The Adventure Begins - Setting the Stage - Literally!

First off, let me say that I now know that I truly had no idea of what this event was really going to be about. This is not just a motorcycle ride with a bunch of survivors to tour around and enjoy the beautiful scenery. I have found myself being part of an amazing and completely unique production.

Before I begin writing about our day to day activities, I have to try to explain what is going on here. I have found myself part of a traveling road show. Complete with local (and this year, international) celebrity entertainers, professional photography and video crew, an entire entourage of medical, safety, and setup crews.

Here's the part that I didn't really get, and the thing that makes this event one of the most unique and powerful ways to spread awareness to these incredibly impoverished and underserved areas.

Imagine going into a community where people have nothing. They work (if they can) for maybe $10 a day, alcohol abuse and violence are a part of their day to day existence. We want to reach these people to try to educate them about a disease that is stigmatized in their culture - to help save lives. If you are living in these conditions, what possible motivation would you have to come out and listen to a bunch of strangers talk to you about self examinations - the basics of early detection and vastly improved survival rates? Well apparently you put on a show. With entertainers they know and respect. You bring survivors on motorcycles that tell stories that they can relate to. And once you get them there, hundreds of them at a time - sometimes more - you connect to them. And once you've gotten their attention, you have an opportunity to deliver life saving messages. To provide not just entertainment, but education - and hope.

I've only been with this group for 2 days, but I'm already overwhelmed with the ingenuity, passion and ramifications of what this group is doing here. As we gear up we will be doing 4 shows a day in different towns. Advance crews set up, and are already gone and setting up the next venue by the time we get there. What I saw today was just a small taste of what I will be experiencing this week. The opening ceremony at Revlon yesterday, and appearance at a local fundraiser, finally filled in all the gaps for me as I now see what this is really all about. The performances by these extraordinary artists and the reactions of the people we are reaching are so moving - I cannot believe my good fortune in being included in this amazing experienc

I wish  I had hours more to spend explaining all of this, but our schedule is honestly going to be grueling - so I promise to post when I can, and get pictures up as often as possible. For general details in the meantime, you can check the website, where they are posting video and pictures daily.

Into Africa - Safari in Kruger Park Before the Cancervive Kickoff

Well it's hard to believe that I've been here in South Africa for only 5 days. It feels like I've been here for weeks. As you may know, I came in early to meet my friend Donna (the one who's done the Cancervive event twice before, and the reason I found out about it) to spend a few days before the ride in the Kruger Park area doing a 4 day safari .Besides being a real 'bucket list' thing for both of us, it would give us a chance to get acclimated to the time zone and culture before setting off on our adventure. Since this part of the trip was on my own dime, I tried hard to find a good deal, and what I ended with exceeded my expectations by - oh, I don't know - about a million times I think!

We were picked up from Johannesburg early Monday morning for long (7 hour) drive to the Balule Reserve where we were staying. Though the reserve is connected to Kruger (meaning no fences to keep animals in or out), it is not "Kruger" proper. Now here's the thing - Kruger itself is 2 million hectacres!

Hippo in the Balule Reserve our first night

On route to Tremisiana Lodge

Just a taste of the scenery along the way

Sunset in the Balule Reserve

Sunrise in Balule on route to our early morning Bush Walk

Beautiful African sunrise

Just a few of the large herd of Hippo that gretted us at the Olifante River

The Olifante River

A semi-tame cheetah (she still hunts for her food) at the private game reserve we visited.

Setting off for our sunset game drive at the private reserve

My favorite I think, and we saw dozens. So elegant!

Just a few of a huge herd of elephant we saw walkng in a line in Kruger Park

at Kruger Park

We saw a LOT of these at Kruger. Just beautiful!

At the private game reserve

LOVE!

The mother rejected her as a cub since she was the runt. The game reserve took care of her so spared her life

I'm not even sure how to begin explaining the experience, and because I've had very little time or access to wireless, I'll abbreviate for now and go into more detail (and share more of the hundreds of amazing photos and dozens of videos that I took. In short - we saw nearly 40 different species of wild animals - including  all of the 'big five' - buffalo, lion, leopard, elephant and rhinos. The trip consisted of a sunset drive the day we got to the park, a bush walk the following day as well as a trip to a private reserve where we had some of the most incredible viewing - until the next day when we spent the whole day inside of Kruger Park and saw the most amazing array of animals - herds of lions, elephants, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, hyena, jackal, hippos, and witnessed a rare siting of wild dogs hunting a herd of impala to name just a few.

So much more to write about but we are now keeping quite a busy and tight schedule.

We kicked off the ride yesterday - too much to write about here so stay tuned for the next episode!!

For more photos, click here to see my online album. Video links below:

I'm in Africa!

Made it to the City Lodge OR Tambo Hotel (right across the street from the airport) after about 24 hours total travel time. Hardest part was trying to stay awake on the flight from Amsterdam so that I'd be able to sleep tonight. And the fact that I had no eyedrops with me and my eyes feel like they were full of sandpaper! Nothing like the air quality on a plane. lol

I'm just going to stay up long enough to shower (Lord, I am stanky!!) and repack my suitcases so I can take a smaller bag on our safari. By the time I finish breakfast in the morning Donna should have arrived, and we'll be picked up for our safari at the Tremisana Lodge in the Balule Reserve at Kruger Park.

The description of our Day One:

We collect our guests and travel via the Highveld farmlands to the picturesque subtropical Lowveld and onwards to Tremisana Game Lodge in the Balule Section of the Kruger Park. During a short break, you may rest in your room, have a refreshing dip in our sparkling pool, unwind at the bar or relax in the beautiful gardens. At around 17h00 you board the open Landcruiser for a Sunset Drive. Your qualified guide will facilitate your first exciting opportunity to experience the varied African fauna and flora. Watch the magnificent African sunset, and, after darkness falls, use spotlights to locate nocturnal animals. Dinner in the Boma will be a traditional South African meal. Overnight in comfortable, air-conditioned en suite thatch-roofed chalets.

I've borrowed a nice camera from a friend (thanks Laura!!!), and spent a lot of hours on my flight reading up on how to get the most out of it.

Not sure how internet will be while we're at Kruger, but am hoping to get some good pics!

African Adventure - Part 1 - underway!

And I'm Off!

Well, here I am at O'hare waiting to board my flight to Johannesburg via Amsterdam. At least 19 hours of airtime plus whatever the layover is but I'm as prepared as I can be with my kindle and plenty of ambien!!

I'll be meeting my dear old friend Sydney Donna early Monday morning and we're setting off on a 4 day Safari together before meeting up with our fellow survivors Thursday night.

Of course I'll be posting a few pics here and there during that time since its all part of the Africa experience! (and no, not part of the fundraising!).

Getting on the plane now, stay tuned!!

Fundraising Update - It's Almost Here!

I am so happy to report that I have not only met, but exceeded my fundraising goal by nearly double! If you have donated already, you will be receiving a personal acknowledgment and thank you from me (if you haven't already). I am so grateful for, and touched by the incredible support you've all shown - in so many different ways.

When I found out that I'd exceeded the minimum, I asked whether the excess could help other participants who may be having trouble meeting their goals. The answer was an enthusiastic YES! So I set out to find out more about my fellow participants, and I'm writing this to share what I've learned with you.

Please, if you were considering donating but hadn't had a chance yet, don't let the fact that I've reached my goal stop you from still doing so! When you donate to me, you will now be helping them.

So with that, I'd like to tell you a little about four of the survivors that your donations would help support.

• They all come from rural areas and grew up in what are referred to as “townships”. Most of these townships have informal housing and people wait years before they are allocated a proper house. Many times the whole family lives in a 1-room building and shares everything – even beds!!
• None of them have access to fundraising tools and have limited access to technology, if any. They all come from very poor communities so it is very difficult for them to do fundraising.
• It is very important to have them on the ride as it makes a huge difference when they can talk to the crowds in their own language. In South Africa there are 8 African languages!

It is also very important to note that the median income in South Africa is the equivalent of about $3,800/year. That is not a typo. Compare that to the median income in the US of $48,000. The spread goes from $11,000 for the white population to just over $2,000 for blacks. Then consider that the fundraising goal is $3,000.

What really drove it home for me was when I discovered that for fundraising with the donated Revlon products, when asking for the equivalent of an $8 donation, they suggest putting a little money aside every week for a month or more. To save up to that $8. That is the magnitude of the challenge they are facing. I will go out on a limb and guess that none of you would ever have to consider putting a dollar or two aside a week to save up for an $8 donation.

So please take a moment to read a little about these four brave survivors, (my future lifelong friends) by clicking on their names, and consider making a donation that will help them meet their goals and enable them to spread the word of hope and survival through early detection to their fellow countrymen and women.

Link to donate through PayPal can be found right here on the sidebar of this here blog page -->>>

It's almost here! Stay tuned...

With love and gratitude,

Karen

 

Linah Sibeko

Hotel Worker
Ackeville, Witbank, Gauteng

Raynolda Makhutle
Speaks 8 languages, does community voluntary work for Cancer.vive and has in just the last year, spoken to over 5,000 people about the importance of early detection
Kagiso 2, Krugersdorp, Gauteng

Nokuthula Mtsweni
The “baby” in the group, only 25 years old, has a child and is currently unemployed
Witbank, Gauteng

Themba Matrose
Was only 13 years old when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. His dream is to become a male nurse. He currently works at a cheese factory, and is now 25 years old
Thembalethu, George, Western Cape