Reading Room Project

This week is a really big week for me. I haven’t written about it on this blog, but I have been working with a group of individuals in my village for the last seven months to start a community reading room.

Most people in my community have no access to books or computers in their day-to-day lives. The primary and secondary schools both have some books, and there is a library in a bigger village, almost 40 kilometers away, but there is no public space for people who are interested in books or technology.

This project is a long time coming. Ever since I moved here (16 months ago! Wow. ) people have been talking to me about a library. Finally, last July, an excited member of the Village Development Committee (VDC) approached me and said he wanted to work with me to start a reading room. He organized a village meeting where we presented the idea to the community and received public endorsement from the chief. Then, we invited volunteers to sign up if they wanted to be involved. Eventually we had a group of 12 from all aspects of the community. We have representatives from the schools, tribal administration, local businesses, interested parents, and young volunteers. Together, the twelve us had regular meetings. The VDC member became our chairperson and we immediately began fundraising. However, it was clear that we were going to need quite a bit of money to turn this idea into a reality. That’s when we decided to apply for a Peace Corps grant.

Peace Corps grants (PCPP) are a little bit unusual, in that once approved, the fundraising actually occurs online (kind of like a gofundme or crowdsourcing project). PCPP grants also require the community asking for the grant to raise a minimum of 25% of the requested grant sum. However, in order to submit the grant proposal we first needed to create a budget, find an appropriate space, and answer all the proposal’s questions about sustainability and planning, all while continuing to fundraise.

So that’s what I’ve been doing for the last six months.

It definitely has not been easy.

There were a laundry list of approvals and meetings to have with various stakeholders. The biggest hurdle was definitely finding a management plan that suited everyone (I’m talking months of meetings and discussions). Finally, we’ve been running around getting quotations for everything we’ll need to finish the budget.

Back in October we had a big fundraiser, which included a sponsored walk with a raffle at the end (1^st prize was a goat!). 

Working on this project has simultaneously been one of the most challenging and most rewarding aspects of my service. I am proud to say that this week we will be submitting our grant proposal!!! (If the network is strong enough and nothing goes wrong, that is. Fingers crossed). I still need to find a way to scan all of our quotations and polish up our application online before submitting it, but I am SO excited to finally submit our work.

I will definitely be writing much more about this project from now on, but I just wanted to introduce it to you all now, because we will need as much support as possible to really make it happen. Stay tuned!

World AIDS Day

In case you missed it, December 1st was World AIDS Day. Every year Botswana has both a national World AIDS Day on December 1st and then regional commemorations on December 10th.
This year I went to our region's World AIDS Day in a tiny village in the middle of the Tuli Block with three other Peace Corps volunteers. The Tuli Block is a wonderful game reserve full of elephants, giraffes, and countless other animals. I'm sure you can imagine how excited we were that our regional World AIDS Day was going to be there.
The village was beautiful and we couldn't resist going for a hike after we had set up our tents next to the clinic. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any elephants, but there were monkeys and baboons and some antelope running around. The view of the sunset was breathtaking.

A baboon skull along the path

The next morning we got up early to attend the commemoration events. There were many speeches, a candlelight vigil, drama group skits, a lovely choir, and a poet. One day I will have strong enough internet to share some videos of Batswana singing and dancing, but until then this unsatisfying little photo will have to do:

The Poet

We set up  some posters explaining what Peace Corps does and shared information about HIV/AIDS in Botswana while passing out red ribbons. 

After the ceremony, the attendees stopped by our booth and we quizzed them on their knowledge of HIV.

In honour of World AIDS Day, here's information about a potential, new "super condom" that could have a major impact in the fight against HIV: 

"According to scientists from the Texas A&M University Health Science Center, the new contraceptive will be lined with a hydrogel-based product (hydrogel being a water-based gel, generally used in healing cuts), which kills the HIV-virus in the event of a condom breakage.The condom will also feature an antioxidant to enhance sexual pleasure. "People say they don’t want to use condoms because it doesn’t have the same sexual pleasure," Mahua Choudhery, head researcher on the project, told the BBC.
"The anti-oxidant [in the condom] will enhance neurotransmitters which will work with nerve endings, giving greater sexual pleasure.
"If the HIV virus gets into the product, the condom will block it, prevent it replicating, and prevent entry [from the body]."

If this condom is effective and becomes widely available (and cheap) in the coming years, it could completely change public health initiatives and the struggle against HIV. The most common reason people opt out of using condoms is because they don't like the way it feels. If this condom actually increases sexual pleasure, people would be interested in using them for more than protecting their health or preventing pregnancy. Behaviour change is probably one of the hardest aspects of public health, so if you could change a product instead trying to change the way people feel about a product, HIV prevention would have a huge victory.

If you're interested in learning more about HIV/AIDS, I strongly recommend the book The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels, and the Business of AIDS by Elizabeth Pisani. Unfortunately the book doesn't delve too much into the HIV situation in Sub-Saharan Africa, but it's still a fascinating and engaging read. Pisani writes with brutal and oftentimes hilarious honesty.

And finally, here is  video the Peace Corps made of an interview with former President Festus Mogae of Botswana. I had the opportunity to hear President Mogae speak at our All-Volunteer conference this year and he was incredibly inspiring. 

PCVs with the former president

Here's the link to the article I referenced in this post: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/new-supercondom-will-fight-hiv-and-increase-sexual-pleasure-scientists-claim-a6778746.html 

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence

Every year from November 25th to December 10th, there is a global campaign to bring attention to gender based violence called 16 Days of Activism. People are encouraged to hold events, rallies, or trainings to break the silence around gender based violence.
A study carried out in Botswana in 2012 found that 35.2% of women surveyed had experienced physical intimate partner violence, and 14.6% had experienced sexual intimate partner violence. Gender based violence is definitely an issue in Botswana, but reporting levels are still extremely low. During a 12 month period, only 1.2% of Batswana women reported cases to the police. Silence is overwhelming and many reported cases tend to be withdrawn before they even make it to court.
Though I do feel very passionately about these issues, I was hesitant at first to plan activities for 16 days in my village. When I asked friends about it, they would tell me that gender based violence just isn't something that's talked about publicly. But I still received support and interest from people when I shared my ideas and explained what the campaign was about, so I decided to organise a few events.
Unfortunately, the public debate I wanted to host has been put on hold (indefinitely), but two events did work out.
The first event was a kgotla meeting to introduce 16 Days of Activism and share some information about gender based violence. A kgotla is like a community hall. It is the centre of every community and it is where tribal administration is carried out. Disputes are settled here, information is shared, and groups are organised. Fortunately, our kgosi (chief) was extremely supportive of the whole campaign. He attended the event and shared some words with the community. I invited the police chief from the village next to ours to share some statistics about the low reporting rates in our area. Our social worker then spoke and explained what the four types of gender based violence are and how they affect communities. We also had representatives from the school and the village development committee present.

Our social worker, the Kgosi, and the police station representative

I was a nervous wreck for this event because I decided to make a short speech (entirely in Setswana!) to explain why I was holding this kgotla meeting and what I hoped these conversations could achieve. I am nowhere near fluent enough to be able to write a speech in Setswana, but a friend of mine graciously helped me translate what I wanted to say. Apparently the speech was a hit! It is probably one of my proudest moments from my service so far. I'm a pretty soft-spoken person and am not a fan of public speaking, but when I was up there speaking, I could feel the crowd responding to my words and  encouraging me to go on. Days after the event, people were still coming up to me and congratulating me for that speech.
After all the formalities and the speeches, I had prepared a pledge board for people to sign if they wanted to take part in 16 Days of Activism and join the fight against gender based violence. Everyone who signed received a purple ribbon to wear for the duration of the campaign.

Signing the pledge board

The second event I organised was a gender sensitivity mini-workshop using a wonderful tool called "In Her Shoes". “In Her Shoes” is an interactive training exercise designed to allow men and women the opportunity to walk in the shoes of women experiencing violence. The objectives of the training were:

•       To increase awareness of and empathy for the difficulties women who experience violence face when seeking support.
•      To encourage participants to actively think about what they can do in their personal and professional lives to help prevent violence against women.
•       To begin a rights-based discussion of common perceptions about violence against women.

The tool kit contains the stories of different women and their experiences with gender based violence. Except instead of just reading the story, partners are given choices as they go through the story and have to decide what they would do if they were in that situation (with the options provided, which realistically, can be limited). This way, every participant puts themselves in the shoes of a woman who is experiencing violence. 

I sent out letters to each of the major stakeholders in our community and asked that they send one or two volunteers to this workshop. We had representatives from tribal administration, the parent teacher association, the clinic, the primary school, the police, the village development committee, and two community representatives. Sadly, the volunteer who was supposed to help me facilitate the workshop did not show up… such is life. But we rolled with the punches and some of the participants were great support (especially with translating from time to time). This training was by far one of the most interesting and rewarding activities I have done during my service. After each group had gone through the stories of two different women, we all sat down to discuss these stories. Everyone shared their thoughts about different gender issues, society as a whole, and the relationships between men and women. Finally, we talked about what we could do in our community. 

A little splash of extra honesty to round this post out: As much as I enjoyed these two events, I don't know how much more I will try to do gender related events. If people approach me and are interested in having more workshops or starting a support group, I will definitely jump at every opportunity. But I also know that I really had to push to make these events happen, and a lot of the time it was a struggle. I want to do the things that people in my community really want and focus on the areas where I have the most dedicated and enthusiastic partners. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe in a few months I'll try something new or find a new approach. All I know is that by December I was feeling pretty worn out. So I'm taking a break. Because it's Christmas and New Years and now is the time to breathe a little and reflect on everything that has happened this year. I hope you're all doing the same!

Merry Christmas from Botswana!

It's incredibly hot these days, but we do our best to get into the spirit. 

I'm taking the last of 2015 to reflect and prepare for 2016 (it's bound to be a big year!)

I don't have a real Christmas tree, but I think what we make is even better.

One year at site!

I have officially been living in my village for over a year! It's great to feel like I've built a good home and life here. However, there's something in Peace Corps known as the 'first year slump', where volunteers start to feel discouraged and blue as they evaluate how their service is going. Some people reflect and decide to go home. I've definitely had some days that are a strange mix of exhilaration and pride for having completed my first year of Peace Corps, only to suddenly start feeling overwhelmingly daunted at the idea of having another year to go.
I start to think things like:

                            Another year of feeling like I can't be there for friends and family as much as I'd like to??

Another year of constantly being the odd one out?

Another year of the hard days when I feel more alone than I've ever known...

I think these are fears and struggles that most volunteers deal with. I am generally very happy with what I do in Botswana and love being a Peace Corps volunteer. But when you stop and realize you reach the half way point, it can get to you a little bit. I completely understand why this slump has a recognized name. 

Peace Corps is definitely hard, I will always be honest about that. This last year has definitely been one of the hardest years of my life. But it's also been one of the best! I have grown and had more opportunities to explore and take on responsibility than I had ever imagined would be possible when I signed up. I feel stronger, healthier, and happier than I have in a really long time. Not to mention all the wonderful aspects of living in my community and learning about Batswana culture. I love knowing all of my neighbors and greeting people every morning. I love working on projects and connecting with the people I work with. In addition to all the great aspects of my service, I kept to my word and made sure to strive for personal goals as well. I think having those goals definitely helped keep me happy and motivated at times when my projects stalled. I'm proud to say that this year I ran my first 5K (a colour run!) and studied for and took the GRE. 

Peace Corps volunteers after colour run

How I spend a typical Sunday afternoon: 

doing laundry and playing with my neighbor's puppies

I've had two wonderful moments recently that made me feel like I've arrived as a Peace Corps volunteer. The first happened when I was invited to be a guest at the Primary School's annual prize giving ceremony. In Botswana, schools have a ceremony every year to give certificates and presents to the students who score the top grades in each subject. One year ago, I attended this ceremony on my very first day at site. After being introduced to my new coworkers at the clinic, my counterpart brought me over to the school to attend the ceremony. I had no idea what was going on and couldn't remember the names of any of the people I was introduced to. I sat nervously at the VIP table and tried to smile politely. This year was completely different. I was so excited to attend the ceremony and cheer for the kids. I took pictures of my neighbors' kids when they received their awards and felt like I was swelling with pride every time a student I knew went up to get a certificate. Best of all, I was even asked to hand out certificates for one of the subjects! I now know all the teachers at the school and work with them all the time and I felt perfectly at ease. 

Students polka dancing at the prize giving ceremony!

I don't know how polka dancing became so popular in Botswana. When I tell people it's a dance from Eastern Europe they're shocked!

After the prize giving ceremony, we also took the opportunity to unveil newly finished World Map Project! We ended up using the number system for the countries and printed out a laminated key for the students to study and quiz each other

My second moment occurred at the bus rank in my shopping village. I arrived at the bus stop late and worried that the last bus was already gone. I used to feel very nervous when this happened because we're supposed to be back in our villages by nightfall and I didn't want to end up stranded. This time, however, I was amazed by how many people I knew by name who were coming up to greet me. I ended up waiting with a young man and his little brother since they were trying to get to my village for a wedding. We were waiting for a while and I became more and more sure that the last bus was gone. The young man started to worry about what we should do if the bus never came. At that moment, I spotted the vice-headmistress of the primary school. She offered to give me a ride home and I asked if my new friend could come as well. 

That may not sound like a big moment, but it felt huge to me! I used to feel lost and completely reliant on the kindness of strangers to get around if something went wrong. And now I was able to help two Batswana get to my village! My site is home now and it feels really good. 

It's been a long, hard, wonderful, challenging, amazing, scary, and lovely year. The first year slump didn't get me down for long and I'm excited for what comes next. I also know that I couldn't have done this without all the amazing support from my family and friends. Ke a leboga thata!! (Thank you so much!!)

Two of my best friends came to visit me this year and sharing pieces of this experience with them was wonderful

And finally, 

Peace Corps wouldn't be the same without my partner in crime, Boitumelo (Happiness) 

Busy? It's strange, but wonderful

Something seems to have flipped in the last month or so because for the first time since I arrived in my village, I’m busy! I have a lot to do! It is inexplicable and wonderful and sometimes even stressful.

I am still working with the clinic in the mornings. My focus is still on supply chain management for medicine. I introduced a 4 point plan for improving supply chain at the clinic and got approval from my supervisor to get started! Among other things, I’m going to create an excel database on our medical consumption and provide informal training days for staff on monitoring stock at the clinic in the coming months. I also now have double the number of students I use to for computer lessons. My first student successfully completed the beginner-typing program and has graduated to intermediate level typing!  I am so proud of all of their progress and am convinced that I want to expand on these lessons and bring them to the primary school as well.

These days I’m also busy working at the primary school. I started out small with the world map project, but the relationships I have built there have opened doors to new activities. Last week I had my first King’s Pack session at the school. We played tons of games and my voice was hoarse by the end. I plan to make King’s Pack a regular Wednesday fun day. We played an amazing, albeit dysfunctional version of baseball. We used a cricket bat, tennis balls, and beanbags as plates and it was endless fun. I had difficulty explaining the difference between a strike and a ball, but the kids trusted me not to cheat them out of their swings.

Hula hoops are also extremely popular with the younger kids

My favorite activity involves the rainbow parachute. I played with the same one in elementary school gym class and apparently it’s the same everywhere: when that parachute comes out the squeals are instantaneous. Everyone grabbed a handle and we started to wave the parachute up and down. Some kids couldn’t resist and lay down under it to watch the colors flow. After a few minutes we then played cat and mouse. One child is chosen as the mouse and runs under the parachute. Another is the designated cat and steps onto the parachute. Everyone else is in charge of shaking the parachute as much as possible to hide the mouse from the cat. The mouse runs around and the cat chases furiously after it while everyone cheers them on.

For my next project I have secured permission to begin my first GrassRoot Soccer class with two counterparts when school comes back in session in early August. GrassRoot Soccer will give me the opportunity to provide sensitive health education on HIV and malaria for young people.

I love that I have the freedom and trust from the people I work with to come up with my own project plans and implement them. Six months ago, starting projects on my own was incredibly intimidating, but now I feel lucky to have this much independence in my work, especially as a younger person.

So those are just some of the things I’m up to! Tune in next time for updates on malaria work, mapping, and a potential community project that I’m really excited about.

Exhausted, but really happy