Amsterdam

The Dutch

This is my third time in Amsterdam.  Know what I love about the Dutch?  They really get my last name.  Actually, not technically the Dutch, but the Frisians.  The name Wiebe originates in Friesland and I can assure you it is a noble name of historic significance.  Trust me on that.  It is also beautiful to pronounce - as a Dutch security agent here pointed out to me today.  Thank-you Miss.

A Shout-Out

I'd like to take a moment to thank the whole crew of the E for Everyone project: the Kooman brothers - Matt, Dan, and Andrew, Joel Krogman, and, of course, Emily and Steve Neufeld.  My journey would not be taking place without their exploratory mission.  They had a calling to discover for themselves and to share with others the global disparity in human needs.  At a very young age, with very few funds, not at all knowing what to expect, they travelled Africa (and elsewhere) in search of poverty in order to try to do something about it.  I have all the respect in the world for these pioneers, especially now.  As I follow in a few of their footsteps, I can appreciate the faith that it took to do what they did.  Being thirty-something and in the Western World's Prime of Life, I am intimidated by the prospect.  The E for Everyone crew must have been scared spitless!  It was their brave efforts that got the ball rolling on our involvement in Africa; so for that, I'll raise my glass of Heineken.  Proost!


Some History

I spent some time reading the journal of an explorer/wildlife-photographer on the plane.  It's an interesting, if slightly racist, exposition of Africa from the late forties and early fifties.  Believe it or not, it was just sitting on my bookshelf - there since my Grandfather died in 2002.  (I inherited many of his books).  This author travelled throughout British Kenya in the years following WWII wearing a canvas vest and a pith helmet looking for "savages" or "Adam's cousins" (not quite sure where he's going with that term, but it seems a little off-putting to me).  It's kind of cool reading about his travels to the very places we will be going - only 60 or 70 years ago they were truly the frontier.  He had to receive special permission from the British Government to make the week-long trek to Turkana because the British had not sorted out who the area ultimately belonged to and the area was not properly mapped!  At that time, Lake Turkana was inanely called Lake Rudolf.  I am sure after the colonial days were done, a lot of names got changed (back).  Not sure who Rudolf was - I'll have to look that up.