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Chapter 16 - Botswana - Big Hippos & Baobab Trees

Toto visited two beautiful national parks in Botswana. The first was the Okavango River Delta National Park. A delta is formed when a river comes to its end, emptying either into the ocean or a lake, and starts spreading out so that it looks like a triangle. The Greek letter 'delta' looks like a triangle, so that is why we call the end of a river that looks like this a 'river delta'. Other famous river deltas you might have heard of are the Mississippi River Delta near New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam.

The Okavango River flows from Angola, forming part of the border between Namibia and Angola before turning south into Botswana. Instead of emptying into the ocean or a lake like other rivers, the Okavango River empties into the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. I had never seen a river that just flows into the ground. Actually, I didn't really see it flow into the ground, as it forms a very large wetland for miles and miles (or kilometers and kilometers) around. I was in the opposite of a desert, because as far as we could see there was water with small islands everywhere. But eventually all this water drains into the land rather than the ocean.

Since there is so much water, the only way to get around is to take shallow boats made by the locals called 'mokoros'. The local men have a very good sense of balance, as they stand up in the back of the boat and push you forward with a pole through all the reeds and papyrus grass. Often the water is only a few inches deep, other times it is a several meters deep. Because the mokoros are so flat and shallow, you don't need much water to push yourself forward.

All this water attracts many animals. There are elephants, hippos, antelope, and even lions in this park. But because there is so much water everywhere, you don't see too many animals. We did see several wild elephants on the island where we camped and heard one running through the water while we were in a mokoro. Elephants certainly make a lot of noise splashing through the water!

Throughout this area I did see lots of baobab trees like this one. For each meter of circumference, the tree is a hundred years old. (Circumference is the distance around the outside of a circle.) So I walked around the bottom of this tree and measured twenty meters (you can see me at the bottom of the tree by double clicking on the photo). That means this tree is about 2000 years old! Because they are so old, the local San people many years ago used to consider them holy trees and believed the spirits of their ancestors lived inside them. These trees are actually more like cactuses, as they use fiber (and not sap) throughout the tree to bring water up to the top. The San people learned long ago that they could hollow out a hole in the tree to keep their meat cold. Because the baobab tree has water from underground running up the fibers in the middle, the hole stayed cold like a natural refrigerator!

From the Okavango Delta, I drove to the Chobe National Park, which is one of my favorite sites so far. The Chobe River forms the border between Botswana and part of Namibia. We took a boat along the river at sunset and saw lots and lots of hippopotomi, elephants, crocodiles and Cape buffalo all next to each other. I have to say that the hippos were the most interesting. We were able to pull the boat up very close. We were very careful because hippos may seem cute, but they are actually quite dangerous. They kill more humans than any other animal in Africa, as they get very defensive around their babies or if you get between them and water.

Hippos have very powerful jaws with four big teeth to defend themselves. (They don't need the teeth to eat the grass; they just use their gums.) Hippos weigh around 1500 kg, but are actually quite fast. They can run 45 kpm (30 mph) and swim very quickly - both faster than a human. They can also hold their breath for 5-7 minutes. So while they look big and slow, they are actually quite quick and dangerous if you are not careful around them. Mothers are especially defensive around their babies, as I am sure the mama hippo in these photos would have been. Fortunately we just admired these beautiful animals from a boat a safe distance away.

Travel Questions about Botswana:

1. What is is a river delta?
2. Why is it called a 'delta'?
3. The national parks Toto visited in Botswana are named after two rivers. What are their names?
4. What is the name of the boats the locals use to get around the wetlands in the delta?
5. For every meter of circumference, how old is a Boabab tree?
6. How did the San people store their meat a long time ago?
7. What is true about Hippos:
   A) They are skinny.   B) They eat meat.  C) They cannot hold their breath. 
   D) They can run fast.

Global Nomad Questions on Botswana:

1. Draw a picture of you in a mokoro in the Okavango Delta National Park. Be sure and include some animals!
2. The Okavango River starts in Angola. Research what language they speak in Angola.
3. Toto listed the names of three river deltas - the Okavango, Mississippi and the Mekong. Research another river delta. Write its name, where it is located and anything else you learned about it that you found interesting.
4. If the Boabab tree Toto saw was 2000 years old, list three things that happened in world history while that tree was alive.
5. There are 2.2 pounds in a kilogram. How many pounds does a 1500 kg hippo weigh? (Note: 'kg' is the abbreviation for kilogram.)

Epilogue:

Several months later when Toto was on the island of Lamu, Kenya, where the locals sell the seeds of the Baobab tree as candy. Apparently it was the season for the trees to drop their seed pods. The locals collect the peanut-sized seeds from the pods that are about the size of a large avocado. They then add some sugar and red coloring and sell them in packages like these. The seed is too hard to chew, so I really just sucked on the fuzzy and tasty covering to the sweet seeds. The local kids were happy to get the extra seeds I gave them, so they must enjoy them a lot.

I also was able to see a Baobab tree with leaves, as it was the one month of the year that the trees had leaves. I took this picture from the beach, in case you were wondering what a Baobab tree looks like with leaves, as it's rare to see them so green!   

Chapter 15 - Ova-Himba and Owango Homestead Visits

While in Namibia, Toto visited two local homesteads. One belongs to the chief of a local Owango village. The second was a traditional homestead of the Ova-Himba tribe in Northwest Namibia.

A friend of mine, Amy, has spent the past two years as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in a local school. She lives with Tete and Meme Kulo in their homestead as they support her efforts to improve the education of the village students. Tete Kulo is the chief of the village, so he is an important man in the area. (Tete and Meme mean "Uncle" and "Aunt" in the local language). A homestead consists of an area fenced in by logs to keep out wild animals. Inside the area are traditional round homes for the chief's family, as well as round meeting areas for visitors. This picture is of the entrance area where they greet guests. Can you see the cows' skulls from previous celebrations?

Tete and Meme Kulo are a very kind and generous couple who help many less fortunate children in their community. As I mentioned in Chapter 15, many families cannot afford to send their children to school in Namibia. Parents in these less fortunate families ask Tete and Meme Kulo to house, feed and educate their children, and give them the chance to move up in the world. In exchange, the children help with the chores around the homestead. Here is a photo of their kitchen area.

When I was there, I saw that the children have to extract every tablespoon of oil for cooking by collecting and pounding some local nuts. They also have to pound grain into flour for cooking with a large wooden mortar and pestle. A "pestle" is a heavy stick that they use to pound the grain in a hollowed-out log, which is called a "mortar." It was certainly hard work.

The kids were all very nice and well behaved. While we were there, my friend, Amy, decided to thank them for all their help by making them s'mores. They had never roasted marshmallows before, although they were experts at starting a campfire, as they do all their cooking over fires. Like all kids, they really enjoyed the roasted marshmallows and chocolate.

The Ova-Himba tribe that I visited were very different, in that their lifestyle is much more similar to that of their ancestors. Because they live in the Namibian desert area, they don't have access to much water. So they have adopted ways to stay clean without using water. To clean and protect their skin, they cover it with a cream made of the mineral ochre (remember from Chapter 12 that the San people also used ochre to make their cliff paintings.) That is why the women and children in these photos have a red color on their skin.

The Ova-Himba also live in round huts made of sticks, mud and cow manure. The children were absolutely adorable and spent time playing catch with me using a tin can and three round nuts from a tree. At a young age the children help their parents watch their livestock, which consist of goats and cows. During the day, the men and children take the animals out to find grass and water. At night, the animals return to the homestead to stay inside the fence, which is made of thorn bushes so that the lions, cheetahs and leopards do not eat any livestock. You can see the fence in the right side of this photo.

The women play an important role in the Ova-Himba tribe. Their royalty are always queens (women), not kings (men). Only older women are allowed to go to the two sacred sites where they mine the ochre. You can see how the woman in this picture is putting the ochre paste into her hair. Unfortunately it is more and more difficult for the Ova-Himba people to find land where they can raise their livestock and maintain their traditional lifestyle. About three times a year they move to different homestead sites in a continual search for grass and water for their livestock.

Travel Questions on the Namibian Tribes:

1. What do "Tete" and "Meme" mean? Do they sound like other words you know, from English or other languages?
2. Why do some parents ask the local chief to take their children into their homestead?
3. How do the kids make flour and oil?
4. What is the name of the mineral the women put on their skin and hair?
5. What do the Owango and Ova-Himba each use as fences around their homesteads?
6. What toy did the Ova-Himba kids use to play with Toto?
7. Why do the Ova-Himba move their homestead a few times a year?

Global Nomad Questions on Namibian Tribes:

1. Draw a picture of a Ova-Himba homestead including the animals.
2. Tete and Meme Kulo lived 10 kilometers south of the Angola border with Namibia. If each kilometer is 0.62 miles, how many miles south of Angola did they live?
3. Ask a grown up to help you find or make a mortar and pestle. See how long it takes you to grind some grains (rice, for example) into flour. How long do you think it would take to make enough flour for a cake or loaf of bread?
4. Write an essay describing the differences between your life and the life of the kids in either of these two homesteads.

Chapter 14 - Visit to a Namibian School

While in Northern Namibia, Toto visited a local public school called Kayengona Combined School near Rundu. I thought you would be interested in learning about the students and school to compare to your own school experience.

I met several teachers, students (which they call "learners") and the very nice Principal, Mrs. Anna Mateya. The school goes from first to tenth grade. The first, second, and third graders are all taught in the local language, Romano. These students study natural science, Romano, English, math, environmental studies, handwriting, and religious & moral education. How are those different from your classes?

Starting in fourth grade, all classes are taught in English (except the Romano class, of course!) In grades four through seven, the learners also take classes in social studies and home ecology. Mrs. Mateya told me they are looking for pen pals who will write the students letters in English, to help them practice with native speakers. I have put the address below if you would like to be a pen pal with a student at the school.

The students were very happy and friendly. They wore uniforms to school. The felt privileged to be able to go to school, as they must pay fifty Namibian dollars (about seven US dollars) per year in school fees. As this area is a poor region of Namibia, many students cannot afford these school fees, and some can't even buy pens for their homework and exams. In fact, the principal told me that about half the students are orphans, since their parents sadly died from AIDS, an awful disease that has infected many people in this region. Part of the kids' education includes how to protect and prevent themselves from getting this disease.

School ends at 1pm. The teachers told me that many of the learners stay after school to get a free lunch, as many don't get enough food at home and are undernourished. The teachers have noticed that the kids pay better attention when they aren't hungry.

Many students also stay after school to do their homework, as they do not have electricity in their homes. We visited some of these homes, which are basically a group of round huts made of sticks and a mixture of dried mud and cow manure. The roof was usually dried grass. Some students must do their homework by candlelight at home when the sun goes down. Those whose families cannot afford candles stay after school to do their homework in the afternoon at school.

When I was a kid, I took breakfast, lunch and dinner--as well as electricity--for granted. Seeing these kids trying to learn under such difficult circumstances made me realize just how fortunate I was to have all these things and to get a good education. Hopefully these students will help you understand how blessed you are. I might have thought twice about complaining when my parents told me to eat my dinner and finish my homework if I'd met some hard working students who might not have parents, food or light, but who are still eager to learn.

Travel Questions on the Kayengona School:

1. In which part of Namibia is the Kayengona School?
2. What do they call students at the school?
3. In what language do they teach the first through third grade students?
4. What are the two extra classes the students take starting in fourth grade?
5. How much does it cost a student's family to send their child to school each year?
6. Why are so many students orphaned?
7. If students do not have electricity at home, what are the two ways they can do their homework?
8. What is a typical home made of in the area?

Global Nomad Questions about Schools in Namibia:

1. Draw a picture of what you think a Namibian homestead looks like.
2. Write a letter in English to a student at the school. You can ask a grown up to mail it to the principal below. She will make sure it gets to a student. Ask the student to write you back.
3. The school needs pens and children's books in English. Collect these at your home or classroom and send them to the Principal. The students will really appreciate your gifts.
   • Mrs., Anna Matenya, Principal
     Kayengona Combined School
     PO Box 2142
     Rundu, Namibia