thousands of suffering people.

Don’t miss the premiere of the film and the chance to meet the Coleman family. April 22 in Cambridge, MN. Tickets available online or at the door. More information at cameraQ.com

Namibia

Real Adventures

Leave a comment
Himba girl with goat
Young Himba girl with her favourite goat

One of the popular Christmas gifts for 2016 was VR-gear, a mask or headset that you wear to experience worlds or places that may or may not exist. We live in an era where many people avoid venturing out to experience true adventures in places that actually exist. How did that happen? Have we become so bored with our protected and comfortable lives that we need to seek adventure in a fantasy world where we needn’t sweat, freeze or experience anything real? What kind of effect will this virtual reality have on our ability to empathize with actual experiences and genuine emotions?

While working in different countries I’ve come across cultures and people living without the conveniences we take for granted. Aborigines in Australia, Veddas on Sri Lanka, the Maasai in Tanzania, and the Inuit in Alaska all share one thing in common – they live close to nature and have often chosen to live without the gadgets we deem necessary to make our lives simpler, more comfortable and “adventurous”.

In Namibia, in southwestern Africa, I was fascinated by the young Himba children who, at only 6 years of age, work as goatherds. School in Namibia is not mandatory and many of the Himba children living in remote areas have no opportunity to attend classes, others are not allowed to because they are needed to herd the family’s goats. It is their task until they are 12 – 13 years old.

After sunrise, when they have eaten their corn porridge, the children gather the 100-200 goats and drive them out into the wilderness. Sometimes they have to wander far in search of food and water for their herd. For protection from snakes and predators, like leopards and sometimes lions, they carry a big stick, which they soon become very proficient at handling. These children have no need for expensive gadgets to experience virtual excitement; their lives are quite adventurous already. In the evening, when they return to the village, it’s time to milk the goats. Goat milk is an important part of the Himbas rather limited diet, which otherwise consists primarily of corn meal porridge.

While shooting the footage for our film, ”Himba – the Red People” now premiering in Sweden, we spent many weeks in a Himba village without toilets, electricity, water or shelter from the penetrating sun. We slept, worked and ate on the ground, which was covered in layers of dung from hundreds of cattle and goats. Revolting at first, we soon became accustomed to it. Christofer Wärnlöf, anthropologist and researcher, who worked with us on this film, says that animal dung is considered a valuable asset rather than a problem. Christofer speaks from experience since he lived with the Himbas for years while studying their culture. They are no more bothered by cow dung than we are of leaves falling from the trees. It is also an essential building material. All of the huts in the village are constructed with branches and a mixture of cow dung, sand and water. During drought, when the cattle are driven away from the village, the huts deteriorate from lack of materials for repairs.

The Himba people have an almost inexplicable joy that can be difficult to understand. We would find their living conditions intolerable and their lives monotonous. And what about those little kids, wandering in the desert with their goats – isn’t that dangerous? Well…I asked the elders in the village, but no one could recall any fatalities. After getting a taste of the stick the goatherds handle so prodigiously, any predator would probably think twice before getting too close. Hot, dusty, tedious – but at any given moment they might stop what they’re doing and dance! No music, no instruments – just clapping their hands to a rhythm.

The sights, the sounds, the smells, and the people – it was real; it was adventurous! Not something you can find in a box. I have friends and colleagues who have challenged themselves with incredible feats like bicycling across continents, climbing mountains or sailing around the world – hot, dusty, and tedious. They all say they had the time of their lives! So no, I don’t think last years #1 Christmas present is anything for me.