From Cairo to Cape Town

A YOUTHFUL Irish duo has cycled across 11 African countries as part of a fundraiser to cater for the needs of orphans in Namibia and Ireland.

caught up with the two during their brief stop in Windhoek on Sunday where they told of their adventure, characterised by some bizarre encounters, unfamiliar weather conditions and an interesting diversity of cultures.

At the beginning of the year, Lorcan Byrne, a volunteer English teacher and Nicholas O’Brien, a water engineer (both 28), decided to take on a new challenge.

Their trek is financially supported by family and friends for a good cause and they have been at it for the past six-and-a-half months.

“After Christmas [last year], we got all our things together in Dublin, Ireland, then we flew to Cairo in Egypt,” Byrne explained about their itinerary.

They have so far pooled a cool N$100 000, half of which will go to a Namibian orphanage and the other half to an Irish institution.

However, they are yet to decide which of the identified orphanages in Namibia will benefit from the funds. “It’s not a huge amount but we hope it will somehow make an impact,” O’Brien said.

In Namibia, they identified a number of orphanages, among them Orlindi Orphanage and Megameno Orphanage, both in Katutura.

The funds, they hope, will be used to fill gaps in either school fees or staff payment.

Byrne and O’Brien said they chose to raise funds for Namibia after their research informed them of the population of orphans in the country. Moved by having grown up in warm, loving families, they decided to help.

Initially, they say their families raised reservations about their travel plans, though they gradually warmed up to the idea after they came to understand their goodwill intentions.

“Before we came on this trip, all our friends and family at home were very concerned about our safety. They asked ‘is it okay to be doing what you are doing?’

“I don’t think people’s understanding of Africa as a continent and some countries within Africa is accurate. It’s not fully representative of what the reality on the ground is. At home, we just get our news from the mass media which gives us a certain image, which only reports the negative things happening in Africa,” Byrne theorised.

“I got a phone call from Lorcan [Byrne], back last July or August. He asked ‘do you want to come on an adventure?’ First of all, to mention an adventure then say you’re looking to cycle Africa, would you like to come along?’ was just kind of mind-blowing,” O’Brien related.

After flying in from Ireland, the pair cycled from Egypt’s metropolis, Cairo, and have since journeyed across the continent, visiting countries such as Sudan, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia.

Their final destination will be Cape Town in South Africa where they hope to complete their cycle in a month’s time before flying back to Ireland.

A bizarre encounter they laughed about during the interview, was when they almost camped at an outdoor abattoir, whose existence is not common in their home country.

“Getting involved in charity work is something I saw my parents do. I didn’t lick it off a stone. I definitely picked it up from them. The more I got into giving, I realised it’s just so great and so nice for everyone involved.

“Over the years, I have done small fundraisers and helped charities at home and then we had this opportunity to cycle a great distance,” O’Brien said.

Byrne, on the other hand, said he was introduced to voluntary work following his one-year stint as a volunteer teacher in Thailand.

“I did fundraising as a part of that but I think that experience really taught me that by giving or doing voluntary work, you actually receive just as much, if not more. That taught me the value of experiencing new cultures or different people or different tribes.”

He says he has also worked as a programme manager for different charity organisations, adding to his prior exposure.

A normal day for the friends typically begins around 06h00. They usually camp overnight at places they identify as being safe.

“As it’s a little colder in Namibia, we light a small fire to keep us warm in the morning, then we’ll have some breakfast, then take down the tents and put them on our bikes,” Byrne said, adding that their bicycles carry all their belongings, including a stove.

The actual cycling begins at around 08h00 or 09h00 and they cycle for anything between five and eight hours a day, taking one or two breaks to eat.

“We also pump our own water as our mzungu [a Bantu term used to refer to people of European descent] stomachs are not very good,” Byrne implied. He, however, said they never cycle in the dark as a precautionary measure.

Two local instances O’Brien cited, were when they were charged a small fee for their bicycle repairs as well as when he got free cough syrup from a chemist.

Their mood, weather conditions, as well as the geography of the various countries, determine what distances they can cycle through.

“Each country has been so different. It’s just been so fantastic to cross into all these different cultures,” O’Brien said.

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