Africa Vision 3

Africa Vision 3

N’djamena, November 12, 2007

Struck by a motorbike.

As if I am in India. What a gastronomic heaven it has been the last few days. Dal, rice, potol, luchis. Even Diwali has been celebrated. Today was a day of exploration. I think I found a statue of Mahatma Gandhi. At least it was a figure bent forward walking with a long cane. As there was nobody near and the gate was firm and contained barbed wire I decided to wait a future opportunity. The statue did resemble the one I found in Mexico City. A formidable place to meditate that was with the squirrels hopping around. Here I need to investigate what colors the squirrels are. Do these animals live on all continents and in all countries? A mystery soon to be explored. I walked around the city center and it was remarkably quiet.

Good fortune came my way when some colleagues from IMC popped up. In our disco mobile we went to the club across the river. Plantation is jam packed but only open on Sundays. A preliminary shyness (15 minutes) and then I was off to terrorize the dance floor. This club is known to turn as if it is a scene from “From Dusk till dawn” At about 17.00 it is time to move as everyone is drunk and the big mafia boys and girls roll in to the club. The open-air disco by then is twice maximum capacity. Time to boogie. As we left a 12 year old was either busy stealing a motorbike, or he v=never drove a bike before or he was drunk or all of the above what matters to me that I ended up being his break. Yet I must says the roads in Africa are getting safer. In Burundi, my first job, the first accident took place after about 30 minutes in the country. A car smashed into the doors side I was sitting at. The accident led to two totaled vehicles and a smirking Ashis. Here at least all that happened was a 12 year old grimacing that he was in control, profusely apologizing after seeing whom he crashed into.

I have found the chess program on this computer and it is a sobering experience being squashed game after game. I need to find human competition. Playing more at my level. Had a good discussion about our meeting of tomorrow at UNICEF. A large deal of the success of the projects and the future of Africa Vision will depend on the signing of the agreement. Funds will flow in, staff can be hired, cars bought, the office opened, drugs, materials ordered. There is a pile of things to do. But first, first let us have a good meeting tomorrow morning.

Next week there may also be meetings with an oil company who want to sponsor a local NGO in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention, the university where I want teach young doctors public health/infectious disease, several other NGO’s (as not to reinvent all wheels) Potential new staff members will be interviewed, an office needs to be found and a field trip to the South of Chad will be planned.
More inch Allah tomorrow.

Ashis Brahma
Main brake to motorcycle

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