BUT WHY????

We have definitely heard one too many people tell us to, ‘have a nice holiday next year’! And while it doesn’t offend, it is most certainly way off the mark. One thing I can confirm with certainty is that this year we have chosen to take out as a family is not and was never intended to be a holiday. So the real question remains, why ARE we doing what we’re doing? I don’t know if I have managed to hit the nail on the head in my own heart yet, as to why. But one thing I do know is that sometimes in writing, things tend to unravel. And so I’m going to start, and see if it leads down the path to truth.

Let’s start with things it is not. Besides the defiantly aforementioned holiday, our 13 month journey into the abyss of Africa as a family of 5 is not an ‘Ovelanding Adventure’. I mean, we are undeniably travelling over land in a 4×4 with a trailer. But. If you just start looking into travelling this way on Google, you will soon be informed that ‘Overlanding’ is a culture all of it’s own. A culture whose population is quite largely made up of European pensioners in fancy 4 wheel drive RV type automobiles, or groups of singles making their way with an organised  tour group quite predictably via the relatively-speaking comfortable East Africa. However, at this point I have to say, that there are moments when I look at what we are doing, and what I see makes me laugh. Never EVER did I think that I would be part of little band of people squatting in different little corners of Africa! 

It is also not a sightseeing trip, whereby our route is planned according to specific destinations or places of interest. No doubt we will some amazing sights, but it is not the purpose. We have made a decision that the journey will be the point. The landscapes, the people, the things that go wrong, the places we stumble upon… 

So here’s a little bit of context that might help us to get to some of the reasons why we are actually doing what we’re doing…

I remember at the age of 12, watching the News. The BBC was talking about the plight of orphans in Romania due to the country’s raging war. The images I saw moved me to tears, and at that moment I knew that I wanted to work helping out in whatever capacity I could in front line situations.

When I was 18 I did a 6 week course in teaching English and took myself off to Guinea Bissau in West Africa. My dream was to go to Zaire… the deepest darkest heart of Africa – very romantic, I know. I was in Guinea Bissau for almost a year when there was a military coup. We (myself, and the old lady I was currently living with) were caught up in the firing zone and after a week or so we managed to ‘flee’ to Senegal (loooooonng story… happy to tell you in detail if you’re interested).

On returning to England I studied nursing, fully intending to join the British Red Cross or Medcins sans Frontiers as soon as I possible could. 

However. I met and fell head over heels in love with Eugene. Within a year we were married, and shortly after that we moved to South Africa. I soon fell pregnant… and you know how it goes from there!

Before Eugene and I were married, I managed to find an organisation called ‘Architecture for Humanity’… an amazing organisation doing wonderful things in front line situations through a worldwide community of architects. Back then Eugene made contact with them. In 2010, when the Soccer World Cup came to South Africa, AFH contacted Eugene and asked him to be the project manager for all the FIFA charity arm centres around Africa. This incredible opportunity took Eugene to numerous countries throughout Africa, where he had the privilege of being on the ground and working with extremely humble people doing exceedingly dynamic work throughout the continent. The flame was lit!

Even before this though, people who know Eugene will know that his heart has always been to use architecture for the good of humanity. Meaning, he is convinced that when you take time and heart to build a home for people, it influences their ability to function in a way where their self worth is reflected directly by their immediate habitat. 

When Eugene and i started a family, we decided to homeschool. Back then i remember that our decision was based on the premis that if we were free from the system, we could do precisely the type of thing we are doing now at any given point – why we waited for so long, I have no idea. I guess the immediate answer to that, is that there is more than just the one most obvious system. And boy, how easily we become entangled in them!

Eugene has always been philosophical, which is something that no-one can deny 😉 But I am eternally grateful to him for always pushing us into places that are a little more difficult to confront. One is the race that we are ensnared by, in the western world. It drives him crazy! Our dependence on the internet (which we have unfortunately not managed to escape), our comfort zone super markets (guilty!), fashion, high lifestyle expectations… the list just goes on and on and on.

So all of the above finally culminated into a rather spontaneous decision during COVID, that we would just pack up everything and travel for forever more. I said, ‘no way… I’ll do it for a year’. Eug said ‘fine’. The kids agreed.

And so here we are.

So some definite things that we will be doing this year are;

The kids will be continuing homeschooling, especially Malachi and Evie.

Gabe will be focussing on photography, and a subject or two he has to finish on his return.

Collectively, our hope for the kids is that they will undeniably be forced from their comfort zones (no nice predictable dinners, not an ambient temperature home…), but in a safe way as a family unit. They will also be exposed to cultures and environments they have never seen. We hope that their eyes will be opened wide, and that they will return with a bunch of cool stories to tell.

Besides continuing to work (we won’t make this year without it), Eugene hopes to build an amazing portfolio of architectural images of the vernacular. This will undoubtedly influence his own practice going forward. Also, he is a beautifully open-minded guy… because of the way he thinks we have had some marvellous opportunities and met some incredible people… and I’m fairly certain that will be the case in the months that follow. 

Personally speaking, I will obviously be facilitating the kids learning whatever that looks like for each of them. I will also be tested to my limits in MANY ways, aka the bush wee (etc etc etc). But most importantly, I will be observing and writing and learning. I hope to be inspired beyond my expectations.

So the truth path? The real why? 

I suppose ultimately… it is because we long to be moved.