Your Letters for Jan. 3, 2025

Africa

My wife and I had the good fortune to visit Africa on a 14-day Safari through some of its vast areas of the country, 111.7m sq. miles, and 1,528,432,247 people.

The people were very friendly, helpful and willing to help us however they could. I think we kind of stood out. One of most amazing things I came home with is the “children,” as we passed through the small villages. They would run to the side of the highway, shout at us and wave — with the biggest smiles you have ever seen — it was truly an uplifting experience!

As they were usually surrounded by poverty, some in grass huts or makeshift buildings, and water that they had to get in 5-gallon containers and then carry them home. Women are seen carrying large loads of whatever on their back or strapped to head/shoulders. Their living conditions were depressing to see, but the children with their wide smiles and waves helped lift me up.

Ever see four guys on a motorcycle? We did. How about sacks/bags/crates piled about 5’ high and 4’ wide on the back of bike, even lumber!

There were hundreds of family-run fruit stands along the highway when we came into a populated area, all selling the same things. I asked, how can they survive? We were told many of them were like wholesalers, from a family farm, dug by hand holes, women working in the fields to areas of major green houses with equipment. Their chief exports are pineapples, flowers, coffee, tea, and canola oil.

We traveled to many game reserves/sanctuaries and “did” get see the big five of animals—lions, elephant, cheetahs, buffalo, and the rhino, plus thousands of other types in the open fields. We even got to watch a Cheetah try to run down a Gazelle, as her pride of five watched from a distance — talk about fast… they ran right behind our vehicle.

We were in cities and small villages. There was no A/C, T.V or phones in the rooms. At one of our rooms, we got to watch in the mornings the baboons chase each other and fight and even get on the roof right above us. They are mean mothers!

Everyday into the land rovers we went off to find that “special” five, the roads very bad, not “pot” holes but craters, dirt roads through the parks. If you had fillings in your teeth, better close your mouth. The highways/roads had these big “speed bumps;” they looked about 12” high and 5’-6’ wide. Then there were the police on the highway with major nail strips to stop the trucks where they were checking for insurance and papers to do business.

The highways mostly were good as crews with hand tools fixed the back roads and the major one got to use equipment. I asked them why the roads were so bad, and all the driver would say is the “new” president is not keeping his promise to fix the roads —seems the money “not” finding its way to them. The highways were used by the people to walk from one place to another. The sheep and cattle grazed right up next to the road! Passing was an experience, especially if you had a front row seat— I did — and prayed a lot — “get over quick!”

I thought drivers in Italy were dangerous, these people take the cake — pure guts and the hope the other guy slows down. Oh, of course I asked about, “insurance,” yes, they had to have it or risk going to jail if they had an accident. Unemployment runs from 1% up to 30% depending on your location. They have a form of unemployment. Drugs, the wide use of cannabis, cocaine, heroin, so we are not alone there! Crime rate in the Kenya area (most of our time) was around 55.9. Trash, yes, there was trash in the smaller rural area, but not as bad as I thought it would be.

Guess who is their largest trading partner — bingo — China. In the large cities, the driver said a house could cost 112,000 euros and up! They have both private and public schools — of course public gets government help. Health care — public providers, private non-profit, private for-profit. Religion, the country is said to be 85% religious. Poverty 2024 — 429M living in poverty. And yes, they have homeless, about 4.5M. Fuel-diesel at $6.80-gal, gas-$5.52 gal. Windmills, 8654 of them, very costly for them, solar 7.791 MW.

Some countries have a minimum wage, the major ones — like Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia and Tanzania.

And I could not pass up this one — what did they think about Obama. Even some Obama loyalists acknowledge he has fallen short on Africa — grudgingly admitting via backhanded compliment that the continent is the one place in the world where Bush was strong, while they focused on cleaning up after him everywhere else.

There many from St. Joseph on this trip and we all agree that it is a long way home from the “good old United States!” We are still the best place to live on this planet!

Ben Pecora

St. Joseph