I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little skeptical of the true intensity that lay ahead. In just a matter of minutes my skepticism would be put to rest. Floating through the soft and sandy two track with the roar of the engine reaching a new level, the steering wheel resisted any sort of instruction as we weaved our way into the bush. No sooner had the words “Be on the watch for elephants” left Anton’s mouth when my knees hit the dash of the Defender.

“Elle! Elle straight ahead!”

My eyes strained to focus as I looked through the windshield, only to see an adult female elephant charging directly at us. As if from a scene in Jurassic Park, Anton calmly said: “Do not move. At all.”

The soft click of my camera lens was all that I responded with. I watched in awe as she came to an abrupt halt, digging in her front heels and shaking the dust off her now fully deployed ears. A few seconds later and the whole encounter was over, leaving the convoy at a loss for words. As Anton put the car into gear again and slowly rolled past the elephant tracks, I had gained a whole new perspective on what the word “wild” meant in Southern Africa.

Pushing through kilometres of increasingly difficult terrain revealed just how important each member of this team would be in the hours and days to come. Karl, the resident optometrist for 4x4Outfar, along with his wife Adi, often held the group together with a mixture of caffeine and light-hearted banter. Keeping spirits up across the radio as the height of water crossings went from lug nut, to over-tire, and at times over the hood, or as they say in South Africa, “over the bonnet.” Cam, our fearless videographer, was often running barefoot at full speed back and forth between rigs to capture the true nature of what we were getting ourselves into.

The farther we crept into the wilderness, the more the road began to turn to mud, Bogging down our extremely well-equipped vehicles and creating hour-long rescue missions. Ivor, a skilful man of few words, and his daughter Megan, took up the role of leading our pack through unknown water. Our routine of “walking it” became an all too familiar occurrence when staring down the 50-meter watering holes on our route. At times we even made the decision to cut a new road alongside the standing water, only to find stubborn mud, stumps, and the occasional downed trees. Hour after hour we made our way through the bush, until a moment came that felt uncomfortably quiet. 90 kilometres into our push, with another 60 kilometres still ahead of us, the engine in Anton’s Defender came to a sputtering halt. We were officially stuck.

The sun was shining down on miles and miles of wilderness in every direction, and we were right in the middle of it. Noticing our journey had gone from a confident yet progressive struggle to a much more serious scenario, Anton reached for the satellite phone to send out an SOS.

Not knowing if help would make its way to us before sundown, we made our best effort to pull the Defender with a tow line through mangled bush road. Ultimately, we realised that the Defender had to be left behind. Grabbing only the bare essentials, we packed Anton, his wife Melita, and daughter Cayla into the remaining three vehicles and watched Anton’s Defender disappear into the bush through the rear view mirrors.

It was clear with one vehicle down, the stakes became higher at each water crossing. Knowing that if something else failed, our likelihood of getting out would be close to zero. Chatter continued to come across the radio as we raced the daylight. As we watched the soggy green landscape pass by, our eyes grew wide hearing the radio crackle. Adi’s voice came through with the words, “rigs on the horizon!” A wave of relief washed over the entire team. We were greeted soon after by two safari patrols sent out from a lodge to respond to Anton’s SOS.

Hopping out of our vehicles we shared a moment of pure gratitude with our new lodge companions. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Anton with his head buried in a well-deserved moment of emotion. Knowing our journey wasn’t over yet, Anton joined the safari convoy retracing our path to recover his beloved vehicle. Let’s just say that the radio was full of light-hearted jokes as we pressed on.

On the final leg of our trek to the other side of the Okavango Delta, we found ourselves in another pickle. The safari patrol leading the way home fell to the same fate as we had so many times earlier. Wheels buried and high-centred in the mud. This was almost routine for them, and we watched the locals demonstrate their seemingly effortless recovery skills. In a fraction of the time we would have spent ourselves, they used the surroundings to their advantage and were back in action. As fate would have it, Anton’s Defender was able to be rebooted and he even managed to switch roles, giving an assist to the bogged-down safari patrol… Something I don’t think he’ll let any of us forget any time soon.

The rest of our community vision work with 4x4Outfar went off without a hitch. Each village we were able to visit and provide testing would become a testament to the resilience only to be found in a team that is truly committed to its mission. When all was said and done, this trip would see the 4x4Outfar team provide vision testing for over 2,000 children, and distribute 86 pairs of prescription eyeglasses to some of the most deserving and compassionate communities I’ve ever encountered.

On the return trip to the airport, Anton expressed how grateful he and his team have been for the love and support they’ve received from the iKamper community around the world. How much it means to them to be able to go out and do this work to Love People & Love Nature. I told him that one wouldn’t exist without the other.

As the plane took off, I got one last look down at that line in the wild I saw weeks ago. Returning my gaze to the seat back in front of me, I couldn’t help but write these few words down: “The wrong road for the right reasons…the legend of Anton Poplett.”

Text: Eric Gordon | Images: Eric Gordon, Cameron Stuart and courtesy of Anton Poplett

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As I flew from Seattle to the unspoiled landscape of Botswana, I looked down and saw a single road cutting through one of the wildest places on Earth. Little did I know I would soon be standing in the middle of a road just like that one, thigh-deep in muddy water, wondering what I had gotten myself into.

I first connected with Anton close to a year ago. I had received an email about his work providing life-changing prescription eyewear to children in some of the most remote villages of Southern Africa. After a few calls back and forth with Anton, it was clear this was a story that needed to be heard. As a part of iKamper’s commitment to Love People & Love Nature, we dedicated our 2021 Giveback Giveaway to support Anton’s work with 4x4Outfar (4x4outfar.com). The iKamper community showed its true colours and donated more than US$20,000 to further 4x4Outfar’s work. Fast forward six months, and as I watched muddy water spill over the hood of Anton’s 2010 Defender, there was no doubt left in my mind…this guy, his team, and their positive impact on the community are the real deal.

Leading up to this trip, the word “wild” seemed to find its way into conversations with Anton quite regularly. As an avid adventure seeker in my own right, I took it with a grain of salt knowing that word can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. I know now that I’d be leaving with a whole new understanding of “wild” by the time I left Botswana.

When I landed in Maun, Botswana after a leg-cramping 48 hours of airport travel, Anton was waiting to greet me with what I would come to know as South African hospitality. As we drove, Anton explained that possibly the most important piece of this adventure was situated right next to my luggage. A fully self-sufficient prescription eyewear inventory and diagnostic system that allowed him and his team to do what they do successfully. Over the next week and a half, I learned just how impactful this corrective eyewear system would be. As well as how essential the Skycamp 2.0 was to complete the 4x4Outfar team’s rigs.

We pulled up to the first school and established an order of operations that would become more and more efficient as each day of the trip passed.

• Step 1. Find the best-shaded area in the schoolyard to park our rigs. Almost always under massive trees in the middle of the property.
• Step 2. Measure out a four-meter distance from the side of our vehicles where eye charts were mounted. The classic ones you might recognise from your own childhood eye exams.
• Step 3. Greet the kids who have already spilled out of their classrooms with excitement, and separate them into lines with the help of the school teachers.

Starting with the large “E” at the top of the chart, a chorus of “Good!” and “Well done!” echoed throughout the schoolyard as the testing was underway. Followed by bursts of laughter and curiosity from children waiting in line. Eventually, a small group of children would form a new line for secondary testing.

This is when the real work begins. Often paired with a local teacher, Anton’s crew would take what they like to call the “You See” glasses, and gently fit them on a child’s face. USee glasses have one small opening for each eye with a dial on either side to adjust lenses and identify prescription strength needed. Once the initial confusion was sorted out, the children would turn the dial for each eye and watch as their world slowly came into focus for the first time. After a few minutes to set the prescription lenses into frames, we were handing the children a brand new pair of eyeglasses on the spot.

Like many youngsters, they were often shy at first and would calmly walk away, but as soon as they got back to their group of friends a big smile would appear on their faces and life would pick up right where it left off. Teachers at each school would share with us some of the struggles that certain students had been experiencing simply because they couldn’t see what was written on the chalkboard. Watching children struggle to discern even the largest letters on the vision chart, it hit home that they have been living with this issue every moment of every day. For many of us, an issue like this would be identified and dealt with at a very early age. 4x4Outfar’s work is giving these children the chance see clearly for the first time in their lives.

Anton and his team have been doing this work for close to four years now. They shared a particular story with me that was very similar to the schoolyard in front of me. On a previous trip, they helped a young boy with prescription lenses. After receiving his new glasses, he improved exponentially in school, and along the way even taught himself how to knit. Anton explained to me that over the past two years this young man was able to knit scarves and sell them to support his family. Eventually earning enough to buy himself a brand-new school uniform.

Stories like these, along with so many others, demonstrate the incredible ripple effect of this work. When a community of people comes together to spread love far beyond their borders, that is what it truly means to Love People & Love Nature.

Text: Eric Gordon | Images: Eric Gordon and Cameron Stuart

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In the developed world, there is about one eye-care professional to every 8,000 people. In the developing world, the relationship is more like one to one million.

Anton Poplett used to be a rescue swimmer for the NSRI, and overlanding has featured in both his private and occupational life for many years. Once he stopped working with the NSRI, he still wanted to put his skills to good use—so he turned his attention to visiting remote communities in Africa and to bring them eyeglasses.

Equipped with the Global Vision 2020’s USee Vision Kit, Anton and his team have the ability to test children, or adults, and provide them with a pair of glasses in a matter of minutes. But not only does Anton help by being on site for a limited amount of time, he also recruits people trusted by their community, teaches them to continue his work once he has departed, and provides them with the necessary equipment and supplies.

The concept of overlanding with a mission is something we can all contribute to—this can be as simple as minimising your environmental impact while travelling, learning a new skill which you can put to good use for others, or by supporting organisations that work to support less fortunate families.

Anton Poplett is just one example of how the overlanding community can help.

DRIVEN TO DELIVER VISION

My Land Rover Defender is not a luxury vehicle for glamorous safaris. I’ve turned it into a travelling eye testing rig, and I’m taking it far off the beaten track.

It was the end of June 2021, and the COVID-19 third wave was spreading like wildfire through South Africa. Lockdown regulations were expected to be tightened, and travel restrictions were imminent.

Despite this, I, the founder of 4x4outfar, was driving my Land Rover Defender 110 up from Cape Town, with all the luggage and equipment for my next overland expedition to Botswana. Joining me on this expedition were eminent optometrist and fellow 4×4 enthusiast Karl Danneberg, his son, cameraman Cam Stuart, and my wife and seven-year-old daughter. In the face of the corona virus, we had a very different epidemic in our sights.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than two billion people have either a near or distance vision impairment. Almost 50 percent of these cases could have been prevented or have never been treated. This makes poor vision the world’s largest unaddressed disability. In the developing world, especially remote areas, there’s almost no access to corrective eye care. Retired United States Marine Kevin White was determined to address this problem. His solution was inexpensive and ingenious.

THREE SIMPLE STEPS TO BETTER EYESIGHT

The Global Vision 2020 kit could hardly be simpler. It starts with an easy eye chart test. No need for reading, numeracy, or even a common language, just fingers held in the correct direction: left, right, up, or down.

If poor vision is identified, it’s time for the specially-developed self-diagnostic lens kit. This looks like a strange pair of sunglasses, with large white knobs on either side, and long clear lenses like rulers in front of each eye. The patient turns the knobs to dial the variable power lenses up and down in front of their own eyes until they can see clearly—similar to adjusting a pair of binoculars.

Then, a colour-coded system makes it a matter of moments to select the correct lens for each eye, and snap them into a pair of frames. In this way, a pair of custom prescription glasses can be provided in around five minutes, and for less than five dollars per person.

While Global Vision 2020 manufactures the kits, and provides the training to use them, humanitarian faith-based organisations, NGOs and individuals partner with them to deliver the prescription eyeglasses. I step up and run the Africa operations to show how it’s done. After all, what better way could there be for overlanding enthusiasts to put their passion for adventure—as well as their gear—to good use?

ELEPHANTS CROSSING

The Bobirwa Eye Project had been two years in the planning, and would be another deep rural mission in Botswana using the Global Vision kit. Previously, my team and I had visited schools in the Okavango Delta district, screening 4,300 kids and implementing hundreds of pairs of eyeglasses. This time, I had planned to do a circuit around six primary schools in the wild (lesser known) Tuli Block region in Bobirwa—a place where the only traffic jams are of the wildlife kind, and elephants are considered a routine roadblock.

There are few to no tourist facilities in that area, so we camped at the schools, teachers’ houses or in rough campsites in the middle of the bush. Again, places where elephants, lions, hyenas and leopards can be expected. This, along with the combination of bad roads and sketchy cell phone reception, meant that preparation and proper gear were vital, and I spent most of my waking hours for three weeks putting everything systematically into my Defender.

The expedition got off to a smooth start as the team crossed the border under sunny skies. The first test of our skills came as the sun vanished while we were still negotiating narrow roads through the middle of the bush, on the way to our first camp on the banks of the Limpopo River. Fortunately, I had installed a new set of Vision X ADV2 lights on my Land Rover Defender, which gave me the confidence to continue through the utterly unknown terrain of long grass, Baobabs and tall Mashatu trees. For my wife and daughter, it was a thrilling and late introduction to the expedition.

LEAVE NO CHILD UNTESTED

After a weekend of preparing and checking out the river, the project started with the usual chaos of the team finding its rhythm, but we soon had an efficient system worked out. With more than 2,000 children to screen in five days (one of which was a public holiday), everyone on the expedition took part in the process, so that none of the children were left unscreened. Everything was done with strict adherence to health protocols of sanitising, mask-wearing, temperature checks, and social distancing.

Although several adults, including teachers, were given eyeglasses, the project was focused on screening children between 10 and 14 years of age, a critical period when the eye is coming into its middle stage of development. At each school, we were joined by Children In The Wilderness (CITW) Eco Mentors (two of which were trained to use the kit after we had left), all of whom are local teachers, caregivers or parents. Since many of the younger children were apprehensive about the tests, it was reassuring for them to have someone familiar explain what these strangers were doing.

Our thoroughness and attention to detail uncovered an undiagnosed phenomenon in ten of the children. Noticing this anomaly, Karl performed more thorough eye exams, which led him to suspect a sight-threatening condition called Keratoconus, a progressive thinning of the cornea. Once his diagnosis is confirmed, the team will follow up with a suggested course of action.

DUST AND DUNG, NOT DISNEY

To reach the schools, Karl and I relied heavily on our 4×4 overlanding skills and equipment. The dirt roads were rough, with corrugations, deep dongas, and divergent routes with some sharp bends to tackle. Sometimes it would take more than an hour and a half of driving in second gear to cover a distance of just 30 kilometres. We frequently saw Bobanong’s lone ambulance going in different directions—a reminder of the scarcity of healthcare services in this wild area. There was little other traffic and only two “traffic jams”—one, when we had to wait for a herd of elephants crossing, and another, when two giraffes were somewhat inconveniently having a fight right in the middle of the road.

The days were as long and busy as the roads were long and dusty. Wildlife encounters aside, humanitarian work in Africa is anything but a Disney movie. There is often conflict between elephants and humans, so vigilance is vitally important. But my family and I found joy in unexpected places. For my wife, it was the beautiful combination of Buchu bush smells, dung, and dust that hung in the air at dusk. For my daughter, it was endless helpings of delicious mealie pap [local maize dish], and the intriguing variety of stones, bones, and poo offered up by the African bush, some of which returned home with her. And for me, it was a chance encounter with a little girl that still brings a lump to my throat and the glimmer of tears to my brown eyes when I think of the story:

THAT, TO ME, IS GOLD. THAT’S EXACTLY WHY I DO THIS

We hadn’t had any reception whatsoever for the last three days, and we found out earlier in the week that the return flights were cancelled following the new lockdown restrictions. So, I went back to the first school we visited, Lentswele Moriti Primary. There’s a tree there, and if you go and stand right underneath it, you can get signal.

While I was there, I asked the teacher a few questions, and she brought me one of the young girls who had received glasses from us a few days before. The little girl was very shy about her English, but she told me that before, she could never sit in class and do the work like the other children, she could only listen. Now, with her glasses, she can see clearly. Her uncle also told the teacher that he’s noticed a great improvement in her eyesight, and that she’s even started to take an interest in her homework for the first time. That, to me, is gold. That’s exactly why I do this.

EDITOR’S NOTE Anton’s next 4x4outfar expedition is planned for the Hwange district in Zimbabwe. To find out more, follow him on Instagram: @4x4outfar

This article first appeared in the 2021 Summer edition of Overland Journal.

Photography: Anton Poplet

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In a single day one might debride an open fracture, skin graft a burn contracture release sustained by an epileptic patient who fell into a cooking fire while post-ictal, thyroidectomy, hysterectomy, and open prostatectomy on the elective “list”, interrupted by a C-section for a rupturing uterus in protracted late labor, and emergency trephining of an epidural hepatoma in a skull fracture sustained in a fall from a mango tree—all while entertaining “consults at the theatre door”—Pott’s disease, spinal TB osteomyelitis, typhoid fever with abdominal pain, Marjolin ulcer in an old burn scar, quadriceps pyomyositis as the initial presentation of AIDS (WHO stage III), plantar African melanoma.

In fact, this isn’t hypothetical at all; this is a record taken from the journal of Glenn Geelhoed MD, founder of Mission to Heal (M2H), dated July 21st 2009.

VOLUNTEER WITH DELIBERATION

Not only are the symptoms and diseases as diverse as the patients themselves, but the conditions under which the doctors have to operate are a far cry from what they have left behind in the first world. Makeshift buildings with windows boarded up in an effort to keep the flies out; potable water and electricity unticked boxes of a most basic wish-list.

Flying into these locations tears volunteer medical students out of their comfort zones, but at the same time, it is here where they will learn more during their short assignment than anywhere else.

Forty years ago, Glenn, unable to ignore the desperation of ethnic groups struggling to survive beyond any kind of infrastructure and without medical aid, knew he was capable of doing much more than just helping individual patients in the modern world.

So he took heed from the adage “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime“, and developed a cost-effective strategy how he could teach people to take care of their own, thereby reducing their dependency upon a system that was failing. This is just one example of how M2H effects change:

THE PROBLEM

The problem: Hernia. You may well think this isn’t a life-threatening problem and you would be right—in our world. Hernias are just one of those small inflictions which can be surgically remedied very quickly.

In the third world, people carry heavy loads of water every day—it’s not a case of if a hernia will occur, but when. Left untreated, a hernia can often become strangulated, ultimately leading to infection and death. An injury we hardly think about twice is killing countless people every year. Unnecessarily.

THE RESOLVE

The resolve: Glenn assembles his team and travels to the remotest of regions. His first task upon arrival is to ascertain who could be potential students and develop into caretakers.

Once a surgery has been prepared, he invites the students to attend the first operation where he demonstrates and explains the procedure. For the patients that follow, Glenn takes a step back and guides his students through the same procedures until they are proficient enough to work alone.

THE OUTCOME

The outcome: indigenous caretakers empowered with skills and supplied with equipment to continue saving lives after Glenn and his team have departed.

Throw a single stone in a lake and long after it has sunk beneath the surface, the ripples continue in ever-expanding circles.

RESTORE DIGNITY

Four decades; over 200 missions; locations as remote as the Pole of Inaccessibility in Africa, the conflict troubled region of South Sudan, the Philippines, Mongolia; in excess of 2,500 medical student volunteers (many of whom have returned for further tours); approximately 1,250 trained indigenous caretakers; hundreds of thousands of saved lives. All made possible by Dr. Glenn Geelhoed’s energy, determination and guidance.

M2H is entering a new chapter and preparing to take two large steps: Firstly, to build an executive team to coordinate missions, manage the supply chain, recruit volunteers, and generate sponsorship. Secondly, to grow a new fleet of Mobile Surgical Units (MSU) in close cooperation with Bliss Mobil (blissmobil.com).

BLISS TAKES MOBILE SURGERY TO A NEW LEVEL

When Glenn started looking for a manufacturer to build highly mobile surgical units, he sent one of his team to visit the 2017 Abenteuer & Allrad show in Bad Kissingen, where first contact with Bliss Mobil was made.

Bliss is renowned for their luxury cabins, incorporating every amenity an overlander may wish to call upon when away from civilisation, regardless of whether that adventure takes them to the Sahara or above the Arctic Circle. Best described as an all-in-one box incorporating all essential functions from electricity to water supply, the cabins are integrated into a container-style frame allowing them to be taken off the vehicle and either used completely autonomously as a stand alone unit, or relocated on another chassis—both criteria particularly apt for a mobile medical care centre.

DUE DILIGENCE

Bliss Mobil was founded upon a business with a wealth of experience in specialist manufacturing and is qualified to design and build an MSU from scratch; but still they chose to employ the assistance of a local university for some of the development projects. Of course, there were challenges along the way, but the intimate relationship between M2H and Bliss has meant (and I quote Glenn here), “some of the things I considered nice-to-haves, have been integrated into the unit in such a way as to exceed my wildest expectations.”

Fully aware of the harsh terrain and potentially hostile environments the MSU may encounter, every aspect has been taken into account to ensure the best operational capabilities and safety for the personnel; backup systems are in triplicate; even water can be harvested onboard from the powerful air conditioning and water filtration systems.

Carefully researched, Bliss determined the MAN KAT 6×6, with its military prowess, as the ideal vehicle to accommodate the MSU. Capable of travelling across the most technical terrain and with a healthy fording depth, even the most remote destinations are suddenly within grasping distance, allowing Glenn and his team to take the MSU to where it is most desperately needed—places no other mobile surgery can reach.

As with any vehicle, servicing the Deutz motor regularly and readily available spare parts are paramount to keeping the MSU mobile and available at all times. Deutz’s experience and their recently launched online global spare parts network guarantees fast response and short lead times.

Bliss Mobil have proven themselves an innovative partner, pushing boundaries to design and complete the first of at least five MSUs.

M2H is keen to put the vehicle into service and is already working together with the African Union to prepare the first missions to Zimbabwe and Ethiopia at the beginning of 2019.

GET INVOLVED

Mission to Heal has some important new projects planned for next year and needs your support: 12 missions to Southeast Asia and the Philippines, 18 missions to Africa. Glenn and his team look forward to your application as a volunteer. Donations are welcome. For more information, please visit www.missiontoheal.org.

This article was first published in the Summer 2018 issue of Overland Journal Europe.

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