After a long goodbye to dear friends we left Swaziland, our home for two years. The Bushfire festival in Swaziland, the day before we left, felt like a going away party. We rode with a good friend to Joburg meeting up with our other friend Niel who we stayed with last night.
Niel now manages a clinic/hospital in Bulembu in Swaziland were we met him almost 2 years ago. He was born and raised in Joburg. One of the most compassionate and generous people we've met. It is because of his hard work and vision that the Bulembu clinic is one of the best in Swaziland.
In Joburg Niel is a paramedic who responds to incidents requiring advanced life support. Last night he took us with another paramedic all over Joburg. It was a slow night but we responded to a few motor vehicle accidents. It was a thrill speeding through streets and intersections with flashing lights and sirens as some elevator music played in the truck. 170 km/h ... you do the conversion! Kristin had a giddy smile as she braced the side of the door racing through the streets.
Inbetween calls we toured Alexandra, Sandton, private and public hospitals, and met up with other paramedics for a sushi/cheeseburger/pasta dinner.
Alexandra is a massive unplanned settlement or squater camp. It is notorious for high unemployment, poverty and crime. It was truly unbelievable to see how the homes, which were like little boxes constructed of corrugated iron pieces without windows, were stacked flush side by side. Huge rats, sewage water, and staggering drunk men were the only ones out in the dark, along with the occasional trash fire for warmth or billows of black smoke as people burned rubber off of cables to sell for money.
More later. Next stop Victoria Falls.
