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Episode 3

Ade begins this leg of his journey in Tanzania, in Selous Game Reserve. He is on the lookout for elephants but numbers in this park have fallen by 90% over the last few decades.

The third leg of Ade Adepitan鈥檚 epic four-part journey around Africa, a continent undergoing huge change. This leg takes him to the east of the continent, from Tanzania, through Ethiopia and on to war-torn Somalia.

Ade begins in Tanzania, in Selous Game Reserve 鈥� a game park the size of Switzerland. He is on the lookout for elephants. But the numbers in this park have fallen by 90 per cent over the last few decades. As well as poaching, one of the big problems is that elephants trample and eat crops 鈥� so the locals don鈥檛 like them. But a new collaring programme is helping numbers to recover.

Ade鈥檚 next stop is Ethiopia鈥檚 far north. He travels to the hottest place on the planet where he spends a night with some of the toughest people on earth - the Afar. He joins them doing what their ancestors have done for centuries 鈥� hacking blocks of salt from a dried-up salt lake and loading them onto camels. But change is finally coming to this place 鈥� thanks to another of its resources, the fertilizer potash. It is a sign of Ethiopia鈥檚 development, which Ade sees more of in the capital, Addis Ababa.

Having grown up with images of starving children in the famine-plagued 80s, Addis is nothing like Ade expected. The city is booming. And it is driving Ethiopia鈥檚 economy - now one of the fastest-growing in the world. Ade gets a guided tour from perhaps the world鈥檚 greatest-ever long distance runner, Haile Gebrselassie. Haile is now a businessman, with investments in coffee and construction
.
The real fuel in Ethiopia鈥檚 boom is manufacturing. Asia is still the workshop of the world, but with wages there on the rise, Chinese companies are increasingly looking to countries like Ethiopia to set up factories 鈥� as Ade discovers on a visit to a shoe factory.

Leaving Addis, Ade travels on Ethiopia鈥檚 new high-speed Chinese built train, which whisks him all the way to neighbouring Djibouti, a vital port for Ethiopia鈥檚 export-led economy.

The final stop on this leg of Ade鈥檚 trip is war-torn Somalia. He joins the African Union troops on a mission out of Mogadishu and discovers a country in ruins, thanks to decades of conflict with Islamist group al-Shabab. Even in areas ruled by the government conservative Islam dominates and women face restriction on their freedom. Back in Mogadishu, Ade shoots some hoops with a group of women defying the odds by playing basketball. His final encounter is with a female doctor who worked for the NHS for 30 years, and has now returned to Somalia to rebuild her country. She is prepared to give her life, if necessary, in her efforts to provide quality maternity care for new mothers.

59 minutes

Music Played

  • Saba

    Hanfarkaan (This Wind)

  • Maryam Mursal

    Kufilaw (Take Care)

  • Dub Colossus

    Azmari Dub

  • Remmy Ongala, Orchestre Super Matimila

    Totally Hot

  • Remmy Ongala & Orchestre Super Matimila

    Kipenda Roho

  • Remmy Ongala & Orchestre Super Matimila

    Karola

  • Remmy Ongala

    Dole

  • Dub Colossus

    Entoto Dub

  • Maryam Mursal

    Nin Hun (Bad Man)

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Ade Adepitan
Series Producer Olly Bootle
Executive Producer Sam Bagnall
Director Karolina Mottram
Producer Karolina Mottram

Broadcasts