Blue Bag

Safari Club International has a humanitarian program called "SCI Blue Bag." The general idea behind the program is that individual hunters destined for third world countries can take basic medical or other necessities into the country for the natives as checked on baggage. The program derives its name from the over sized blue duffel bags that are used by the hunters for transport of the supplies.

Vomba Clinic

Children at the Clinic
Our local SCI Chapter, The Nevada Desert Chapter, obtained a set of the large duffels and in 2006 I was the first member to take one of the blue bags out of the country. As far as Zimbabwe is concerned, the program is much more suited to communal hunting areas than National Parks areas. The Gokwe area that I hunted in 2006 is one of those communal areas. Communal areas are essentially owned by the local tribes. The local community manages the game within the guidelines and restrictions set by National Parks. Trophy fees and meat from the game shot in those areas belongs to the tribe. Conversely, National Parks areas are directly managed by the Zimbabwean government. Generally, when hunting in a communal area, a hunter will be in and out of small villages and farms daily. As a result, delivery of the Blue Bag humanitarian supplies is easy. While in Zimbabwe in 2008, we hunted the Dande North area which is mainly National Parks with only a bit of Communal land.

Vomba residents posing at Clinic with Blue Bag

Clinic Director explaining the gift to the residents (there was a roaring applause)

Dave Small, our local SCI president was excited to get one of our bags into circulation. He volunteered to shop for and purchase a tremendous amount of over-the-counter medications, first aid supplies, soaps and school supplies. I talked the doctor into giving me prescriptions for huge antibiotics orders, which I filled along with my malaria prophylactic. In total, our bag was completely stuffed and included about 2500 doses of antibiotics. I paid the Delta's extra charge for a third checked bag to get the stuff from Vegas to Africa.


Before I arrived Zim, an apprentice PH had been sent to an area to scout for elephant near a village called Vomba. He and the trackers had located several good bulls there, and so we hunted it (unsuccessfully) three days. In that village there were the remnants of a clinic which, in the absence of any medical supplies, had been transformed into a makeshift community center. Kirk targeted the place immediately when he discovered I had the blue bag to deliver.

Huts in the Vomba village

We finally stopped there on the third trip through and sent the head tracker to look for the "director" of the clinic. The clinic was literally packed with a people from the community who were simply "hanging out," since they had nothing better to do. There were very excited to have the supplies delivered, as it had been quite some time since they had had any medical supplies at all in the clinic. We discovered that the sum total of the prior medical supplies in the clinic amounted to 6 condoms! (to the extent those can be considered medical supplies)

Hanging out at the Clinic

It certainly was a highlight of the trip. There is simply no medical treatment for the rural residents of Zimbabwe, which I suppose accounts for the average life expectancy being 35 years. I'll never know, but I hope our gift made some difference, if only temporary, in the depressed Zimbabwean village.