The Plan
We live in a time unparalleled in human history. In many ways, this is THE story of our species.
Homo sapiens sapiens are thought to have first appeared in the area now known as the African Rift Valley some 200,00 years ago. Faced with climate changes and other factors, humans walked out of Africa, and wandered out into the wider world.
I've always felt that I am a “Citizen of the World,” and as such, that a visit to our ancestral stomping grounds is a might bit overdue. I mean, I haven't sent a holiday card to Oldupai Gorge in...well, roughly 200,000 years. It is time to Man up, and return “home.”
Nimerudi means “I am back,” in Swahili. This trip is about making a visceral connection to the origin of our species, at a time when we seem to be on the brink of snuffing ourselves out.
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The end result of this work will be published by Homeostasis Press (Date of publication, title and details to be determined).
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The Great Migration
Being near the Serengeti, during the annual migration of more than 1.5 million wildebeests and 300,000 zebras would be reason enough to make the trip for me.
This amazing and largest movement of land animals on the planet is considered a “bucket list” item for many folks around the planet.
The thing is, I'm not going to Tanzania for a spectacle, or for some mantelpiece experience to post on social media.
Our planet is in great peril. I've spent the past five years writing about and filming endangered species in North America. Climate change is so adversely affecting Life on Earth, that even the seemingly endless bounty of animals in Africa sit on a razor's edge, sliding towards extinction.
To understand where we came from, what made us human, and how we are all in this global struggle together, this trip is planned to coincide with the Great Migration.
Tarnished Legacies
There's no easy way to spin this... I'm a white, European/American. Even within my direct family history there are connections to Dutch Colonialism in South Africa. The cultural and geopolitical scars, carved deep into Africa by the hands of nations who saw the continent as a means to prosperity and raw materials, are still visible, deep and linger in pain.
Even the map of Africa today bears the signature of Anglo-European powers from decades and centuries past.
I know I am not going to go to Tanzania on a 23-day trip and come home with a master understanding of the people and culture. It's not possible to take in such complexity and diversity in such a short time period.
Instead, my aim is to be a traveler – not a “tourist” - and try to come to know Tanzania in a real sense and not simply think in terms of The Lion King. I'll be playing to my skills as a journalist, a trained observer, an animal rescue worker, someone who has studied anthropology in university (both physical and cultural), and as a sort of global version of the “silly uncle” to children.
Above all else, I am a citizen of the World, part of one species, and humbled by Life itself.
In the Footsteps of Lucy
The remains of “Lucy,” a hominid (Australopithecus afarensis) who lived more than 3 million years ago, was found in Ethiopia in 1974. Since then, fossil discoveries of early hominids point to the Rift Valley in Africa as the birthplace of our species. That valley extends down into Tanzania and specifically includes Oldupai (formerly known as Olduvai) Gorge, an amazingly area of anthropological discovery.
I've read about this area. This area literally contains the footsteps of early Man and our ancestors.
It's time for me to go walkabout and see what the rush was to beat feet out of the valley.
Shared Humanity
A large part of my time in Tanzania will be spent at a school for orphans, a Maasai Village, at a wildife rescue center and meeting families affected by the AIDS epidemic.
I'm not wealthy. In fact, I've only done volunteer projects for the past five years. So, obviously, I'm not going to show up like Sally Struthers and start paying for humanitarian projects.
I can't throw money at organizations or people in need simply because I truly don't have it to give.
There's also a lot of debate about the ultimate “good” that charity work accomplishes in the lives of those who live in Africa.
Can we solve institutionalized poverty through subsidies and missionary work? Or, are we creating a system of dependence, which ultimately does little to empower depressed socioeconomic areas and folks to build foundations for independent success?
So, my plan is small and personal.
I believe education is a fundamental right of all people. Children yearn for knowledge – it is a universal human truth that we WANT to learn new things. To support this, in my small way, I plan to bring a load of school supplies to a school whose needs include the rudimentary basics: pens, pencils, notebooks and calculators.
Also, there is a wildlife rescue and rehab center near the town where I will be hanging out. During my visits there I will help support ooperations which, at times, include rescue of animals injured or orphaned by the poaching trade.
It's my belief that by doing these things, and not being another "tourist," then I will leave a positive impact behind.
My aim is to make my traveler footprint be as light as possible, leaving a few smiles and wagging tails with it.