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The latest exhibition at the James Hall Museum of Transport focuses on three great humanitarian journeys across the
continent.
AN initiative to highlight the impact of
land transport is sending the James Hall Transport
Museum on a ride through Africa.
An exhibition called Making tracks through Africa runs from 13 June to the end of July. It attempts
to honour those who have made a difference in the lives of Africans.
On display at the James Hall Museum of Transport
"This exhibit serves to highlight some
initiatives and special people who give back to the African continent and its
people through the use of land transport," said Peter Hall, the head of the
museum.
It looks at land transport as the means
through which people were able to bring humanitarian initiatives to African
communities. This exhibition is not only about the roads that were
constructed to link communities but also about the infrastructure, aid,
education and health care that was left behind.
"There have been many of these initiatives
but in this exhibition we are going to concentrate on three," said Hall.
Dakar
The annual Dakar Rally, organised by the Amaury Sport
Organisation, was first held in 1978. Most of the off-road automobile races
start in Paris, France
and end in Dakar in Senegal. But there have been years
when, because of politics and other factors, the course has had to change. Then,
the 2008 race was cancelled because the organisers feared terrorist attacks.
Although criticised because of the impact
it has on the environment, the Dakar
race has continued, alongside its humanitarian initiatives. Actions Dakar, set up by the race
organisers in 2002, has assisted more that 100 000 people.
Looking back at transport
Projects and beneficiaries are many and
varied: 2 465 students have learned environmental measures;120 000 trees have been planted;
534 improved homes have been built; five arranged and regulated ponds have been installed; 27 wells have been built; and 13 carts were used to collect the waste of
640 families; among others, including four new clean water supplies to
villages.
Long Way Down
Long Way Down is a television series documenting a motorcycle journey
undertaken by Scottish actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. In 2007, they
drove through 18 countries from John O'Groats
in Scotland to Cape Agulhas
in South Africa, through
Europe and Africa.
"When planning their route, the pair took
into consideration their Unicef duties as ambassadors of the organisation. They
performed social benefits to raise funds for Unicef [and] visited three Unicef
facilities to raise awareness of the work done by the organisation," said Hall.
In Ethiopia, they visited a landmine
awareness projects centre and met children victims of landmines. This facility
provides the children with medical and health care, and counselling; it also helps
to trace their families.
In northern Uganda, McGregor and Boorman gave 10
School-in-a-box kits to the community. "The boxes provide all the materials
needed to set up a classroom for around 80 children, such as pens, notebooks,
blackboards and other equipment," said Hall.
They also visited a health catch-up day for
new mothers and their babies, at which they helped to administer polio drops
and give out Vitamin A to children.
In Chimteka, in Malawi they visited a child care
centre for children who have lost their parents to Aids. This centre provides meals,
basic health care and education.
One Net One Life
Led by its founder, the adventurer Kingsley Holgate, One Net One Life is an
anti-malaria campaign. Holgate, who hails from KwaZulu-Natal
in eastern South Africa,
with his family and a group of fellow humanitarians, travelled up the continent
distributing mosquito nets.
They also brought Right to Sight and Teaching
on the Edge projects to help literacy and education.
Right to Sight helps people with impaired
vision get spectacles and Teaching on the Edge distributes mobile libraries and
learning material to schools in remote areas.
In the exhibition, the museum is displaying
a motorbike and a Land Rover used on some of these journeys. Maps and pictures
will show the routes that these people have taken and the communities that they
have helped.
The James Hall Transport Museum
is open from Tuesdays to Sundays, from 9am to 5pm. Entrance is free, but
donations are appreciated. It is at Pioneer
Park, on Rosettenville Road, La Rochelle, in the south of Joburg.
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