When Tyler Thompson told his mother he was going on holiday to South Africa with his best friend, Marcel Malanga, she could not help but worry. Tyler was 21, and ready to leave his home in the prosperous suburbs of Salt Lake City to see the world. But it would be his first trip abroad, and neither of his parents had been to Africa.
A few things made her feel calmer: Marcel’s father, Christian, who lived in Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, had said he would look after the two young men, who had been on the high school football team together. He even paid for Tyler’s flights. In return, Tyler, who had been learning how to pilot drones in his spare time, would help Christian map gold mines that he ran in southern Africa. Tyler thought it would look good on his CV.
