Sirge approached me in broken English. Cigarette, yes please. What you like? Beautiful ladies? Ariary yes, I get? With body and sign language, I managed to convey the message to my newfound friend, that I am not in his country for a hedonistic experience but to bring hope and smiles.
I had butterflies swarming out of my mouth and ears as I arrived at O.R Tambo International Airport. Not that I have a fear of flying or going through customs, for a tested traveller as myself that is simply formalities. This bug like symptoms accompanies me on every new adventure – the facing of the unknown. My travel companions have been summoned from across the globe with one goal in mind to change lives and bring hope. This being my maiden mission as part of the Operation Smile volunteer team, I made a rookie mistake. Not realizing that it is my life that would be changed and with a little surgery and some tears an irreversible paradigm shift would occur. Leaving me with an open heart and an everlasting smile.
The organization Operation Smile was started 1982 by Dr. William Magee and his wife, Kathleen, a registered nurse. On a Medical volunteer mission to the Philippines to repair children’s cleft lips and palates. The devastating number of children with terrible deformities touched the Magee’s in such away that they promised to return shiftily. Their experience and overpowering emotions gave birth the organization Operation Smile. Working with volunteers from across the globe bringing one smile at a time to the children of the world.
It is one thing to be known in your own country as yapenga mulungu, the crazy white fellow (after all there is a lot of us), but you start to question your own sanity when you walk down the streets of Antananarivo, Madagascar and are greeted by the locals ”Salama Vaza Adalla” (Peace be with you crazy foreigner).
Daniel is a substance farmer. He works with his hands, providing for his family of six. Rice, coconuts, tomatoes and a zebu (cattle) or two. The father and his son of fourteen travelled over forty kilometres on foot. Challenging the winding pathway that is Madagascar. Sleeping in the field next to the road and enduring the elements, in the hope of obtaining a smile for his son.
It’s a dog’s life in Antananarivo. People live, eat and do everything on the street. Rasija or Jabu (meaning the happy one: a nickname the South Africans gave her) along with her mother and older sibling, can bear witness to survival on the streets. Jabu was born with a severe facial cleft in a rural village. Madagascar is an interesting country filled with strange beliefs and rituals. On the day of her birth, her father’s family swore to kill this unfortunate deformed child. In a biblical fashion, a mother fled into the night with her young ones on her back, heading for the safety of the streets of the City of the Thousand.
Song and dance is part of the universal language that all human beings understand. This was proven once again in Madagascar when an angry mob, sitting in the blazing sun for over three days, waiting in anticipation to hear if their children have made the smile list. However, before they reached boiling point, they where disarmed by a crazy foreigner. Equipped with a Vuvuzela and Wielie Wielie Walie (an Afrikaans children song) the Vaza Adala emerged and charmed the Malagasy people into song, dance and laughter.
After the performance on the hospital lawns, even his team members began referring to him as the crazy foreigner. Thus, it came as quite a shock, when on day three of surgery, walking through the wards; I hear a familiar voice calling me on my first name. Although it sounded more like an order: “UNDRESS” I knew the voice belonged to my friend Sirge. Sitting on a hospital bed. Next to his wife and son with a new smile. He besieged me to give them something they’ve never had. A family portrait.
Never judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes. A challenging task in Madagascar, since it’s only the wealthy and middleclass that knows the luxury of owning a pair of shoes. With a mirror and borrowed shoes Daniel and his son will
return to their village victorious and smiling.
True to her name, baby Jabu awoke after major surgery with a smile from ear to ear. It
is still a long road to recovery. Fortunately for this happy baby and her brave mother, miracles do happen. Even if baby Jabu still needs to undergo more surgery in the near
future, a kind Samaritan has taken pity on them, opening his heart and home.
Madagascar is the forth largest Island in the world. The isle boasts with ten thousand endemic plant species and of course the imaginative lemurs. Not forgetting the alluring climate and in some parts desolated beaches and untouched wilderness. Along with a very week currency, making it a very attractive tourist destination.
There are many reasons to travel to and visit Antananarivo, Madagascar. The undulating landscape, covered with a sea of Jacarandas. The always open dodgy Karaoke bars, even the local cuisine and refreshing three horse’s beer, might be reason enough. However travellers be warned. There is an old proverb that lingers in the minds of the Malagasy people “Don't bypass a town where there's a friend”.
Taking everything in their stride (island style) the operation smile team, successfully departed from their third mission to Antananarivo with a thousand friends smiling.
In South Africa today security plays a vital part in any business or private home. This book and the volumes to follow, will guide you step by step through the essential precautionary measures to be taken in protecting your family and valuables. From employing security guards, evacuation of your site and security measures to burglar bars and alarms in your private home.
a Book compiled by me from experience gained after 10 years in the security industry as Industrial relations officer with Nosa qualifications, 1st Aid, fire protection and also S.O.B. grade A.
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