INFORMATION REGARDING SLE 2008 PLEDGES
Make payable to the organization your donation is going to:
“FEED THE CHILDREN – TANZANIA” or “ROTARY INTERNATIONAL”
MAIL as soon as possible to:
Gail Wensley,
Box 940,
Whistler, BC,
V0N 1B0
STANLEY LIVINGSTONE EXPEDITION 2008
After dreaming and waiting five years for the Stanley Livingstone Expedition to finally come to fruition and commence, I had to make an unfortunate decision on the morning of July 21 while walking to Tabora. I had to choose to either continue on the expedition and compromise my personal safety or pack up my gear and advance myself to the final destination at Kigoma/Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika.
The Problem
I came to question the mental stability of our Expedition Leader; once trust is attacked, all confidence is lost.
As a result, I did not walk as far as I had hoped, but I did walk 315 miles during the five weeks I was with the team from Bagamoyo to Tabora.
The total number of miles the team walked from Bagamoyo to Ujiji was only 550. They were advanced considerably from Tabora to Ujiji, a relatively unsafe zone due to old refugee camps and unpopulated areas. Refugees from Congo and Burundi, hungry and impoverished, still on the loose not yet apprehended, tend to hold up strangers walking those isolated paths and roads. Unfortunately, this was the route followed by Stanley Livingstone. Therefore, the route being followed by the SLE for historical purposes.
Aware of this situation compounded with the Expedition Leader’s public verbal incriminations toward me that morning, I knew I must leave where an airport was available. With the help of a Tanzanian staff member, I found safe harbour and peace of mind. The next day I flew on to Kigoma and into a rainbow.
Thank you for your support - it kept me grounded.
- Gail
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