So much going on!
Whew! What a past couple weeks I’ve had!
It’s busy busy here in Botswana, lots of great things are
happening, and the rainy season is a’comin’!
Let me keep you abreast of the recent going-ons in Gobojango
alone.
First of all, I’m in the process of writing a Peace Corps
Partnership Program Grant for the primary school to get shade in their newly
built playground. The students of the
school out-scored every other school in our district on their 2011 aptitude
tests and therefore, the school received a sum of 30,000 pula to put towards
the development of the school. Well, after buying a new copy machine, updating
a roomful of computers’ software, spending money on some small prizes to
encourage kids to continue athletics, and building a new playground, the
development money has run out. The only
thing is that, though the playground is beautiful, the sun scorches the
equipment so quickly that children are not able to use it or play on it during
the summer months. So all the hard work
that they’ve done to receive an entirely new recreational park is going to
waste unless there is shade netting put around the enclosure. I’m working closely with the deputy school
head and arranging for the grant to be posted soon so that the playground opening
can happen in late October.
Secondly, last weekend I travelled to Talana Farms in the
Tuli Safari Block. There, I lead an
aerobics class with my fellow volunteers, we put on a condom demonstration
(both male AND female), and I met the manager of the farms. 
I’ve continued to put on health talks in the clinic (except
for today since I’ve been sick and losing my voice). That’s been going well, the doctor likes to
record me and show the videos to the neighboring villages of Semolale and
Mabolwe. He hopes that by increasing
health education will decrease the amount of recurrent patients who come to the
health post.
I’m also creating a garden in my back yard. I’m hoping that by using perma-gardening
techniques that we learned during PST, I will be able to maintain a vegetable
garden on my compound. Lorato, my
neighbor and friend, said she would be willing to help me since her family owns
the garden on the outskirts of Gobojango.
This weekend I will be having two things going on. First, on Saturday, I will be travelling to
my shopping village Bobonong for a Health Fair that is going on. There, I will be an assistant in the DHMT
(District Health Management Team) tent, and conducting condom
demonstrations. Next, the following day,
on Sunday, I will be leading a training with the Kings Foundation for
facilitators within my community. I have
arranged a group of 20 volunteers who work with children and who could be
perfect for this training. Pretty much I’ll
be having people come here on Saturday night, then have them leave on Sunday
morning.
What’s next? I went to Kanye this past weekend for a
wedding. It was really refreshing to be
back in that village. It was nice to see
where I used to live and feel how much I’ve grown since arriving in
Botswana. I met a few of the new
volunteers, and almost found it comical how wide-eyed and eager they were to
listen to every word of advice I had. I
know exactly how they feel, and by golly, I wouldn’t trade anything in the
world to be where they are now and have to go through PST (pre-service
training) a second time. It’s definitely
a necessary training…but I’m much happier now that I’m at site.
I’ve started planning for some trips to happen in the near
future. Soon I’ll be heading to the Salt
Pans of the northern region to see a flamingo sanctuary and to stay in Baobab
Tree house Hostels. SO awesome. Then, In
October, I’m going with a group of other volunteers to Namibia for Oktoberfest.
Hopefully, I’ll have enough vacation days to stay in the country and go sand boarding
and sky diving. If not, I’m still excited to go to Namibia! November marks the
month where I will be heading to the third largest town in Botswana: Maun, for
Thanksgiving. As many of you are aware,
individuals throughout Botswana do not celebrate this wondrous holiday, so we
are going to go big, volunteer style ;) We are having a huge potluck and are
going to somehow get our hands on a turkey and some cranberries.
Then, happily enough, I can report that only a few weeks
after that, I will be going back home to beautiful Colorado to see my magnificent
family!
So joyous. =D
Well thanks for reading! Until next time, have a great day
and don’t forget to tell someone how much you love them!
Comments
Post a Comment