But we still have a lot to do (Part 2 of 2)

I worry sometimes that there won’t be enough time and sometimes I doubt whether I’m making the right decision by leaving at the end of my service. Should I have applied to extend for another year? I strongly considered it. I feel responsible for this project and my greatest fear is that the project won’t be sustainable and that people will consider it a waste of resources. But I also feel that there is only so much I would be able to do in another year. There is a strong group of volunteers working on this project, and we are fortunate enough to have a village institution (the Village Development Committee) that has been supporting this project from the beginning. I really believe that working on the reading room will be a great opportunity for the Peace Corps volunteer who replaces me in October and that there’s nothing I can bring to the table that the next volunteer wouldn’t be able to. Still… sometimes I can’t help but feel uneasy about my choices.

Right now, this unease is tied to my current greatest hurdle (it feels like there’s always something): internet. Once the electricity is connected and the computers and printers are installed, our dream is to have internet available on the three computers. We want to charge people a small fee for using the internet and use that money to pay for the room’s upkeep (electricity, paper, ink cartridges, etc). Not only would internet add to the room’s sustainability, it would be such a game changer for people in my village. Right now, the people who are lucky enough to have nice enough phones that have some access to internet essentially only have access to facebook and whatsapp. Both of those applications are incredibly popular and add many opportunities for people to explore their interests and keep in touch with people from all over. However, having complete access to the internet could add so much more. Just being able to google things and ask questions. To do research for school projects. To look up job postings. To learn a new skill. I get so excited whenever I picture it.

Still, internet is not cheap. We’ve been so focused on just putting these two rooms together that we haven’t done enough to find a feasible method of getting internet to the reading room. There is a wealthy businessman from the next village over who does a lot of philanthropic work in the region. He is a huge supporter of education and I have been telling about our project every step of the way. I have told him about our dreams for internet and asked him to consider supporting us. I am also thinking of writing requests for support to the three major internet companies in Botswana. Maybe one of them could sponsor us as part of their philanthropic work. The issue, once again, is time. Everything takes so much longer than I hope it will and I am running out of time. Any ideas or words of wisdom from people with experience with this sort of thing would be very much appreciated.  I tend to paint a fairly rosy picture of my experiences during my service, mostly because I am an optimistic person in general and do not find it constructive to focus too much on the negative aspects of life. But I thought it was important to write a post about some of the doubts and struggles I’ve experienced along the way.

Progress

We are making progress (Part 1 of 2)

It has been a long time since I updated this blog. I sincerely apologize for the extended silence.

Finding out that we had fundraised the full amount for our PCPP grant for the reading room was a moment of indescribably intense joy (especially since I had some family visiting that could celebrate with us). I had spent much of the last 5 months trying to find that delicate balance between painting a hopeful picture of the future to inspire the people I work with while also managing expectations to avoid disappointment. The PCPP grant is especially difficult to explain since it isn’t a traditional grant. Once you are approved, you still have to fundraise all the money from back home. And that may or may not happen.

Fortunately for us, we managed to get the full amount! I could finally tell the members of the reading room committee that all of our hard work had paid off and that after months of talking and planning, we could turn this idea into something tangible. Unfortunately for us, our grant money got temporarily lost in the bureaucratic shuffle and it took much, much longer than expected to get the money. In fact, the money landed in my account the day before I was leaving my village for a two week vacation home to see my brother get married! Picture a mad scramble to find help with free transportation so we could go to the hardware store that’s thirty minutes away. A police officer from the next village over came through for us like a knight in shinning pickup truck. Time and time again during my service I have been surprised by the kindness of strangers. My counterpart and I made it to the hardware store and back with all the supplies for the new ceiling and the fence. It honestly felt like a small miracle.

The next day I got on a bus and started my two-day journey to get from Botswana to Florida. I actually had to stop myself from laughing out loud when I realized how delighted I was by my airplane food (There are even olives in the salads!!) Anyway, my trip home was a two-week whirlwind of emotions. I had the chance to see friends and family that I hadn’t seen for almost two years, and best of all, I got to watch my brother get married.

Now I am back in Botswana and finishing up the last three months of my service in a mad dash to complete the reading room project. I am proud to say that we have made a lot of progress over the last few weeks. The old fence that was full of holes was removed and replaced by a shiny new one. The ceiling was put in place and painted over. Last week we repainted the exterior and this week the interior was finished. We just have a few windows to paint and then we can begin my favorite part: decorating!!! I really want this building to be colorful and interesting looking as a way to attract as many visitors as possible.

This morning I called the headmaster of our village’s middle school to ask if we could use his school’s machine to cut the big boards we have into shelves. Not only did he say we could use it, he immediately sent over two teachers with the machine to help us make the shelves right now. I am consistently blown away by how supportive this headmaster is. When we were struggling to find transportation to pick up the 11 boxes of books we received from Books for Botswana, he took a school vehicle that was in a neighboring town hours out of its way to pick up the books for us.

We still have a lot of work to do: we need to install the shelves, finish painting, build a shade for outdoor reading, and buy the computers and electronics in a city three hours away and find a way to bring them here. Last week I went to Botswana Power Corporation to pay to have the electricity connected in the room, but we still need to get an appointment for someone to come here and connect it. We were told that it can take anywhere from a few weeks to three months.

Once the shelves and tables are in the room, we’re going to have librarians from the library in the next village over come and help us organize the books and teach us about Botswana’s lending system for running a reading room. The people I have spoken to at the library have been very supportive and even found two boxes of books to donate for our reading room!

Amazing News!!

I am very happy and proud to say that we have officially fundraised the full amount we need for the reading room project!!!! Thank you to everyone who donated and a special thank you to our grant coordinator, Chawa, without whom this project would not be possible. We are so grateful for every dollar donated! Now that the fundraising is complete, I will receive a list with the names of everyone who donated, so I can personally write to each of you to say thank you. But until then, let me just say once again how thrilled and grateful we all are!

It’s going to take a few weeks to physically get the money in my account, but we’re going to use that time to get organized and set up a game plan so we can hit the ground running.

This week I interviewed a teacher named Lloyd. He works at the primary school and has been living in my community for 10 years. Lloyd is an avid reader and was nice enough to sit down with me and talk about the important impact he thinks the reading room could have on the village. 

Name: Lloyd M.

Age: 33

Profession: Teacher – Standard 6 (10 – 11 year olds)

T: Why do you like to read?

L: I started reading for a hobby, but with time I realized that it makes my mind work well, it keeps my brain active. I first started to read for pleasure during my first year in college in 2003.

T: What kinds of books do you like to read?

L: I like to read motivational books, books that help you grow as a person. There’s a book called Secret, I re-read it a lot. It has seven goals you should look into as a human. It’s half religious, half secular. The book is about guiding you to grow as a human being.

T: Do you read fiction?

L: (laughs) Sometimes, when I’m really bored.

T: Where do you get your books?

L: I bought some, some I borrow. The motivational books I buy, the fiction books I borrow.

T: Why didn’t you read as a child?

L: I hated reading. I just studied. Maybe it’s because when you don’t have anyone to show you that reading is important, you don’t do it. But eventually, I realized that reading makes my mind active, it helps me solve problems better, it improves my vocabulary.

T: Do you have a favorite book?

L: A Hand to Guide Me by Denzel Washington. He compiled the accomplishments of different people like Anton Fischer and Bill Clinton. It’s really inspiring.

T: Why do you think Gobojango needs a reading room?

L: Reading is not only about personally benefiting. The more you know, the more you can contribute. If we don’t read, as a community, we are not growing, because we do not learn anything new. We can become scholars. People can learn from others, maybe even become authors one day. I also think it could benefit schools. We don’t have a library at the primary school, so we could take our students to the reading room to acquire more information. You can find new role models through books. The teachers could benefit too! If we confine ourselves to what we know, we will not learn.

Lloyd was one of the teachers who helped with the world map project too

The time I've spent on this project has given me a lot of wonderful opportunities to learn more about the passions and interests of the people I work with on a daily basis. Most of all, it has shown me how generous and eager to help the people in my life are - both in Botswana and abroad. Everything from my Aunt Meg offering to bring books with her when she came to visit, to a school teacher spending an hour and a half with me as we struggled to scan the documents needed for the grant proposal. The Village Development Committee has offered to mobilize volunteers to help with painting and clearing out the old fence. Friends and neighbours regularly ask for updates on the project and tell me they're rooting for us. It's hard to put into words how grateful I feel, but I have six months left in my service and I plan to do everything I can to make this project a success. 

Reading Room Project Update 1

I am proud to say that we have officially raised 25% of the money for the reading room project! Thank you so much to everyone who has donated, it really means the world to us. I believe that access to books and computers should be an integral part of every community, and our dream is to make them a part of this one. However, you’ve only been hearing my perspective on this project. I want to share what people in my community think about the reading room too. So, I have started interviewing people from the community in order to gather and share their thoughts on my blog.

For my first interview I spoke with the community social worker. Her name is Bonolo and here are her thoughts on the importance of books:

T: Dumela (hello), thank you for taking the time to speak with me.

B: Dumela, it is my pleasure.

T: I’ve been told that you’re rarely seen without a book, why do you like to read?

B: I read for pleasure and to improve my vocabulary.

T: What kinds of books do you like?

B: I love fiction, especially romance novels. I have a big pile of books at home, it comes in handy because right now I’m moving and don’t have electricity or TV in my new house.

T: Where do you get your books?

B: Most of the books I have, I got when I was still in tertiary school (at University of Botswana). While at school, you can’t do well if you are just reading novels, so I just bought them and stored them up for future use. Some I haven’t read yet, but most I am re-reading. There are no new books in this small village.

I had a library card when I lived in Tutume. There was a mobile library, but in this area I have never seen a mobile library.

T: Do you have a favorite book?

B: My favorite book is Rhapsody of Realities – it is a daily devotional that helps to build and increase a person’s faith in Christ Jesus. The author is Chris Oyakhilome who is also the founder of Christ Embassy Church.

T: Why do you want a reading room for the community?

B: It’s nice to have a reading room because the kids in these small schools, they don’t have enough books at school. And when the school is closed, the school library is closed. Kids are just idle on the weekends, waiting for Monday.

In Tswana culture, people like sending kids to the fields or helping around the house. Children are helping their parents. I think it will help the kids to have a place to relax and read. When you don’t have anywhere to go, you end up overdoing it with household work.

T: Do you think adults could benefit from the reading room as well?

B: Yes, there is a non-formal education class in the community to teach the elderly how to read and write. This class is for the elderly who love to read or want to learn to. They could especially benefit from the reading room.

T: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.

B: You’re welcome.

Bonolo - community social worker and interviewee

If you would like to support the reading room project, please follow the link below to donate!!

https://donate.peacecorps.gov/donate/project/bobirwa-region-community-reading-room/ 

Donations for the Reading Room

The reading room project is officially on Peace Corps’ website! This means that I can start fundraising all over the world!

My community has been working for the last six months to create a reading room and information center for the village so that everyone can have access to books and computers. There is no library in my community, and outside of school, most people do not have opportunities to use books or computers. We want to create a public space for all that will help foster a culture of reading and provide tools for lifelong learning.

The community has contributed $7,576.47 towards the project through the cost of the donated building and transportation costs to move materials. We also have lots of volunteers who will be helping with labor, painting, building, and cleaning. But now we are looking to fundraise $4,811.12 to cover the costs of connecting the electricity, putting in a new ceiling, building a veranda, bookshelves, and buying computers and printers. We will be receiving a shipment of books from Books for Botswana in June and I am looking to collect more books whenever possible.

Please take a minute to read about the project on the website! We are so excited about this project and are looking for all the help we can get! And if you feel the urge to share this link with as many friends as possible, we would be eternally grateful. I will be posting regular updates about the project on my blog as we go along and plan to post interviews with community members about what a reading room means to them.

If you would like to support our project and donate, please click on the link here:

https://donate.peacecorps.gov/donate/project/bobirwa-region-community-reading-room/

(Donations are U.S. tax deductible)

The ladies of the Reading Room Committee at a school event

Grant proposal: APPROVED!

Wonderful news everyone! Our grant proposal has been approved! As soon as all of the signed paperwork is processed, I will finally have a link to send to people with a page on the Peace Corps website that processes donations. I feel extremely blessed in that everyone from back home (or abroad) I have told about the project has been completely supportive and ready to help, it really means the world to me. We have a lot of money to raise and a lot of work to do and I can't wait to get started. The picture below is the two-room building that the Village Development Committee donated for the project. We need to put a new fence around the property, connect the electricity, put in a ceiling, re-paint, and build shelves. The rooms are also rather small, so we decided to build a shade outside for people to comfortably read outside (I think that will be especially wise during the very hot summers). I am so proud of the progress out Reading Room Committee has made. Stay tuned for the link!

The future reading room!

Malaria Team and Mini-Bootcamp

I am a part of Peace Corps Botswana’s malaria committee. Last June, I was lucky enough to be sent to Senegal for a two-week, intensive training by Stomp Out Malaria on pretty much everything there is to know on the subject. It was amazing, challenging, enlightening, and a tad overwhelming. There were representatives from 11 other Peace Corps Africa countries. It was amazing getting to hear about their experiences and how different service is in every country. Every day, we had experts in the field skype in to tell us about their research or teach us about the basics of malaria transmission.

Bootcamp has been one of the highlights of my service so far. Being in a room with so many passionate and enthusiastic people created this kind of electricity, that just made you want to rush home and get started on projects.

A glimpse of Dakar

If I had to choose one word to describe Senegal it would definitely be: colors 

Our Bootcamp cohort

However, due to budget constraints, only a few people from each cohort get selected to go to Senegal and attend the training. Ever since then, we have wanted to share what we learned with other volunteers and create a space for more malaria initiatives in Peace Corps Botswana.

I’m proud to say that in early February we were given that opportunity! The next batch of volunteers (the ones who started this August) had their In-Service Training (IST) a few weeks ago and we were given three days during that time to provide an optional mini-bootcamp on malaria. We took everything we learned in Senegal and our experiences in Botswana in the last year and created a training program. We had sessions on everything from malaria 101 basics to the latest in research and technology to best practices from different malaria endemic countries. 

Holly teaching everyone how to use Openstreetmap

Fifteen of the new volunteers signed up and we had three days of discussions, questions, and practical exercises. Holly, one of my malaria teammates, taught everyone how to repair and decorate broken bed nets, how to teach kids about malaria using soccer, and how to use openstreetmap for malaria projects. Maureen, my other fearless teammate who lives way up north, taught everyone about the basics in malaria transmission and the latest statistics and malaria trends in Botswana. Finally, I presented on the global malaria situation and the amazing international progress over the last decade in reducing malaria. I also taught a session on doer/non-doer analysis surveys and how useful they can be when working on a project.

Learning to play bed-net ball

I love the work I get to do within my community, but working with other volunteers and having the chance to share what we know with the ‘next generation’ of Peace Corps Botswana volunteers was incredibly fulfilling. I really hope that this training will help volunteers collaborate regionally and support our Batswana counterparts in their efforts to eliminate malaria!

Two volunteers with their completion certificates!

For those of you interested in learning more about our malaria work in Botswana, here is a link to an article Maureen and I wrote on the subject after we presented at Botswana's Annual Malaria Conference:

http://passport.peacecorps.gov/2015/10/15/using-open-data-to-fight-malaria-botswanas-national-malaria-conference-2015/