Caravan Dispatches - Flashback -Leaving Durban

Written on 5^th December 2011

Durban. Courtesy of celsias.com

I am writing this as we leave Durban and head into Pretoria. It has been a wonderful week full of activities. I sit here and think  to myself how beautiful to have gotten involved in such a historic moment…a road trip through 10 countries.

 The Trans African Caravan of Hope is indeed first of a kind in this continent. To be part of history, is to know you contributed to something positive in the continent. I have heard people say on several occasions, we wondered if you would ever make it. I guess when we started out we didn’t think how engaging this trip would be. I have seen people at their lowest and their best. I have witnessed kindness from caravanites one to another that was not expected.

One of the most beautiful thing is to witness a melting of the different communities into one African melting pot that is the Caravan of Hope. Last night one of the caravanites told me how they will miss everyone and how going  back by road will give them time to appreciate all that participated. See that is the thing. This morning someone told me, ‘l feel so sorry for you guys and the distance you have to cover.’ ‘Well ,’ l quipped knowingly, ‘it is shorter compared to what we covered on our way in.’

What people don’t get is that we almost are unaware of the distances. We are glad that we did this. The distance is long but we are glad that we were part of history.

By Maria Wanza