My 67 Minutes: Di's Diary after Mozambique
We are snaking through the streets of Maputo - in a convoy lead by the presidential bike squad, "Policia Trânsito" style. It's an overcast, breezy day, but even the middle of winter in Mozambique feels like paradise. We are heading for the border, back to South Africa after 24 hours in the two worlds of Mozambique: paradise and poverty.
If you can turn your head away from the urban decay to the one side of the road and focus on the tropical blue sea, white beaches and palm trees to the other, there is no doubt that you could live an idillic life.
But its difficult to look away. The poverty is everywhere. It lines the streets and dots the villages from the moment you survive the tedious, uncertain process of crossing the border.
We were treated with the best Maputo has to offer, as Bikers for Mandela Day was welcomed with generously open arms.
But, we were not here for the privilege. We were here to support 'Goodbye Malaria" - a project in Namaacha - focussed on helping southern Mozambique curb Malaria.
The facility in a town called Namaacha is less than modest: next to a dusty road, a few neat, basic buildings. The ablution facially for the first time features flushing toilets and running water. They're still working on getting electricity and wifi. But they have a mission and a plan and they are already making a difference. Heading the facility are Francois Maartens and Romey Stander.
Francois explains that they train women from the community, to spray the walls of homes with mosquito repellant. The insecticide is approved by the local authorities and World Health Organisation.
The skill of spraying, how to convince people to allow them into their homes and how to spread the message that getting rid of the mosquito's would eliminate Malaria, is taught to them in a 12 day program.
There is a trick to spraying: the nozzle has to consistently be 45 cm from the wall that is being sprayed, to make sure that it is absorbed.
A team of 6: five sprayers and a supervisor work together … meticulous and methodically.
More than 200 women have already been trained in this way to say "Goodbye Malaria". This also enables them to be breadwinners for their families.
Ordinary people, making a difference, affecting change, saving lives one home at a time...
