Land Rover Dispatch #1: The count down has begun!
It’s time to turn that Land Rover key again and head off on another great humanitarian adventure – this time it’s to follow the entire African Rift Valley from Djibouti on the Horn of Africa to the base of Gorongoza Mountain in Mozambique.
It will be an exciting yearlong geographic journey with the humanitarian links of malaria prevention through the distribution of life saving mosquito nets, Rite to Sight spectacles for the poor sighted and LifeStraws for water purification.
At St Alban’s College in Pretoria, hundreds of boys sign the Landy – they have adopted the expedition and one the pupils, Madiba’s grandson, writes a goodwill note to be carried to the Nelson Mandela College in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa – it makes us proud and they get to know Mama Africa better.
Thousands have gathered to wish us well at the Johannesburg International Motor Show and already the expedition Scroll of Peace and Goodwill’s pages are filling up – it’s the expedition send-off. Kevin Flynn, the colourful MD of Land Rover South Africa makes a farewell speech and Zulu dancers from Lesedi Cultural Village leap into the air as they escort the humanitarian convoy through the crowd.
Then we get the good news that Ignazio Messina will sponsor the shipping of the Land Rovers from Durban around the dangerous Horn of Africa to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and then across to Djibouti (start point of the expedition) – the ship leaves in just 10 days. It’s all coming together – we’ll keep you posted…
