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