Bob’s Africa Rotary Blog 128
03/06/12
Zambia Wins Africa Cup In Gabon, Country Celebrates
Zambian National Soccer team takes Africa Cup in the same city that the 1993 National team was killed in a horrific plane crash. Former Pres. Kenneth Kaunda (in Black jacket) hold trophy with team Captain The Joys of flying. I waited for six hours to write this bit after being held up between flights in Frankfort. I fly with a POC a portable oxygen concentrator.(see pix at left) I have an inability to fully oxygenate my blood above 10,000 feet. Usually in an airplane or at places like Aspen. Doctors advised the use of one in 2010. I have been flying with this heavy rather smallish black box with no real problems until this trip. I landed in Frankfort and proceeded to the international lounge which was in another terminal because of a eleven hour stopover in Germany. Little did I suspect my German made POC would cause such a fracas. Totally surrounded by police officers with as limited English ability as my Deutsch. They closed down the screening area and cordoned off the area of the terminal. I think they x-rayed the POC at least six times and attempted to disassemble it. This very weird to me since the POC was made in Germany. They were very serious, and so was I. I said nothing and only answered the questions asked. All I needed was to create an international incident. Mt children will never talk to me again for real. You can understand why people with real disabalities don’t travel. Am glad it is over and I don’t relish or mustard (senff) my return through Frankfort(er). Transit through Jo’Burg was normal and I arrived in Livingstone three hours late in a downpour because of mechanical difficulties in South Africa. All in all probably the most eventful trip I have had in the six years of commuting to Africa. I will be also visiting the UN/ WHO in Geneva on this trip to Zambia/Zimbabwe in coordination with the Norwegian Disability fund and our wheelchair project to assemble and eventually manufacture wheelchairs in central Africa..
Please Help Finish Rotary Park& Repair the Play pump Roundabout.!
We
need $4200 to finish the park. The soccer pitch which is completed (thanks Evanston Lighthouse, RI soccer aficionados & Interact) for continued fund raising. The Park is still on legal hold on a portion of the property. We are proceeding on the uncontested area. The USAID play-pump portion of the project was supposed to be guaranteed for ten years. No luck. Thank you Carol L. Jones of Blue Mound, IL Rotary Club for solving this challenge. Please let me know what you or your Club can do to help complete the small children’s play areas, the basketball/badminton net-ball courts & picnic areas. You or your Club’s donation should be made out to NIRC Foundation a legal 501c3 charity. The USA Club will forward ALL funds to Livingstone for the Rotary Park. Make checks payable to NIRC Foundation at, PO Box 4113, Irvine CA 92616. Thanks also to the Herron/Klein, Sonnenberg, Marchenbeck & Ekland families for your support.
Bob Selinger; rdselinger@aol.com ,
selinger on skype, (260)955-898901 in Zambia until March 20. Geneva 21-24. USA 3/25,
bob