Trip to Africa changes his life.

Byline: Andrew Brophy

Aug. 26--FAIRFIELD -- Last August, Randi Oster was flipping through Family Circle magazine when she noticed a small ad that advertised an essay-writing contest by National Geographic.

It was summertime, and Oster's 13-year-old son, Gary, wasn't especially busy, so Randi asked him if he'd like to enter.

"I had said to him, 'Do you want to watch TV or write an essay?' He chose to write an essay," Randi recalled. "If he said he didn't want to enter and write the essay, I wouldn't have made a big deal out of it."

But Gary got to work and wrote an essay on the balance of nature that was so good, National Geographic selected him as one of only 15 children nationwide to go exploring in South Africa. Nearly 5,000 kids entered the contest.

Gary and his mother stayed in South Africa for 10 days earlier this month, and both said they were struck by the happiness of children who had so little, the sacrifices made by their parents, the majesty of wild animals and how different South African culture was from American culture.

"I learned the world is a much bigger place than I thought it was," Gary said a few days after he returned to Fairfield. "The world really is a bigger place and a better place."

The American kids, ages 10 to 13, were part of National Geographic's Kids Hands-On Explorer Expedition Team. They were accompanied by their parents and five people from National Geographic, including Boyd Matson, host of public television's "Wild Chronicles."

The South African trip for American kids was the second annual trip hosted by National Geographic. Last year, kids went to the Galapagos Islands; next year, they're going to Australia, said Caryn Davidson, National Geographic's director of communications.

"We're looking for the next generation of explorers," Davidson said.

NBC's "Today Show" sent a film crew on the trip and plans to broadcast footage Sept. 8. National Geographic also sent a film crew, but the date of that broadcast isn't set, Davidson said.

Gary recalled with excitement his underwater observation of great white sharks from a metal cage off the Western Cape, which Randi had tried to discourage by renting "Jaws" before they left.

But "Jaws," which kept so many people out of the ocean in the summer of 1975, didn't deter Gary. He said the shark that terrorized Long Island, N.Y., in the movie looked mechanical.

Randi allowed the shark dive, but only after "three weeks' worth of convincing," Gary said.

Gary said he also liked seeing elephants, rhinos, lions and buffalo at the Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve and whales, dolphins, penguins and other sea animals in the Western Cape.

Gary said he saw a fight between two elephants, but it wasn't a major dispute and appeared to stem from which elephant would stand his ground.

Gary and other American kids on the trip also traveled to Dyer Island to build nests for penguins, many of whom were sick or oiled. Davidson said she thinks the trip gave kids and their parents a new appreciation for wild animals and how they fit into the world.

Gary said he also was really struck by the poverty in South African townships visited by the group.

In the Masakhane Township, Gary said 100 people lived on an acre in homes no bigger than a small garden shed. "The walls were made out of cardboard and the roof was made out of aluminum. For every 1,000 houses, there is one outhouse," Gary said.

Getting water isn't as easy as turning on a tap. Mothers of children in the Sam Nzima Primary School, just outside Sabi Sabi, have to walk 1 miles to a pump and haul 30 gallons back to their families every day, Gary said.

Men who work in the Masakhane Township have to spend 11 months every year away from their families in order to provide for them, Randi said.

Gary saw a sign in Masakhane that read, "There's an important difference between giving up and letting go" and said it reflected how the men dealt with being away from their families 11 months a year. "These people will see their children once a year, but they don't give up on their families," Randi said. "They let them go so that they can then provide for them."

Before he left for South Africa on Aug. 6, Gary and his local friends did a six-mile walk-a-thon to raise money toward the purchase of a computer for the Sam Nzima school.

Gary and his friends raised $733, a good percentage of its overall $4,200 cost. "These kids had never seen a computer before, especially one with Internet access," he said.

Children at the Sam Nzima school also hadn't seen a digital camera before and jumped with excitement when Gary showed them pictures immediately after he took them.

Gary said about 70 kids were in a class in the Sam Nzima school and that its soccer field was not at all like soccer fields in Fairfield. "It looked like they were playing soccer on Death Valley," he said of the unmarked dirt field.

The two South African schools visited by the American kids, which included a school in the Masakhane Township, didn't have books, libraries, gymnasiums or cafeterias, Randi said.

"There was the classroom, maybe two classrooms, but no amenities. It was a room with chairs. You didn't even see bookshelves filled with books," Randi said, adding the most prominent feature in the schools was a chalkboard.

But the schoolchildren all seemed happy and grateful for what they had, Gary said.

"I asked the teacher who had 70 kids in a class, 'How do you control that?' and she said, 'They're just grateful to be here,' " Randi said.

Gary said he'd like to do another walk-a-thon to raise money for South African kids and that American kids who went on the National Geographic trip, whom he keeps in touch with by e-mail, also were interested in the idea. "I'm confident, if we all do something together, we can help these people," Gary said.

Gary's face lights up when he recalls his trip and says it changed his life. "From now on, I'm always going to enter a contest. The worst thing that can happen is I lose," he said.

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