The site

Obviously I don't want to say who's the site is, or exactly where it is...

First view of the site, the boundary fence has big holes in it where the tin sheets have been stolen to be used a roofing.

The area had been used as a garbage dump for 30 years or so until organised garbage collections were started again in the city. There was a large heap of garbage in the middle of the site and a loading shovel loading it into a single wagon, which due to the traffic in the city, had a very slow journey to the tip and back.

My initial preconception that at least an African site was less likely than a European or American urban site to have syringes and needles on it was wrong. it looks like someone has tipped hospital waste on the site, including needles.

I came prepared with steel soles in my boots, and I'm careful about not touhing anything that I can't see. Add to that Angola's isolation means that AIDS has not exploded here -YET.

Only about 3% are HIV positive, which is a lot lower than the almost 100% rate for junkies that drop their needles anywhere else in the world.


That is not the best of it though....

There is an area of slum near to the site, and the inhabitants use the site as their toilet, with children and adults alike coming in, dropping heir pants and crapping.

We also had a leaking sewer (how many times have I been told that a site has no services on it, only to find it has) which the children were having a great time playing in.


We have had a few local drunks and beggars coming in. The security guards, and on one occasion a cop, are good at chasing them.

A Woman came in yesterday selling what looked like ginger root, some scruffy old pop bottles filled with muddy brown liquid and what looked like foil wrapped sweets.

I didn't understrand the security guard's explanation, but gather that these were all supposed to be endowed with viagra like properties.

Once I manage to get the photo's up, It should give an impression of the city, the site and the company we had in the trial pits. The garbage smells as bad as it looks and the cockroaches are enormous.