Projects

There have been a few project ideas that I've had since the beginning of my service that are finally happening. It's funny how things work like that here in the Peace Corps. Part of me wishes these things would have started 6  months or even a year ago, but development work doesn't always work that way and can be a really slow process. Regardless I have the support for them now and I am excited to see my ideas transpire.

This past Tuesday, Valentine's Day,  I had my first Wellness Support Group Meeting for the Clinic Staff. Machaneng has a high rate of HIV/AIDS  like the rest of the country. This can cause a major strain on workers, especially on the clinic staff. With the high rate comes a high rate of patients coming in for treatment. This can cause a lot of stress especially since the clinic is understaffed. This becomes even worse when a worker gets sick. All of this stress can lead to unhealthy coping mechanisms and unproductivity. A wellness group can help to support workers in this area. With my degree in Exercise Science I have some knowledge on how to cope and deal with stress in healthy ways and I have some resources on various aspects of healthy life style living. I thought starting up a Wellness Support Group, where the staff can learn about healthy life style living, healthy outlets to deal with stress and anger, eating well balanced and nutritious meals, and just having a supportive group to blow off some steam in a healthy way would be beneficial to the clinic staff. I also know that not only is there a huge problem with HIV/AIDS in Machaneng but there is also a problem with obesity, high blood pressure, hypertension, and diabetes. These diseases become worse when coupled with HIV/AIDS.  If some leaders in the community learned more about these other diseases and how to counteract or reduce their risk of getting them the village of Machaneng could become a healthier community. I came up with idea back when I first came here and even tried to have a couple meetings but just didn't really have the support to keep it going. Fast-forward to now, I have a new counterpart who has an interest in exercise and wellness which allows this idea to become a reality. The first meeting went pretty smoothly. Only a couple people showed up from the clinic staff, but that is better than none. We did an icebreaker and then talked about what wellness is and the purpose of a wellness support group. I had them fill out a survey on the various aspects of wellness and their lifestyle habits. I hope after we've had some meetings I can have them refill out the surveys to see if their scores have improved or changed. We also discussed what would happen in future meetings and how this is their group so in order for it to be meaningful and effective they have to take ownership in the group. This is very important because I will be leaving in a few months, and if no one takes ownership then the group will die off when I leave. The plan now is to meet every day around 5pm to do some sort of aerobics or exercise like running or yoga and then once a week we would have a 30 minute lesson before the workout on some aspect of wellness (like nutrition, stress relievers, meditation practices, mental health, anger management etc). Eventually  once the group is solid and meeting regularly I hope we can put on some sort of event in the community like a wellness day or a 5k walk/run or something  in that vein of thinking.

Another project I have going on is reinstating health talks in the morning at the clinic. Most clinics in Botswana take advantage of the patients waiting to see the doctor, nurse or whatever they are there for and try to give a health talk of some sort. It's actually a pretty good idea, because you have a captive audience who isn't really going anywhere since they are just sitting and waiting. Machaneng Clinic hasn't done health talks with the patients in years because they say the patients don't want to be lectured to or don't listen to what they tell them. To be more engaging I decided to use some STEPS Videos (STEPS for Life is an organization out of South Africa who produces videos all over Africa and the films are translated into many of the African languages, each video deals with some sort of HIV/AIDS issue and are used to promote discussions in a community) and see if the patients would be more willing to listen. Who doesn't like watching a movie?? I had talked about this with my previous counterpart, but once again she just didn't seem interested or willing to help me. I brought the idea up to my new counterpart, Interview, and he loved it!! So after a few meetings of planning and going over with him how to do a screening we were ready to screen a film. On Wednesday I got to the clinic nice and early to make sure the DVD player and TV were working. Patients were trickling in, and I think a little confused as to why there was a TV set up in the middle of the clinic. We showed the short 7 minute film and then tried to have a discussion. The audience said they didn't really understand what the video was about and wanted to watch it again. The particular film I decided to show was actually filmed in Botswana, so I think that caught their attention. After watching it the second time the patients were more talkative. The whole discussion took place in Setswana, and my Setswana skills aren't great so I was glad to have Interview and the Senior Health Education Counselor there helping with the screening. They took over facilitating the discussion portion. Originally I had planned on the discussion portion to only last 10 minutes but it ended up lasting about 30, which is awesome! Later in the afternoon I met with Interview and Blackie (the Senior Health Education Counselor) and they filled me in on what was discussed. Interview thought it went really well and can't wait to show some other films. I also hope we can come up with some other creative ways to disseminate information to the patients in the waiting area, but this is definitely a great start!

It's a nice change to be busy again and feel like I am doing something and making a difference. It makes such a different to have someone who is excited to have me around and wants to make use of my knowledge and skills. I just didn't have that support with the last counterpart. The new counterpart is a refreshing change.

I am leaving tomorrow to use up my last days of vacation time before I have to go back on "lock down" in March. I am going with another volunteer and her friend from home to Durban and St. Lucia, South Africa, Lesotho, and Mozambique. I am really excited for this trip. Lesotho is supposed to have some of the most beautiful mountain ranges and I get to experience it on a horse!! The rest of the trip will be spent working on my tan, enjoying the beaches and ocean(I get to mark off a new ocean --I've never seen the Indian Ocean before), and eating some good seafood!!  Will post about the trip when I get back in March. 

Some Good and Some Bad

So let's start off with the bad. I was cleaning up my computer and accidentally deleted my "My Documents" folder. Since I am lazy or a complete idiot I haven't backed any of my files up since January when I first got my new computer. This means all of my documents that I have had since January for various projects and such are gone. :( I am not exactly sure how this happened but it did and it's very upsetting. I have heard that Windows never actually deletes anything so there might be a way to get my stuff back with some special program, but I am in a remote village in Africa so I doubt I will get that anytime soon. From now on I plan up backing up my stuff weekly or even daily.

Onto some better news. October went by really fast and I can't even believe we are into the second week of Novemeber. I had a lot going on during the month of October which is probably why it went by so fast . The first week I was in Namibia. Then I had a new trainee come and shadow me. Next the Peace Corps Botswana staff hosted a party for all the volunteers in country and some other special people. The party was to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps and the 40th Anniversary for Peace Corps Botswana. It was a really great day. The new director, Tim, spoke along with the US Ambassador, and some Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. Their speeches were great and I am sure very much needed. I think all the volunteers left that day with lifted spirits and a sense of encouragement. There were also plenty of crafts from around the country being sold and some raffles going on. Unfortunately I wasn't able to buy any of the crafts I wanted to or try my hand at some of my prizes because the day before my ATM card had gotten stuck in a machine. Clearly I have been having a string of bad luck lately. It was really frustrating because I had asked some guy that was standing by the machine if he was in line to use it and he said no, then later after my card was stuck and I realized the machine was broken and got the help I needed, he said his was stuck to. You think he would have told me that before I went and stuck my card in the machine! So in the end I was a little low on cash that weekend until I was able to get to my bank branch. But on a happier note I did win a Peace Corps Patch for participating in one of the activities they had during the day. I was super excited for the patch which will go on my backpack with all my other patches I have collected since being here in Botswana. I am getting quite the collection.  It was also great to meet some of the new volunteers. There's one from Ohio! She's soo enthusiastic about the state of Ohio she even has it tattooed on her! It was actually really refreshing to be able to talk to her about home. I was also able to spend some time chatting up with a fellow rower! It was great to relish in all my past memories of rowing, which I miss very much. The day was great and I am really thankful the Peace Corps Botswana Staff was able to put this on for us. They did a great job! Just to go along with the 50th, there is a really great project "Live Like A PCV" that some other PCVs came up with for people back home to be able to participate in the 50th Anniversary Celebrations and raise awareness about Peace Corps. I talk about it here and here. If you are interested in trying it out checkout the links, there's only this month and next left in the 50th Anniversary year but you are more than welcome to try your hand at the challenge any time!

Next I headed up to Bobonong to help another volunteer with a project. This project was dealing with repairing a house for the chairperson of their HIV+ Support Group. The lady was in much need of help and the Home Based Care group along with the PCV in the village raised funds to repair her house. I was there solely as an extra helping hand. We didn't get as much work done as we wanted to because the temperatures rose up to 107 F and higher on most of the days, but we were able to get the roof finished and shift some sand that will be used for the outside of the house. It was great to be apart of such a great project and it reminded me of all the mission trips I went on with my church youth group.

After I spent some time in Bobonong I headed to a Halloween Party another volunteer was hosting. It was fun and nice to spend some time with some of my group that I don't see as often. They had some great costumes. Mine was a flop because no one at the party knew who I was supposed to be. Next year I plan on redeeming myself and having the most aweseomest costume ever!

the best costumes at the party...jealous I wasn't apart of this awesomeness!

Since then I have just been working on some projects in my community.  Today I was asked by the doctor and new head nurse at my clinic to load my Mavis Beacon Typing Program and Rosetta Stone Program onto their computers. They want to be able to work on their typing skills when I am not around and work on learning some other languages like French and English. I think it is really cool that they are so enthusiastic about the programs. I might even load the Rosetta Stone onto the clinic's computer so that the staff can use it to work on their English skills.I also have this really great idea for the preschool and will be meeting with the Owner on Friday. I hope after I present the idea she will be on-board and we can get things started on that. My idea is going to take a lot of work, but if we can get the support needed from the community it will be great! I just hope it happens. Have been having lots of bad luck lately so maybe this will be my turning point :)

The next big thing I am looking forward to is Thanksgiving. Once again I am sad I won't be spending Thanksgiving with my family, but I do get to spend it with my Peace Corps Family and it's going to be even bigger than it was last year and we will have access to a pool, so as a substitute I think it's a pretty good deal :)

"The difficulties in life are intended to make us better, not bitter"

Typing Extraordinaire!

 The past few weeks I have started teaching various clinic staff members how to type using the program Mavis Beacon. It's long and tedious teaching typing, but at least Mavis makes it a little more fun. Because I am teaching them one at time I get to have some one-on-one time with them, which is a great way to learn more about them as individuals. Sometimes I ask myself why I didn't try to do this earlier in my service, guess that's the procrastinator in me. Better now then never, right? As I sit and watch over my "students" making sure they are hitting the keys with the right fingers, I am reminded of elementary school when I used Mavis Beacon's program to learn how to type. Something as little as that reminds me of how fortunate I was to grow up in a country and at a time where computers were easily accessible and all around me. The clinic staff envy how fast I can type and I constantly have to remind them that I have been typing for years and that in time and with practice they too will be fast like me (although I am not really all that fast, maybe 60-70wpm, and that might be generous). 

Another staff member came into the caravan while I was working with someone yesterday and became super interested in what we were doing. After setting up a time to work with me later this week she then said "Refilwe, this is a really great initiative you are starting here".  Teaching people to learn how to type and use a computer isn't something I thought I would be doing here. Actually my knowledge of computers is not very high. The extent being a typing class in high school and a Microsoft Office class in college. To say I was an expert by any means would be lying. Actually when I told my brothers (one has a degree in computer networking and the other is just starting his college degree in a computer related field) one of the things I do here is show people how to use the computer they laughed!  When I first told the idea to my counterpart, it was mostly just so I would have something to do. I came here as an HIV/AIDs Health Volunteer, so I guess I thought that I would be doing more stuff that directly had to do with HIV/AIDS education and prevention. Don't get me wrong I have done some of that, but it seems I have found other needs in my community.

Botswana is a rapidly developing country. If you go to the bigger villages you can buy I-phones and other fancy electronics. Cell coverage is just about everywhere and with that internet comes. Even in my smaller village of less than 3,000 people we have two internet cafes. Pretty much all the government offices have computers, but the problem is no one really knows how to use them correctly. They were never taught how, let alone even taught how to type correctly like I was growing up. Through my typing lessons some of the staff realized that the way they learned how to type, if they had learned anything at all, was wrong (most of them do what I like to call "chicken-pecking" with their index fingers). They are surprised to find out that when you type the correct way you use ALL your fingers! Who would have thought? Even though technology is on the rise in Botswana, there is a lack of education in the technology field. Hence why even our Data Entry Clerk at the clinic (she is trained on the computer) doesn't even know how to type correctly or use Microsoft Word or Excel.

After the nurse said what a great initiative this typing/computer lessons project was, I realized that I was actually doing something meaningful in the clinic and it isn't something to just pass the time I have left here. If it weren't for me the individuals that make up Machaneng Clinic Staff might never learn how to type or use the different computer programs correctly. The computers in the clinic would then go to waste, even though they are a great resource. Once the staff is more knowledgeable in the technology at their hands it would benefit them in so many ways. Organizational skills would increase, they could go computer based with forms and records, no longer having to tediously write out charts and tables by hand. This would save time allowing them to tend to the long lines of patients. It might even allow them to make more time in their busy day to start up different support groups or classes within the clinic for community members to attend. The benefits and opportunities are endless. I just hope they will continue to use the skills I teach them when I am gone next year. 

"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others." Percicles

Updates

Besides struggling with the ever inconsistency of running water in my village I have been very busy these past few months. Every quarter us PCVs have to report back to Peace Corps Headquarters on all that we have been doing. Reports are due Thursday so as I am compiling mine I have realized how much I have been doing. Here's a list of some of the projects I am working on, plus some things I did over this quarter:

-I started an aerobics class for the teachers at the Jr. Secondary School. They want to meet three times a week, but that has yet to occur. Right now the schools are on break so we haven't had it in a few weeks, but I hope to start it up again next week. 

-I was asked by the Athletic Director in early January to help coach the sprinters at the Jr. Secondary School. He said he wasn't familiar with how to train sprinters/runners and would very much like my help. I was very excited and began racking my brain for various workouts I did when I was a Sprinter on the Track Team in High School. I was able to coach a few practices and then all of a sudden I find out the Running season is over, and now the sports teams are practicing ball sports. This meant the sprinters/runners wouldn't be practicing again until next January! Bummer! After talking to the Athletic  Director we decided to form a small running/sprinter club with a few of the athletes. This was I would be able to continue to help the students learn drills and exercises so that when next season came they would reap the benefit of all their training. I had about 10 girls and 10 boys show up for the remainder of the practices. It was a lot of fun coaching them and I am looking forward to when practices begin again next week.

-My mother sent me a few children's books in some of my recent care packages. I have been using them to read with a few of the primary school girls in my village. The 9 year old girl who lives on my compound is the one I read with the most. She loves it! Some weekends when I am hanging up my washing she will come up to me and ask if we can read later! I am very excited to instill a sense of enjoyment in reading in these girls. Plus through reading these books they are gaining better English skills which is vital to them doing well in school. I hope in the next quarter to meet more regularly with the girls and maybe even set up some incentives.

Traditional Hut

Making Leather

-The first weekend of March one of the volunteers wanted to have a get together in her village to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps. Her village is in Kaudwane, which is near the Khutse Game Reserve right under the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, which is basically in the middle of the country. Kaudwane is literally in the middle of nowhere. It is really hard to get to and the last few hours of the trek there you have to hitch, because not many vehicles go in and out of her village. During the weekend the volunteer had activities planned to learn more about the culture of the people living in Kaudwane. The first night we got to go to the campsite of the Leopard Ecology and Conservation Research team. There they told us all about how they track the Leopards in the area and other wildlife. It was interesting and looked and sounded like they had really awesome jobs. The next morning one of the friends of the volunteer from the village gave a talk about the people of the village. Kaudwane is another settlement for the San/Bushmen/Khwe (koo) people. These are the people who were living in the ancestral lands of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. From the 1990s the government of Botswana wanted this group of people to relocate to Settlements so that they could receiver better education and medical care. Kind of like when our government forced the Native Americans into the Settlements, but Botswana handled this in a much more peaceful way. It was really interesting to hear about this part of Botswana's history, and to hear about it from someone who first hand experienced it. Later a few more of the villagers took us out on a bush walk. They showed us a traditional cattle post, different berries you could eat (and we got to try them), roots you could dig up and drink water from, and some of the crafts the locals make. It was really interesting and a great experience. Later in the evening we watched the Traditional Dance Group practice and then showed them some of our American Dances. It was a great time and a fun learning experience!

Making jewelry from ostrich shells

Teaching the villagers the Macerana

Showing us how to make leather

Getting water from a root

Riding in the back of the ambulance

 -The Privately owned farms/reserves near my village have many people living and working on them. It is very hard for these people to come into the villages whenever they are sick or need to see a doctor. The Government of Botswana is looking to set up a Mobile Clinic in a central location out of the reserves. One week I got to go with my counterpart and a few others of the clinic staff to find out how many people were actually living out there. I felt like we were census staff! It was fun getting to meet all the people and the land owners. Plus it was like we were on our own private safari will all the wildlife we saw those days!


-At the Matlhako Library the Librarian hired a few new staff members. This gave me another opportunity to teach them how to type and use the computers. It is a slow process but I go there twice a week to work with them for a few hours. Every time I go they are very eager to learn. As the weeks have gone by they are getting better and better at typing! Last week the couple that funded the building of the library came by to visit and check up on how things were going. It was really cool to meet them. They are from America and have built 7 libraries all over Botswana. During this visit they were also meeting with women in the village to talk to them about a new project they want to help fund. This project is a micro-loan committee for individual women in the village wanting to start up small businesses. It would be a great way to build up the village and for the women to start generating income. They asked me to help the committee and women through the process. At the meeting there were around 15 women who all had ideas for small businesses they wanted to start. Some of them even brought samples of things they wanted to sell. I hope in the future as this moves forward I will be able to put together some sort of business workshop for the committee and the women seeking a loan. This workshop would talk about budgeting, finances, loans, business plans etc. I think it would be beneficial for the women so that they will be able to prosper in their business.

The group meeting

She made this

She made this preschool uniform

-March is designated as Youth Against AIDS Month. Here in Botswana many villages have been having rallies and events for this. Two weekends ago our Catchment Area village of Makwate had an event and I was asked to come help out. The day started out with some speeches, drama and traditional dance group performances. After the opening ceremonies were through then stations were set up for people to go around to. There was a place to get HIV tested, a condom demonstration and info table,  a station to get your blood pressure checked, another station to get your insulin checked to see if you have diabetes, and a BMI station. I thought it was cool that this event not only focused on knowing your status but had other healthy aspects to it. I helped out at the BMI station by calculating people's BMI's and then my partner would explain to them in Setswana what it meant and how they could get into or stay in a healthy BMI range. It was nice to finally be able to use some of my knowledge from my schooling.

At the BMI station

Demonstration how to use a Female Condom

All the people lined up to get their BMI

-I am still continuing to work with the preschool in my village. This past term I was helping them to teach Phys. Ed to the kids. I tried to teach them the game Red Light, Green Light. They didn't get it the first day but they seemed to enjoy it. Recently I have been helping the owner to get some funding to expand her school. The building that the preschool is held in is not up to standards and she is risking being shut down if things are not improved. I hope to help her get some grant money so she can build a newer, bigger building that will allow her to give these kids the best early child education one can offer. With a new building the preschool will be able to take in more kids, which would be awesome for the community.

Some of the preschoolers

The building

-The other day the Out-of-School Youth Officer asked to meet with me. She was the person who wanted to open up a preschool/day care center for OVCs in the village and surrounding areas that would be free of cost. This project has kind of fell through so now she has a new project she wants me to help her with. In Machaneng, there is not much to do. This leads to youth partaking in unhealthy activities, like drinking, fighting, and having unprotected and sometimes transactional sex. What the Officer wants to do is to build a place for the youth to go to hang out that is safe a fun. After brainstorming with her for a little bit we came up with a plan of what would be ideal. A large space with a playground/activity park, sports fields, and building that has a recreational room full of games, books and other fun things, a classroom where youth can get help with their homework, do distance learning, and have a space for people to come a teach the youth various topics, and a store room. Obviously this is something that is going to take a lot of time and work to become a reality. I told her I would be happy to help her. First we need to acquire some land and then find funding to start building parts of the Youth Center. I think it would be very beneficial to the youth in the community.

Ok so as you can see I have been very busy. As time goes on I am realizing that people are starting to see that I am here in the village to help. I see now why Peace Corps has us here for 2 years. It really does take the first year for people to figure you out and understand where you can help. Now that I am coming up on the year mark I feel like all these different projects are popping up on me, whereas just a few months ago I was feeling like I wasn't doing anything and not being used. I guess I just needed to wait a little bit. I hope I will be able to finish all the projects I start and impact a few people in the village before I leave next year.