By God's grace we were kept safe through almost 9000 km (approximately 150 hours on the road) and could provide medical help to African people.

The roads are very bad, especially in Mozambique where 200km could sometimes take up to 7 hours to drive. In total we had about 25 meetings where doctors addressed up to 11500 people on the topic of AIDS.

It was amazing how the people, especially in Zambia, accepted the "abstinence and be faithful to your spouse" message, as a solution to the AIDS pandemic, rather than the watered down condom promotion. 

The trip was mainly a exploratory trip aimed to see how Doctors For Life can get involved with future medical outreaches. The need is great; in the villages, patients flocked for medical attention. In a village called Inhambane in Mozambique, only one nurse and a helper, run an old Catholic mission hospital. They attend to approximately 35 patients a day and serve a community of 7000 people. Only two buildings are still in use due to the past war.

Some of the buildings are burnt down, sifted with bullet holes and showing signs of land mine explotions. These are the scars left by the war between FRELIMO and RENAMO less than a decade ago.  Although we were not really equipped for medical work on this trip, almost 28 patients were helped, and we could donate medicines to clinics.

Some of the patients had never experienced anaesthetics and were amazed that they didn't feel pain when their teeth were pulled.

At one meeting with the Yoa nation, who live in Northern Mozambique, approximately 3000 people (somebody counted them) came from every where to listen to Dr. Albu van Eeden's (DFL's CEO) AIDS presentation!

In Zambia we had 5 or 6 meetings. What struck us most about this country was the Governments open stance on abstinence and faithfulness in marriage.

Botswana, which is probably the most advanced and economically the strongest country between the 5 we visited, also appears to be the most "untouched".

Due to game protection, wild animals still roam in large parts of the country making it any nature lover's dream vacation.

At one church we were told that the pastor already lost a few members to lion and leopard! However, their biggest enemy at this stage is AIDS. Approximately 35% of the population are HIV+ (more than a third of the nation), making Botswana the country with the  highest AIDS percentage in the world.

John Walters, a British missionary, is doing excellent work there and DFL would be looking at ways to care for AIDS orphans there too. The "Aid to Africa" project thus aims to bridge some of our other projects to African countries. Some of these projects are "Life Child", Home Based Care as well as our drug programme to countries like Zambia.

To our surprise, Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, is also experiencing a drug abuse problem. It is sad to see that even a third world country, without any major infrastructures, can be a gateway to "first" world drugs like cocaine, crack and even heroin!

Two DFL members assist in a Caesarean

Our hope is to start with a fundraising campaign over the whole of South Africa in order to bring medical "Aid to Africa". We might also want to involve people from Europe and the US in physically helping with this project, e.g. especially medical doctors, vets, dentists, optometrists etc.

With the help of our video production team, Orison Pictures, a video will also be available on "Aid to Africa" for promotional purposes. For possible involvement, contributions, volunteering or  further information, please contact Johan Claassen at: johan@dfl.org.za  or Tel: +27 (31) 764 0443

The terrain is sometimes tough

A typical lunch... on the hood of a Land Rover 4X4

DFL in Botswana

A typical picture of Africa. This is what urged us to start "Aid to Africa"

Wild life still roams  in large parts in Africa, making it dangerous sometimes

Sunrise in Malawi

Frequently used transport in Mozambique

A church in Zambia, Chadiza


Camping in Zambia, Livingston


The Victoria Waterfalls, Zambia

A common procedure in Africa; police check points