Blogs from Eastern Cape, South Africa, Africa - page 3

Last day of our Malaria prophylaxis. Since our arrival we diligently were taking one tablet of Malanil a day. The North East of South Africa is Malaria country especially in the rainy season and it is certainly prudent to take precautions. Since Rorke's Drift we have exited the Malaria territory, needed however to continue the treatment for another 7 days. Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause yellow skin, seizures, coma, or death. Symptoms usually begin ten to fifteen days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. Malaria is caused by single-celled microorganisms of the Plasmodium group. The disease is most commonly spread by an infected female Anopheles mosquito. The mosquito bite introduces the ... read more

“The tragedy of life is not in our failure, but rather in our complacency; not in our doing too much, but rather in our doing too little; not in our living above our ability, but rather in our living below our capacities.” – Benjamin E. Mays The last Covid-19 blog was posted on 9th October which is almost a month ago. What does this signal? Boredom, loss of interest or a sense that this little pesky virus is no longer newsworthy? I suspect a bit of “writer’s fatigue” but here’s the thing; this virus has now mutated into a monster which is causing havoc and panic across the World. There is also no doubt that complacency set in after the first wave was tamed but the pandemic is now reshaping into a “twindemic” as the second ... read more

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.” - Bertrand Russell Covid-19 is now off the front pages and the media is not nearly as fixated with this pesky virus as was the case in recent months. Lock-downs are on hold, South Africa is on Level 1 and there is this far more relaxed mode and mind set suggesting the worst is done and dusted. The key word defining our current human view on Covid-19 is undoubtedly, complacency. How wrong could we possibly be and what will be the upshot of the increasingly “relaxed” outlook on Covid-19? The compulsion to write further blogs has waned and this edition follows a 3-week break. This suggests it has slipped to back of ... read more

“Every human has four endowments; self-awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom…. the power to choose, to respond, to change.” - Stephen Covey Someone once said “Every sunset is an opportunity to reset” and if there is one critical step, we all need to take in these repetitive, exhausting Covid-19 times, it is the need to “reset.” Our minds have numbed as we struggle to remember when, why and how this unprecedented intrusion on our lives all started. 2020 is now almost at the three-quarter mark and most of us talk about writing off this year noting it as one of very little by way of personal achievement. Many dreams, plans, activities, adventures have simply vaporised and disappeared into the mists of time. Against this backdrop, the past week ... read more

“Man, do not pride yourselves on your superiority to the animals, for they are without sin, while you, with all your greatness, you defile the earth wherever you appear and leave an ignoble trail behind you…and that is true, alas, for almost every one of us!” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Russian novelist and philosopher in the 1820’s) There is a classic saying one hears from time to time; “don’t mess with Mother nature”, and it sort of resonates for a short while before our minds leap forward not really wanting to confront what we have done to our planet and sadly, continue to do. The scorecard in terms of our impact on the physical environment is mind boggling and includes; overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels and deforestation all of which in their own unique way have triggered ... read more