Chad

Chad – country 29
Travelling to Chad, I did what I always tell myself not to, I went with a preconceived idea, that is it would be like Sudan – it’s not… Good roads, lots of development and lots of Chinese hotels and restaurants (didn’t mind that, love Chinese food…).

The one thing that was hard to handle in Chad was the heat 40-45 degrees) it was relentless (even during the night), the sun felt like it was searing your skin off if you stood out in it too long. The Chadian people are a lot like the British – they talk about the weather a lot!! They delight in finding out if you are coping with their heat (I didn’t!!).

Due to the distance and safety concerns in the areas we would have had to drive through, we flew into N’djamena (missed being able to drive where I wanted!).

During our stay we visited a Nomad camp, these colourful beautiful people stay in a place as long as there is food for the camels – Healthy camels mean a healthy tribe. The kids loved getting their photos taken, my phone was commandeered by one of the boys while he took 100s of photos (I didn’t mind got some great photos!).

Another fun visit to a local school DHL is supporting to hand out stationery. The kids are always delighted to see you, shake hands, feel my hair… DHL are fitting doors and windows into the school rooms next week before the rains come. DHL really does a lot of good in Africa, I love visiting their projects.

A quick trip out of town to visit an ancestral village

Then our weekly DHL customer function, where we donated 100 rugby balls to the Chad Rugby Federation. Such a nice bunch, but sadly with little resources, was great to be able to help in a small way by more than doubling their rugby balls!